Forest Whitaker filmography
{{Short description|List of films}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
Forest Whitaker is an American actor, filmmaker, and activist.
Whitaker started his career in early roles in films such as Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), Vision Quest (1985), {{sortname|The|Color of Money}} (1986), Platoon (1986), Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) before his leading role in Clint Eastwood's Bird (1988). Whitaker continued acting in films such as {{sortname|The|Crying Game}} (1992), Blown Away (1994), Prêt-à-Porter (1994), Mr. Holland's Opus (1995), Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999), and Panic Room (2002) He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in {{sortname|The|Last King of Scotland|The Last King of Scotland (film)}} (2006). He has since acted in {{sortname|The|Great Debaters}} (2007), Vantage Point (2008), Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013), Arrival (2016), Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), The Forgiven (2017), and Black Panther (2018).
Whitaker made his television debut in the CBS sitcom Making the Grade (1982). He has since had roles as Curtis Ames in the NBC medical drama ER (2006–2007), Lt. Jon Kavanaugh in FX crime drama The Shield (2006–2007), and Sam Cooper in the CBS police drama Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior (2011). Whitaker's recent roles include Eddie Barker in the Fox musical drama series Empire (2017–2018) and Bumpy Johnson in the Epix crime drama Godfather of Harlem (2019–present). He made his Broadway debut in the revival of Eugene O'Neill's play Hughie (2016).
Film
= Actor =
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes ! {{Tooltip|Ref.|Reference(s)}} |
|---|
| rowspan="2" | 1982
| Gowdy's Bodyguard | | |
| Fast Times at Ridgemont High
| Charles Jefferson | | |
| 1985
| Jean-Pierre "Balldozer" Baldosier | | |
| rowspan="2" | 1986
| {{sortname|The|Color of Money}} | Amos | | |
| Platoon
| Harold "Big Harold" | | |
| rowspan="2" | 1987
| Stakeout | Detective Jack Pismo | | |
| Good Morning, Vietnam
| Private Edward Garlick | | |
| rowspan="2" | 1988
| CID Agent Rawlins | | |
| Bird
| | |
| 1989
| Dr. Steven Fisher | | |
| 1990
| Downtown | Dennis Curren | | |
| rowspan="2" | 1991
| Dekker | | |
| {{sortname|A|Rage in Harlem|A Rage in Harlem (film)}}
| Jackson | Also co-producer | |
| rowspan="3" | 1992
| Dr. Sid Handleman | | |
| {{sortname|The|Crying Game}}
| Jody | | |
| Consenting Adults
| David Duttonville | | |
| rowspan="2" | 1993
| Officer Battle | | |
| Body Snatchers
| Major Matthew Collins | | |
| rowspan="3" | 1994
| Officer Anthony Franklin | | |
| Prêt-à-Porter
| Cy Bianco | | |
| Jason's Lyric
| "Maddog" | | |
| rowspan="3" | 1995
| Species | Dan Smithson | | |
| Smoke
| Cyrus Cole | | |
| Mr. Holland's Opus
| Adult Bobby Tidd | Uncredited | |
| 1996
| Nate Pope | | |
| 1998
| Crane | | |
| rowspan="2" | 1999
| Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai | "Ghost Dog" | | |
| Light It Up
| Officer Dante Jackson | | |
| rowspan="2" | 2000
| Ker | | |
| Four Dogs Playing Poker
| Mr. Ellington | | |
| rowspan="4" | 2001
| {{sortname|The|Fourth Angel}} | FBI Agent Jules Bernard | | |
| Jew Balloons
| Jeremiah Shultze | Short film | |
| The Hire: The Follow
| The Employer | Short film; uncredited |
| Green Dragon
| Addie | Also executive producer | |
| rowspan="2" | 2002
| Burnham | | |
