|
Forest Whitaker
Biography.
|
Caricature of Forest Whitaker,
courtesy of Mr. Showbiz |
| Forest Whitaker was born
in Longview, Texas on July 15, 1961. His father was an insurance
salesman, and his mother was a special-education teacher. His
family moved to the Los Angeles area when he was still a baby, and later
moved to Carson, California. |
.jpg "Forest Whitaker") |
At six-foot two and 250 pounds,
Forest first found success on the football field at high school as an all-league
defensive tackle, which won him a scholarship to Pomona College. In his
freshman year, he appeared in college stage productions and was discovered
by a Hollywood agent; his first acting job followed: a small role in the
classic 1982 comedy "Fast Times At Ridgemont High."
But Forest could also sing, and his tenor voice led to a classical music
scholarship at USC. While at USC, seeing Robert De Niro's performance in
"Taxi Driver" convinced Forest to pursue a career
in film. He eventually won a special scholarship (created especially for
him) to the Drama Studio of London . |
| With his soft-spoken
style, he quickly became one of the industry's best young character actors,
working alongside Tom Cruise, Paul Newman and Robin Williams in some of
the top movies of the 1980's. His first lead role was that of jazz-saxophone
legend Charlie "Bird" Parker in director Clint Eastwood's
1988 biography, "Bird." (Forest played saxophone
in his youth; his brother, Damon Whitaker, was cast in the same movie to
play a younger Parker.) That performance won Forest the Best Actor trophy
at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival; he was also nominated for a Golden
Globe. Four years later, he starred in "The Crying Game,"
the most talked about movie of 1992. |
His other acting credits include "Vision
Quest" (1985) "North and South"
(1985) "Platoon" (1986) "The
Color of Money" (1986) "North and
South II" (1986) "Stakeout"
(1987), "Good Morning, Vietnam"
(1987), "Johnny Handsome" (1990),
"Criminal Justice" (1990, for which
he received a Cable ACE nomination),
"A Rage in Harlem" (1991), "Diary
of a Hit Man" (1992), "Consenting
Adults" (1992), "Body Snatchers"
(1993), "Bank Robber" (1993), "Smoke"
(1994), "Ready to Wear" (1994),
"Jason's Lyric" (1994), "The
Enemy Within" (1994, which earned him a Screen Actor's Guild
Award nomination), "Blown Away"
(1994), "Species" (1995), and "Phenomenon"
(1996). |
 |
.gif "Director Forest Whitaker on the set of Waiting To Exhale") |
During his acting career, Forest
was directed not only by Eastwood, but also by such greats as Martin Scorsese,
Oliver Stone, Robert Altman, and Barry Levinson, which piqued his own interest
in directing. After a few small projects, Forest directed his first big-budget
effort, the HBO drama "Strapped" for which he received
Best New Director honors at the Toronto Film Festival.He worked well with
his actors. The New York Times wrote that "When
he had directions for an actor, he did not bellow across the room from
his director's chair: he got up, walked over, and whispered into the actor's
ear. The only word Mr. Whitaker screamed was 'Action!'" |
| His next directing project, and
his first feature film, was 1995's "Waiting To Exhale,"
starring Whitney Houston. The movie was a surprise box office smash. (Whitney
says: "Forest was perfect. HE'S what all men should be.") His
performance in "Phenomenon" earned him a N.A.A.C.P.
Image Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor category.
 His
latest directorial effort was "Hope Floats," starring
Sandra Bullock, Harry Connick Jr., Gena Rowlands, Rosanna Arquette
and Michael Pare.
And he is currently readying to co-star in yet another
film with Sandra Bullock. This one will be titled "The Panic
Room," and Forest will play one of two thieves thieves intent
on retrieving a hidden stockpile of cash in an old New York brownstone,
and Sandra will play a single mom-homeowner with a daughter, battling to
defend their lives and home.
Whitaker married model Keisha Nash
in May of 1996, and they have two daughters (Sonnet Noel and True Summer).
He also has a son named Ocean, from a previous relationship.
"I'm an actor. And I guess I've done
so many movies I've achieved some high visibility. But a star? I guess
I still think of myself as kind of a worker ant." -
Forest Whitaker
|
Click here to return to the
main Forest Whitaker page
|
