The 21 Best Denzel Washington Movies, Ranked

Denzel Washington has a reputation as one of the best American actors of all time, and it's easy to understand why. First, there's the nine Oscar nominations for acting including two wins, but even if he hadn't been lauded so, his career speaks for itself. It began in earnest in the mid-1980s, when he started to make the transition from television drama "St. Elsewhere" to movies. Theater has also always been a presence for Washington, a Tony Award winner, especially the work of August Wilson.

Washington has certain directors who he has collaborated with many times, most famously Spike Lee. There's also Tony Scott, Antoine Fuqua, Edward Zwick, Jonathan Demme, and Carl Franklin. Since 2000, he has mainly made thrillers and played heroic characters, but ironically he won the Best Actor Oscar for one of his rare villainous roles. Washington always brings a magnetic charisma to whatever part he is playing, his charm permeates the screen, and he is a true movie star.

Like all the best actors, he is also a brilliant reactor, with his eyes and mouth speaking volumes. Whether it's a clenched jaw or a wide smile, Washington uses his face and body expressively and with purpose. He is likewise skillful with dialogue, a master at delivering great and memorable monologues. One of the best to ever do it, let us take you on a tour of Denzel Washington's best movies.

1987 marked Denzel Washington's first major transition into being a critically-acclaimed movie actor. Directed by Richard Attenborough, "Cry Freedom" earned Washington his first Oscar nomination, and at the time he was best known for the medical television series "St. Elsewhere." "Cry Freedom" is based on the true story of anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko, who was beaten to death in prison. Washington only appears in the first half of the film, with the second half focusing on newspaper editor Donald Woods (Kevin Kline) and his efforts to escape South Africa with his book manuscript about Biko.

An early example of Washington bringing his alluring appeal (aided by his natural gap-toothed smile) to a role, and it's easy to see him as someone who could command crowds. One of the highlights is an interrogation scene with Timothy West's security officer Captain De Wet, in which Washington's Biko remains defiant, and later his 'trial' in which he delivers an eloquent and persuasive speech. Although the film slips into white savior territory, especially with the focus on Woods in the second half, it also features Biko challenging and interrogating white liberalism.

Working with Attenborough, Sidney Lumet, and Edward Zwick early in his movie career established Washington as a prestige player and force to be reckoned with, as born out in the accolades and plaudits he received at a relatively young age. He brings an energy to "Cry Freedom" that is sorely missed in the second half.

Denzel Washington got his start in the theater, and his love for it has remained throughout his career. He has a long-standing relationship with the playwright August Wilson (watch the Netflix documentary "Giving Voice" for more) and appeared in "Fences" on stage before deciding to adapt the play for film. Washington has only directed four feature films, and he clearly only takes on that role when it's a true passion project.

Supporting Washington and Viola Davis in their main roles as Troy and Rose Maxson are Stephen McKinley Henderson (another Wilson regular) as Troy's best friend Bono, Russell Hornsby as Troy's older son, Lyons, and Mykelti Williamson as Troy's brother Gabriel. Gabriel has a learning impairment after sustaining a head injury during World War II. The film's theatrical origins are evident in the long, dialogue-heavy scenes which mostly take place in the Maxson home, but this does not diminish the power of the performances. It will have you wishing to have experienced them on the stage, though.

Washington's skill at working with actors as a director should not be underestimated. He often has younger costars who are learning from him as a scene partner and sometimes as a director, too. Washington translates the blocking of the play to the screen well, and this translation is not always easy. "Fences" is rightly lauded for its performances and is another impressive achievement for Washington. The fact that this award-winning film is further down in the rankings of Washington's best movies is a testament to how many excellent roles the actor and filmmaker has under his belt. 

Tony Scott's final movie before he died was an action-packed juggernaut that provides relentless tension from start to finish. Astonishingly, "Unstoppable" is based on a true story, and like the bus in "Speed," features a train that cannot be stopped, even though it's hurtling full-throttle into populated areas. Instead of a bomb as its cargo, it has a payload of toxic chemicals. Denzel Washington is once again paired with a younger actor; in this case, Chris Pine. Washington's Frank is a veteran looking at early retirement, and Pine's Will is a rookie looking to learn on his first days on the job.

After several different plans to stop the runaway train fail, Frank and Will take it upon themselves to try to couple their train to the speeding one in order to slow it down. When this doesn't work, Will must try to make his way to the front of the unmanned train in order to apply the brakes. One of the main dangers is the presence of any curves on the tracks, which are points when it's easy for a high-speed train to derail, as can be seen in the Stanton Curve section.