| Phone Booth
| Captain Ed Ramey | |
| rowspan="2" | 2004
| Himself | | |
| First Daughter
| Narrator | Also director and executive producer | |
| rowspan="3" | 2005
| Abe Holt | | |
| American Gun
| Carter | Also executive producer | |
| Mary
| Ted Younger | | |
| rowspan="4" | 2006
| Clyde Snow | | |
| The Marsh
| Geoffrey Hunt | | |
| Everyone's Hero
| Lonnie Brewster | Voice role | |
| {{sortname|The|Last King of Scotland|The Last King of Scotland (film)}}
| Idi Amin | | |
| rowspan="3" | 2007
| {{sortname|The|Air I Breathe}} | Happiness | | |
| Ripple Effect
| Philip | Also executive producer | |
| {{sortname|The|Great Debaters}}
| | |
| rowspan="4" | 2008
| Howard Lewis | | |
| Street Kings
| Captain Jack Wander | | |
| Dragon Hunters
| Lian Chu | Voice role; English-language version | |
| Winged Creatures
| Charlie Archenault | | |
| rowspan="3" | 2009
| Charlie | Also producer | |
| Where the Wild Things Are
| Ira | Voice role | |
| Hurricane Season
| Al Collins | Direct-to-video | |
| rowspan="5" | 2010
| Repo Men | Jake Freivald | | |
| Lullaby for Pi
| George | | |
| My Own Love Song
| Joey | | |
| {{sortname|The|Experiment|The Experiment (2010 film)}}
| Barris | Direct-to-video | |
| Our Family Wedding
| Bradford Boyd | | |
| 2011
| Ronny | rowspan="2" | Direct-to-video | |
| rowspan="3" | 2012
| Dennis LaRue | |
| A Dark Truth
| Francisco Francis | | |
| Ernest & Celestine
| Ernest | Voice role; English-language version | |
| rowspan="7" | 2013
| FBI Agent John Bannister | | |
| Repentance
| Angel Sanchez | Also producer |
| Zulu
| Ali Sokhela | | |
| Pawn
| Will | Direct-to-video | |
| Lee Daniels' The Butler
| | |
| Black Nativity
| Reverend Cornell | | |
| Out of the Furnace
| Chief Wesley Barnes | | |
| rowspan="2" | 2014
| William Garnett | | |
| Taken 3
| Inspector Frank Dotzler | | |
| rowspan="2" | 2015
| Dope | Narrator | Also producer | |
| Southpaw
| Titus "Tick" Wills | | |
| rowspan="2" | 2016
| Arrival | Colonel Weber | | |
| Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
| | |
| 2017
| Archbishop Desmond Tutu | | |
| rowspan="5" | 2018
| First Equisapien / Demarius | Also producer | |
| Burden
| Reverend David Kennedy | | |
| Black Panther
| Zuri | | |
| How It Ends
| Tom | | |
| City of Lies
| Jack Jackson | | |
| 2019
| Howard Lambert | | |
| 2020
| Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey | Jeronicus Jangle | |
| 2021
| Respect | | |
| 2023
| Doc Broadus | | |
| rowspan="2" | 2025
| Peter | Voice role | |
| Havoc
| Lawrence Beaumont | | |
= Filmmaker =
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| style="background:#ccc; text-align:center;"
! Year ! Title ! width=65 | Director ! width=65 | Producer |
| 1995
| {{yes}} | {{no}} |
| 1998
| {{yes}} | {{no}} |
| 2003
| {{no}} | {{yes}} |
| 2004
| {{yes}} | {{yes|Executive}} |
| 2009
| {{no}} | {{yes}} |
| rowspan="2" | 2013
| {{no}} | {{yes}} |
| Repentance
| {{no}} | {{yes}} |
| 2015
| Dope | {{no}} | {{yes}} |
| 2016
| {{no}} | {{yes}} |
| 2017
| {{no}} | {{yes}} |
| 2018
| {{no}} | {{yes}} |
| 2021
| Passing | {{no}} | {{yes}} |
| 2023
| {{no}} | {{yes}} |
| 2025
| Lucky Lu | {{no}} | {{yes|Executive}} |
Television
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| 1982
| Unknown role | Episode: "Marriage David Style" |
| 1983
| Night Manager | Episode: "The Grandest Jewel Thief of Them All" |
| rowspan="2" | 1984
| Lewis Jordan | Episode: "School Nurse" |
| Hill Street Blues
| Floyd Green | Episode: "Blues for Mr. Green" |
