Award-winning actor Forest Whitaker was born on July 15, 1961 in Longview, Texas, although his family later moved to Los Angeles. He was a football player in high school, while taking voice lessons and acted in musicals. He attended the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona on a football scholarship, but he was forced to leave after an injury. He later studied music, and later drama, at the University of Southern California, where he graduated in 1982.
Whitaker’s first notable screen appearance was in the 1982 coming-of-age film Fast Times at Ridgemont High. He also appeared in Martin Scorsese’s film The Color of Money and Oliver Stone’s Platoon, both released in 1986. In 1988, he starred in the film Bird, directed by Clint Eastwood. Here, he would earn his reputation for intensive character study, by living in a loft with only a bed, couch and saxophone. His performance as musician Charlie Parker earned him a Best Actor award from that year’s Cannes Film Festival, as well as a Golden Globe nomination.
After applauded performances in films such as The Crying Game, Pr?t-a-Porter and Smoke, Whitaker would live up to his reputation in the 1999 film Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai. He immersed himself in his character—a bushido-following mob hitman—by studying Eastern philosophy and long hours of meditation. Critics consider this as the “definitive role” for him. He also starred in the 2006 police drama The Shield, playing the role of Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh.
His most successful performance, however, was in the 2006 film The Last King of Scotland. Again, he immersed in his character—African dictator Idi Amin—by researching about him, meeting his friends, learning the accordion, and studying his African accent. He won an Oscar for Best Actor in 2007, making him only the fourth African-American actor to do so; he also won accolades from, among others, the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild. In 2006, the 10th Annual Hollywood Film Festival awarded him with its Hollywood Actor of the Year, as “one of Hollywood’s most accomplished actors.” He received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on April of 2007.