While both Frank and Will are each given suitably tragic backstories so we care about them, "Unstoppable" isn't a film to look to for character development. It's a high-octane thriller, which is expertly structured, littering believable obstacles at well-paced intervals. The constantly circling news helicopters add another level of pressure, on top of what is already an unbearably tense time. Still, maybe not Washington's most intense film. 

Denzel Washington has worked with Antoine Fuqua four times, beginning their relationship in 2001. After playing countless real-life and fictional heroes, Washington would finally win the Best Actor Oscar for one of his rare villainous roles, in Fuqua's "Training Day." Set over a 24-hour period, the film follows Ethan Hawke as Jake, a young and ambitious LAPD narcotics officer assigned to Washington's experienced and decorated Alonzo Harris. Jake discovers that Alonzo is corrupt and Alonzo tries to coerce Jake into doing criminal things that he doesn't want to.

Washington plays Alonzo as confident, charming, bold, and brassy. He is so audacious and brazen in the things he does, you can kind of see why he has gotten away with it for this long (with some help from the higher-up corruption, too). He also tries to seduce Jake into his way of life, probing and testing his boundaries. Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg have small supporting roles in "Training Day," and it was mostly filmed on-location in real-life South Central neighborhoods where gang activity was still prevalent at the time. The Rampart police corruption scandal of the late 1990s galvanized Fuqua and writer David Ayer to get the film into production, as the film ended up being exceedingly timely.

"Training Day" has authenticity due to its setting, and while Washington's performance is big and over-the-top, it's easy to understand why Alonzo is like this. The role is a departure for Washington, demonstrating his range.

Denzel Washington's third collaboration with Spike Lee is the story of a father and son who have a strained relationship for very understandable reasons. Washington plays Jake Shuttleworth, in prison for the manslaughter of his wife. His son Jesus is the top-ranked basketballer of his age in the country, and every single college is frantically trying to recruit him. The prison warden tells Jake that if he can get his son to sign for a particular college, he will have his sentence reduced. Jake is released for a week to try to get the deed done.

Washington is once again paired with a younger and inexperienced actor, in this case real-life basketball player Ray Allen as Jesus, and excels at being both a mentor and also someone who has badly betrayed his children. Another interesting relationship examined in the film is between Jake and Dakota (Milla Jovovich), a sex worker he meets in the seedy motel that he stays in while on release. Rosario Dawson plays Jesus' girlfriend, who struggles when Jesus visits the colleges who use anything within their means to entice him. 

While the storyline is kind of ridiculous, Lee brings the usual feeling of myth-making to a movie that touches on his life-long passion for basketball. The opening montage of street basketball players looking straight into the camera is already moving before the film has even started. Lee brings nobility to everyday characters and shoots them in a way that makes them seem beautiful and heroic. 

Moving into his Top 10 best movies, Denzel Washington really leaned into the thriller genre in the 2000s, especially in his Tony Scott collaborations. However, during the 1990s he starred in the John Grisham adaptation "The Pelican Brief" and later "The Bone Collector," based on the first Lincoln Rhyme novel from Jeffery Deaver. Rhyme is confined to his bed after an accident during the course of his duty as a police forensics expert. He teams up with rookie cop Amelia (Angelina Jolie) to try to solve a series of clues left by a serial killer.

Washington's chemistry with Jolie is the beating heart at the center of a convoluted plot, with the scenes set in Rhyme's apartment being the best aspect. Queen Latifah shines, as always, in a small role as Rhyme's nurse. Serial killer movies such as "Eye of the Beholder," "Kiss the Girls," "Copycat," "Seven," and "Silence of the Lambs" were all the rage in the 1990s. While the plots are often silly, and stretch credulity, the commitment of the actors playing well-drawn characters makes a big difference.

Movie scenes depicting forensics experts assessing crime scenes for clues are always satisfying to watch, and scratch a similar itch to "paperwork" movies, or movies about experts conducting research and being brilliant at their jobs. The twist here is that Amelia has to be Rhyme's eyes at the crime scene and he relies on her to gather and relay information. The result is a solid, entertaining '90s crime drama.

Denzel Washington's directorial debut came in 2002 with a movie based on the true story of a troubled naval recruit. "Antwone Fisher" stars Derek Luke in the title role in his movie debut. Fisher is sent to psychiatrist Jerome Davenport (Washington) after getting into fights. Davenport gradually gets Fisher to open up about his childhood. We learn his mother gave birth to him in jail and did not claim him after her release. He was raised in an abusive foster home, and the flashbacks are particularly hard to watch.