| rowspan="4" | 1985
| Herman | Episode: "Bully for Arnold" |
| {{sortname|The|Grand Baby|nolink=1}}
| Unknown role | Television film |
| {{sortname|The|Fall Guy}}
| Friend | Episode: "Spring Break" |
| North and South
| Cuffey | Miniseries |
| rowspan="2" | 1986
| Jerry | Episode: "Gather Ye Acorns" |
| North and South, Book II
| Cuffey | Miniseries |
| 1987
| Hands of a Stranger | Sergeant Delaney | rowspan="3" | Television film |
| 1990
| Jessie Williams |
| rowspan="3" | 1993
| Lush Life | Buddy Chester |
| Strapped
| {{N/A}} | Television film; director |
| Last Light
| Fred Whitmore | rowspan="4" | Television film |
| 1994
| Colonel MacKenzie "Mac" Casey |
| 1996
| Rebound: The Legend of Earl "The Goat" Manigault | Mr. Rucker |
| 1999
| US Marshal Steve Beck |
| 2001
| Feast of All Saints | Daguerreotypist Picard | Television film; also executive producer |
| 2002
| {{N/A}} | Television film; co-executive producer |
| 2002–2003
| {{sortname|The|Twilight Zone|The Twilight Zone (2002 TV series)}} | Host / Narrator | 44 episodes; also consulting producer |
| 2003
| Marcus Clay | Television film |
| 2006–2007
| ER | Curtis Ames | 6 episodes |
| 2006–2007
| Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh | 13 episodes (seasons 5 and 6) |
| 2007–2009
| The Turlingtons | Voice role; 3 episodes |
| rowspan="2" | 2010
| Sam Cooper | Episode: "The Fight" |
| Brick City
| {{N/A}} | 11 episodes; executive producer |
| 2011
| Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior | Sam Cooper | Lead role; 13 episodes |
| 2012
| Serving Life | Narrator | Documentary; also executive producer |
| 2013
| Africa | Narrator | Documentary series |
| 2016
| Roots | Henry (Fiddler) | 3 episodes |
| 2017
| Saw Gerrera | Voice; 4 episodes |
| 2017–2018
| Empire | Eddie Barker | 11 episodes |
| 2019–present
| 30 episodes; also executive producer |
| 2022
| Himself | 3 episodes |
| 2022–2025
| Andor | Saw Gerrera | 4 episodes |
| 2023
| August Bolo | Episode: "2068: The Going-Away Party" |
| 2024
| Judge Oliver Garland | 10 episodes |
| {{TBA}}
| Gossamer | TBA | Voice role |
Theatre
| class="wikitable" | ||||
| Year
! Title ! Playwright ! Role ! Venue | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Hughie | Eugene O'Neill | Erie Smith | Booth Theatre, Broadway debut |
Video games
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Title ! Voice role !| Notes ! {{Tooltip|Ref.|Reference(s)}} |
|---|
| 2019
| Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order | Saw Gerrera | Voice, likeness, and motion capture |
| 2023
|Djehuty |Voice |
Music videos
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Artist ! Title ! Notes ! {{Tooltip|Ref.|Reference(s)}} |
|---|
| 1995
| rowspan=2| Director | |
| 2001
| "Goodbye" |
| 2009
| Jamie Foxx ft. T-Pain | "Blame It" | | |
| 2019
| "In the Dark" | | |
References
{{Reflist|30em|refs =
|title = 'Phone' release delayed
|date = October 18, 2002
|agency = Associated Press
|work = Amarillo.com
|url = http://www.amarillo.com/stories/101802/ent_phone.shtml
|accessdate = August 21, 2010
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110604005435/http://amarillo.com/stories/101802/ent_phone.shtml
|archive-date = June 4, 2011
|url-status = dead
|df = mdy-all
}}
}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|0001845|Forest Whitaker}}
{{Forest Whitaker}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitaker, Forest}}
Category:Male actor filmographies