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Why Watch That

In honor of Black History Month, the Critic and Referee discuss the work of black actors. Since they are not often given their proper due, we thought it was only fair to spend some time exploring some great and some not-so-great work being done by black actors today. This is part of an ongoing conversation, so enjoy the first of many discussions about black actors.

Actors on the list

Denzel Hayes Washington, Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor, film director, and film producer. He has received much critical acclaim for his work in film since the 1990s, including for his portrayals of real-life figures such as Steve Biko, Malcolm X, Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, Melvin B. Tolson, Frank Lucas, and Herman Boone. Washington is a featured actor in the films produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and was a frequent collaborator of the late director Tony Scott. Washington has received two Golden Globe awards and a Tony Award, and two Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actor for Glory (1989) and Best Actor for Training Day (2001). (wikipedia)

Denzel’s work to watch: Glory, Malcolm X, He Got Game, Flight, American Gangster

Morgan Freeman is an American actor, film director, and narrator. Freeman has received Academy Award nominations for his performances in Street Smart, Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption and Invictus and won in 2005 for Million Dollar Baby. (wikipedia)

Critic’s favorite Morgan Freeman moment: Lean On Me

Shoutout to Lynne Thigpen

Idrissa Akuna “Idris” Elba (/ˈɪdrəs ˈɛlbə/; born 6 September 1972) is a British actor, producer, singer, rapper, and DJ. He is best known for his portrayal of drug lord and aspiring businessman Russell “Stringer” Bell in the HBO series The Wire, Detective John Luther in the BBC One series Luther, and Nelson Mandela in the biographical film Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. Elba has been nominated for three Golden Globe Awards for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film, winning one, and for Best Actor, as well as earning three Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Elba has appeared in films such as American Gangster (2007), Daddy’s Little Girls (2007), Takers (2010), Thor (2011), Prometheus (2012), Pacific Rim (2013) and Thor: The Dark World (2013). In addition to his acting work, he is a DJ under the moniker DJ Big Driis (or Big Driis the Londoner) and a hip-hop soul musician. (wikipedia)

Sir Sidney Poitier, KBE (/ˈpwɑːtjeɪ/ or /ˈpwɑːti.eɪ/; born February 20, 1927), is an American-born Bahamian actor, film director, author, and diplomat. In 1963, Poitier became the first black person to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Lilies of the Field.  The significance of this achievement was later bolstered in 1967 when he starred in three successful films: To Sir, with Love; In the Heat of the Night; and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, making him the top box-office star of that year. In all three films, issues revolve around the race of the characters Poitier portrays. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Poitier among the Greatest Male Stars of All Time, ranking 22nd on the list of 25. (wikipedia)

Samuel Leroy Jackson (born December 21, 1948) is an American film and television actor and film producer. After becoming involved with the Civil Rights Movement, he moved on to acting in theater at Morehouse College, and then in films. He had several small roles such as in the film Goodfellas before meeting his mentor, Morgan Freeman, and the director Spike Lee. After gaining critical acclaim for his role in Jungle Fever in 1991, he appeared in films such as Patriot Games, Amos & Andrew, True Romance and Jurassic Park. In 1994, he was cast as Jules Winnfield in Pulp Fiction, and his performance received several award nominations and critical acclaim. Jackson has since appeared in over 100 films, including Die Hard with a Vengeance, The 51st State, Jackie Brown, Unbreakable, The Incredibles, Black Snake Moan, Shaft, Snakes on a Plane, Django Unchained, as well as the Star Wars prequel trilogy and small roles in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill Vol. 2 and Inglourious Basterds. (wikipedia)

Must watch Sam Jackson Films: Django Unchained , Jungle Fever, Strictly Business

Charles Stanley Dutton (born January 30, 1951) is an American stage, film, and television actor and director, best known for his roles as “Fortune” in the film Rudy, “Dillon” in Alien 3, and the title role in the television sitcom Roc (1991–1994). (wikipedia)