Davenport and Fisher come to form a close relationship. In one of the highlights of the film, Fisher is invited to Thanksgiving by Davenport's wife (played by Salli Richardson-Whitfield). It becomes clear that Davenport has a strained home life, which he is very much trying to bury, at the same time as encouraging his patients to open up. Davenport comes to realize that he has gotten too close to Fisher, and starts to back off, which has a disastrous effect.

Fisher's investigation into his past makes for a finale that elicits emotion, without dripping in sentimentality. It's interesting to see the influences on Washington's directorial style, and there are brief glimpses of Spike Lee at times, especially in the framing of his characters. The theater is always a presence with Washington, too, with his films being dialogue-heavy and lots of scenes that are two-handers — back and forth exchanges that shift dynamics. "Antwone Fisher" is an important work in Washington's overall career.

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Denzel Washington has played several real-life figures, which have included highlighting some lesser-known men. While "The Hurricane" may have been marketed as a boxing or sports film, it is actually more of a prison drama. Washington plays Rubin Carter, who was wrongly convicted of murder in 1966 and strikes up an unlikely friendship with a teenage boy in the 1980s. Lesra Martin is living with an unconventional foster family in Canada — three friends played by Liev Shreiber, John Hannah, and Deborah Kara Unger. Martin begins corresponding with and visiting Carter, and his foster family starts a campaign to overturn Carter's wrongful conviction.

The direction by Norman Jewison and cinematography by Roger Deakins elevates "The Hurricane" beyond the standard inspirational biopic formula, as does Washington's performance. The prison-set scenes are exceptional, with Carter refusing to wear the prison uniform, eating alone in his cell, and reading and writing voraciously. The biography he writes in prison is what draws the attention of Martin. Carter gradually opening up and beginning to trust Martin and his other supporters is a rewarding journey to witness, and the campaign gaining momentum towards the end gives the second half of the film real urgency.

Vicellous Reon Shannon is impressive as the teenaged Martin, and his shared scenes with Washington are another example of him bringing out the best in his young costars. "The Hurricane" is somewhat forgotten now, but worth seeking out if you haven't seen it.

Spike Lee's fourth collaboration was a briliant heist thriller starring Clive Owen as the leader of a gang who stage an elaborate and audacious Wall Street bank robbery over a 24-hour period. Denzel Washington plays the hostage negotiator, Chiwetel Ejiofor is his partner, and Willem Dafoe plays a police captain. Christopher Plummer plays the head of the bank, who has a secret hidden in one of the vaults that he's worried the robbery might expose. Jodie Foster has one of the most interesting roles as a power broker who has her own negotiations going on in the background.

This being a Spike Lee film, the cinematography is one of the stand-out elements. "Inside Man" was filmed in a former bank on Wall Street, as well as in other real New York City locations, giving the movie an immediacy and authenticity. Most of Washington and Ejiofor's scenes take place in a surveillance van dwarfed by skyscrapers in a tunnel-like street, giving the sense that they are as trapped as the hostages. The structure of the film is also interesting, with flash-forwards to interviews with the hostages that take place after they are released.

Lee was hugely influenced by 1975's "Dog Day Afternoon" when making "Inside Man," including using two actors from Sidney Lumet's movie. The use of multiple hand-held cameras adds a feeling of chaos to the law enforcement side of things, while a Steadicam on Owen (combined with his performance) aids the sense that he is cool, calm, collected, and in total control. 

Denzel Washington starred in one the best neo-noirs of the 1990s. Based on the novel by Walter Mosley, "Devil in a Blue Dress" is set in Los Angeles and sees Rawlins (Washington) become embroiled in a mayoral election blackmailing plot. Although Don Cheadle doesn't arrive in the movie until around an hour in, he almost steals the show as Rawlins' friend Mouse, who has his back but can be a bit too over-eager with his trigger figure. Jennifer Beals plays the titular mysterious woman in a blue dress who Rawlins is hired to find.

Rawlins is very much an everyman trying to find work so he can pay his mortgage. This sets him apart from the sardonic and cynical private detectives we're used to, such as Philip Marlowe and Sam Spade. Rawlins becomes embroiled in the case largely against his will, and tries to keep violence to a minimum. When there is collateral damage, it greatly upsets him. One of the noir tropes that writer-director Carl Franklin uses effectively here is the protagonist's narration, which Washington delivers as well as you would expect.

"Devil in a Blue Dress" has impressive production and costume design, and some breath-takingly gorgeous cars. Many have rightly lamented that we didn't get a whole series of Easy Rawlins films, as there are many books in the series. This is one of the best movies of the 1990s, and certainly deserves having more people discover it.