![]() In 1988, Whitaker played in the film Bloodsport alongside Jean-Claude Van Damme and he had the lead role as musician Charlie Parker in the Clint Eastwood-directed film, Bird. ![]() The following year, he co-starred with Robin Williams in the comedy Good Morning, Vietnam. In 1986, he appeared in Martin Scorsese's film, The Color of Money (with Paul Newman and Tom Cruise), and in Oliver Stone's Platoon. He co-starred alongside Nicolas Cage, Phoebe Cates, and Sean Penn. In his first onscreen role of note, he played a football player in Amy Heckerling's 1982 coming-of-age teen-comedy, Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Film work Whitaker has a long history of working with well-regarded film directors and fellow actors. He also earned a scholarship to the Berkeley, California branch of the Drama Studio London. He was accepted to the Music Conservatory at the University of Southern California (USC) to study opera as a tenor, and subsequently was accepted into the University's Drama Conservatory. Whitaker then attended Cal Poly Pomona on a football scholarship, but left due to a debilitating back injury when he was hurt in training by defensive end Manny Duran. Whitaker graduated from "Pali High" in 1979. While in high school, he also took voice lessons, performed in musicals, and caught the "acting bug" his first role as an actor was the lead in Dylan Thomas' play, Under Milk Wood. There, he was all-league defensive tackle on the football team quarterbacked by Jay Schroeder, a future NFL player. As a teenager, Whitaker commuted from Carson to wealthy Palisades High School on LA's West Side. Whitaker has two younger brothers, Kenn and Damon, and an older sister, Deborah. His mother, Laura Francis (née Smith), was a special education teacher who put herself through college and earned two Masters degrees while raising her children. His father, Forest Whitaker, Jr., was an insurance salesman and the son of novelist Forest Whitaker, Sr. Early life Whitaker was born in Longview, Texas and his family moved to South Central Los Angeles in 1965, when he was four due to racism. However, for his recurring role as ex-LAPD Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh on the gritty, award-winning television series, The Shield, Whitaker merely had to draw on his childhood years growing up in South Central Los Angeles, California. He has earned a reputation for intensive character study work for films such as Bird and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai. He became the fourth African American male to win an Academy Award for Best Actor, following in the footsteps of Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, and Jamie Foxx. Whitaker has also won a Golden Globe, and a BAFTA. Whitaker won an Academy Award for his performance as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the 2006 film The Last King of Scotland. In 2009, the actor told Parade he wasn’t a “tough love guy” when it came to raising their children.Forest Steven Whitaker is an American actor, producer, and director. “It was basically more spiritual than traditional and sealed by a beautiful Apache marriage blessing,” she told In Style in 1996 about their wedding. ![]() He proposed the following year and married in 1996 in Montego Bay, Jamaica. The two met on the set of their 1993 film Blown Away in which she portrayed Whitaker’s girlfriend. “He swept me off my feet - not with material things, more like the way he displayed his emotions.” “He is very honest and sensitive and romantic,” she shared at the time. Keisha, who is also a model, told PEOPLE in 1997 that the Oscar-winning actor “swept me off my feet.” Whitaker also has a 28-year-old son, Ocean, while Keisha has 27-year-old daughter Autumn, both from previous relationships. ![]() Christmas is a celebration of solidarity - a time of the year when we are reminded that the bonds our families, friends, fellow citizens and beyond are based on sharing and bringing joy. ![]()
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