Donald Frank “Don” Cheadle, Jr. (/ˈtʃiːdəl/; born November 29, 1964) is an American actor and producer. Cheadle had an early role in Picket Fences and followed it with performances in Devil in a Blue Dress (1995), Rosewood (1997) and Boogie Nights (1997). He then started a collaboration with director Steven Soderbergh that resulted in the movies Out of Sight (1998), Traffic (2000) and Ocean’s Eleven (2001). Other Cheadle films include The Rat Pack (1998), Things Behind the Sun (2001), Swordfish (2001), Crash (2004), Ocean’s Twelve (2004), Ocean’s Thirteen (2007), Reign Over Me (2007), Talk to Me (2007), Traitor (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010) and Iron Man 3 (2013). (wikipedia)

Terrence Dashon Howard (born March 11, 1969) is an American actor and singer. Having his first major role in the 1995 film Mr. Holland’s Opus, Howard broke into the mainstream with a succession of television and film roles between 2004 and 2006. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Hustle & Flow. Howard has had prominent roles in many other movies including Winnie, Ray, Lackawanna Blues, Crash, Four Brothers, Get Rich or Die Tryin’, Idlewild, August Rush and The Brave One. Howard co-starred in Iron Man and reprised the role in the video game adaptation. (wikipedia)

Michael Brown (born August 3, 1973), professionally known as Michael Ealy, is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles in Barbershop (2002), its sequel Barbershop 2: Back in Business (2004), 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), Their Eyes Were Watching God (2005), Seven Pounds (2008), For Colored Girls (2010), and Underworld: Awakening (2012). Ealy stars as Dorian in the science fiction police drama, Almost Human. (wikipedia)

Cuba Gooding, Jr. (born January 2, 1968) is an American film actor. He is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Rod Tidwell in 1996’s Cameron Crowe’s Jerry Maguire, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. His performances in films such as Boyz n the Hood (1991), As Good as It Gets (1997), Men of Honor (2000), and Lee Daniels’ The Butler (2013) were also well received. (wikipedia)

Forest Steven Whitaker (born July 15, 1961) is an American actor, producer, and director. He has earned a reputation for intensive character study work for films such as Lee Daniels’ The Butler, Battlefield Earth, Bird and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, for his work in direct-to-video films and for his recurring role as ex-LAPD Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh on the award-winning television series The Shield. Whitaker won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA for his performance as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the 2006 film The Last King of Scotland. (wikipedia)

Laurence John Fishburne III (born July 30, 1961) is an American actor, playwright, director, and producer. He is best known for his roles as Morpheus in the Matrix science fiction film trilogy, Clean in Apocalypse Now, Cowboy Curtis on the television show Pee-wee’s Playhouse, Ike Turner in the Tina Turner biopic What’s Love Got to Do With It and as Furious Styles in Boyz n the Hood. He became the first African-American to portray Othello in a motion picture by a major studio when he appeared in Oliver Parker’s 1995 film adaptation of the Shakespeare play. He won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance in Two Trains Running (1992), and an Emmy Award for Drama Series Guest Actor for his performance in TriBeCa (1993). (wikipedia)

Jeffrey Wright (born December 7, 1965) is an American film, television and stage actor. He is known for such roles as Muddy Waters in Cadillac Records, Jean-Michel Basquiat in Basquiat, Felix Leiter in the James Bond films Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, Valentin Narcisse in the HBO series Boardwalk Empire, and Beetee in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. (wikipedia)

Willard Carroll “Will” Smith, Jr. (born September 25, 1968) is an American comedic and dramatic actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood. Smith has been nominated for four Golden Globe Awards, two Academy Awards, and has won four Grammy Awards. In the late 1980s, Smith achieved modest fame as a rapper under the name The Fresh Prince. In 1990, his popularity increased dramatically when he starred in the popular television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The show ran for nearly six years (1990–1996) on NBC and has been syndicated consistently on various networks since then. In the mid-1990s, Smith moved from television to film, and ultimately starred in numerous blockbuster films. He is the only actor to have eight consecutive films gross over $100 million in the domestic box office, and eleven consecutive films gross over $150 million internationally and the only one to have eight consecutive films in which he starred open at #1 spot in the domestic box office tally. (wikipedia)