"I try to be like a forest, revitalizing and constantly growing... Kids would tease me, calling me 'Little Bush.' But... I thought being called Forest helped me find my identity."
Forest Steven Whitaker III (born July 15, 1961 in Longview, Texas) is an American actor, producer, and director.
An intense and engaging character actor, he's won numerous awards (including the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland). With a bevy of well-received performances under his belt and appearances in great films such as Fast Times at Ridgemont High, The Crying Game, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai and...uh... Battlefield Earth, critics and movie-goers alike consider him to be one of the most accomplished and talented actors working today.
His daughter, True Whitaker, is an actress who has appeared in a recurring role in Godfather of Harlem, in which he stars.
Filmography on TV Tropes:
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Film roles
- 1982 Fast Times at Ridgemont High as Charles Jefferson
- 1985 Vision Quest (1985) as Balldozer
- 1986 The Color of Money as Amos
- 1986 Platoon as Big Harold
- 1987 Stakeout as Jack Pismo
- 1987 Good Morning, Vietnam as Edward Garlick
- 1988 Bloodsport as Rawlins
- 1989 Johnny Handsome as Dr. Steven Fisher
- 1992 The Crying Game as Jody
- 1993 Body Snatchers as Maj. Collins
- 1993 Strapped (director only)
- 1994 Blown Away as Anthony Franklin
- 1994 Jason's Lyric as 'Mad Dog' Alexander
- 1994 The Enemy Within as Colonel McArthur Casey
- 1995 Species as Dan Smithson
- 1995 Smoke as Cyrus Cole
- 1995 Waiting to Exhale (director only)
- 1996 Phenomenon as Nate Pope
- 1998 Body Count as Crane
- 1999 Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai as Ghost Dog
- 2000 Battlefield Earth as Ker
- 2002 Panic Room as Burnham
- 2002 Phone Booth as Captain Ed Ramey
- 2006 The Last King of Scotland as Idi Amin
- 2007 The Great Debaters as James L. Farmer Sr.
- 2008 Vantage Point as Howard Lewis
- 2008 The Air I Breathe as Happiness
- 2008 Street Kings as Capt. Jack Wander
- 2008 Dragon Hunters as Lian-Chu
- 2009 Where the Wild Things Are as Ira
- 2010 Repo Men as Jake Freivald
- 2010: The Experiment as Michael Barris
- 2013 The Last Stand as Agent John Bannister
- 2013 The Butler as Cecil Gaines
- 2014 Ernest et Célestine as Ernest (English dub)
- 2015 Taken 3 as Franck Dotzler
- 2016 Arrival as Colonel Weber
- 2016 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story as Saw Gerrera
- 2018 Black Panther as Zuri
- 2020 Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey as Jeronicus Jangle
- 2021 Respect as C.L. Franklin
- 2025 The King of Kings as Peter
- 2025 Havoc as Lawrence
Television roles
- 1985 North and South (U.S.) as Cuffey
- 2002 The Twilight Zone (2002) as Host / Narrator
- 2006 - 2007 ER as Curtis Ames
- 2007 The Shield as Jon Kavanaugh
- 2007 - 2009 American Dad! as Daniel Turlington
- 2011 Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior as Sam Cooper
- 2016 Roots as Fiddler
- 2017 Star Wars Rebels as Saw Gerrera (voice)
- 2017-2018 Empire as Eddie Barker
- 2019-present Godfather of Harlem as Bumpy Johnson
- 2022-2025 Andor as Saw Gerrera
Video game roles
- 2019 Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order as Saw Gerrera (voice)
Director
- 1993 Strapped
- 1995 Waiting to Exhale
- 1998 Hope Floats