Forest Whitaker is an American actor, director, and producer. He achieved worldwide acclaim for portraying former Ugandan president General Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland (2006), a performance that earned him numerous major international awards.

Forest Steven Whitaker was born on July 15, 1961, in Longview, Texas, United States. His father, Forest Steven Whitaker Jr., worked as an insurance salesman, while his mother, Laura Francis Smith, was a teacher. He has two brothers, Kenn Whitaker and Damon Whitaker, and a sister named Deborah Whitaker. When Whitaker was four years old, his family moved to California.

Whitaker studied drama in England at Drama Studio London and was later accepted into the Drama Conservatory at the University of Southern California, where he also received classical opera training as a tenor, graduating in 1982. He continued his education on a scholarship at New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study.

In 2002, Whitaker portrayed the antagonist in David Fincher’s thriller Panic Room, starring alongside Jodie Foster and Kristen Stewart. The same year, he appeared in the suspense film Phone Booth, sharing the screen with Colin Farrell, Kiefer Sutherland, Radha Mitchell, Richard T. Jones, and Katie Holmes.

Whitaker’s career reached its pinnacle in 2006 with his portrayal of Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland. His deeply immersive and physically transformative performance earned him the Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, and widespread international recognition as one of the finest actors of his generation.

In 2012, he appeared in Freelancers alongside 50 Cent and Robert De Niro. The following year, he played an FBI agent in The Last Stand, starring opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger. In 2015, he shared the lead role with Liam Neeson in Taken 3.

Whitaker is a vegetarian and has amblyopia, a medical condition affecting his left eye, which has become one of his most recognizable physical traits on screen.

He has one son, Ocean Whitaker (born 1990), from his first marriage. On May 4, 1996, Whitaker married actress Keisha Nash Whitaker. Together they have three children: Sonnet Noel Whitaker (born October 3, 1996), True Whitaker (born July 2, 1998), and stepdaughter Autumn Whitaker (born 1991).

Awards:
2007 – 64th Golden Globe Awards – Best Actor (The Last King of Scotland)
2007 – 79th Academy Awards – Best Actor (The Last King of Scotland)
1988 – 41st Cannes Film Festival – Best Actor (Bird)

Filmography and Television Work:
Director:
2004 – First Daughter (Feature Film)
1998 – Hope Floats (Feature Film)
1995 – Strapped (Feature Film)

Producer:
2014 – Repentance (Feature Film)
2012 – Rising from Ashes (Feature Film)

Actor:
2015 – Taken 3 (Franck Dotzler) (Feature Film)
2014 – Two Men in Town (William Garnett) (Feature Film)
2014 – Repentance (Angel) (Feature Film)
2014 – Food Chains (Narrator) (Feature Film)
2014 – A Fall from Grace (Source) (Feature Film)
2013 – Zulu (Ali Sokhela) (Feature Film)
2013 – Pawn (Will) (Feature Film)
2013 – Fruitvale Station (Feature Film)
2013 – The Last Stand (Agent John Bannister) (Feature Film)
2013 – Black Nativity (Reverend Cornell) (Feature Film)
2013 – The Butler (Cecil Gaines) (Feature Film)
2012 – The Truth (Francisco Francis) (Feature Film)
2012 – Rising from Ashes (Narrator) (Feature Film)
2012 – Freelancers (Feature Film)
2011 – Catch .44 (Ronny) (Feature Film)
2010 – The Experiment (Barris) (Feature Film)
2010 – The 82nd Annual Academy Awards (Himself – Presenter) (TV Special)
2010 – Our Family Wedding (Bradford Boyd) (Feature Film)
2010 – My Own Love Song (Joey Navinsky) (Feature Film)
2010 – Lullaby for Pi (George) (Feature Film)
2010 – A Man’s Story (Himself) (Feature Film)
2009 – Toys in the Attic (Voice) (Feature Film)
2009 – Repo Men (Jake Freivald) (Feature Film)
2009 – Powder Blue (Charlie) (Feature Film)
2009 – Where the Wild Things Are (Voice) (Feature Film)
2008 – Street Kings (Captain Jack Wander) (Feature Film)
2008 – Made in America (Narrator) (Feature Film)
2008 – Vantage Point (Howard Lewis) (Feature Film)
2007 – The Great Debaters (Dr. James Farmer Sr.) (Feature Film)
2007 – The Air I Breathe (Happiness) (Feature Film)
2007 – Ripple Effect (Philip) (Feature Film)
2006 – The Last King of Scotland (Idi Amin) (Feature Film)
2006 – The Marsh (Geoffrey Hunt) (Feature Film)
2006 – Everyone’s Hero (Lonnie Brewster – Voice) (Feature Film)
2006 – Even Money (Clyde Snow) (Feature Film)
2005 – Mary (Ted Younger) (Feature Film)
2005 – Made in Hollywood (Himself) (TV Program)
2005 – American Gun (Carter) (Feature Film)
2005 – American Dad! (Voice) (TV Series)
2005 – A Little Trip to Heaven (Abe Holt) (Feature Film)
2004 – Tavis Smiley (Himself) (TV Program)
2004 – Le Grand Journal (Himself) (TV Program)
2003 – American Storytellers (Himself) (Feature Film)
2002 – Phone Booth (Captain Ramey) (Feature Film)
2002 – Panic Room (Burnham) (Feature Film)
2001 – Green Dragon (Addie) (Feature Film)
2001 – The Fourth Angel (Agent Jules Bernard) (Feature Film)
2000 – Four Dogs Playing Poker (Mr. Ellington) (Feature Film)
2000 – Battlefield Earth (Ker) (Feature Film)
1999 – Witness Protection (Steven Beck) (Feature Film)
1999 – Light It Up (Dante Jackson) (Feature Film)
1999 – Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (Ghost Dog) (Feature Film)
1996 – Rebound: The Legend of Earl “The Goat” Manigault (Mr. Rucker) (Feature Film)
1996 – Phenomenon (Nate Pope) (Feature Film)
1995 – Species (Dan Smithson) (Feature Film)
1995 – Smoke (Cyrus Cole) (Feature Film)
1994 – Jason’s Lyric (Maddog) (Feature Film)
1994 – Prêt-à-Porter (Cy Bianco) (Feature Film)
1994 – Blown Away (Anthony Franklin) (Feature Film)
1993 – Body Snatchers (Collins) (Feature Film)
1993 – Bank Robber (Battle) (Feature Film)
1992 – Article 99 (Dr. Sid Handleman) (Feature Film)
1992 – Consenting Adults (David Duttonville) (Feature Film)
1992 – The Crying Game (Jody) (Feature Film)
1991 – Harlem Nights (Jackson) (Feature Film)
1991 – Diary of a Hitman (Dekker) (Feature Film)
1990 – Downtown (Dennis Curren) (Feature Film)
1989 – Johnny Handsome (Dr. Steven Fisher) (Feature Film)
1988 – Bird (Charlie Parker) (Feature Film)
1988 – Bloodsport (Rawlins) (Feature Film)
1987 – Stakeout (Jack Pismo) (Feature Film)
1987 – Good Morning, Vietnam (Edward Garlick) (Feature Film)
1986 – The Color of Money (Amos) (Feature Film)
1986 – Platoon (Big Harold) (Feature Film)
1985 – Vision Quest (Balldozer) (Feature Film)
1985 – North and South (Cuffey) (TV Series)
1982 – Fast Times at Ridgemont High (Charles Jefferson) (Feature Film)

Source: Biyografiler.com