Forest Whitaker

Forest Whitaker one of Hollywood's most accomplished actors, directors and producers, has showcased his talents in a multitude of demanding and diverse roles. In 2007, he earned critical acclaim for his performance as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland, receiving the Academy Award®, BAFTA Award, SAG Award, and Golden Globe Award® for Best Actor. Whitaker's intensive character work in films such as Lee Daniels' The Butler, The Crying Game, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, and Bird, for which he was named Best Actor at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival, have made him one of the most versatile performers of all time.

Whitaker has shot a supporting role alongside Jake Gyllenhaal in Southpaw. He appeared in Denis Villeneuve's sci-fi drama Arrival, opposite Amy Adams. Whitaker will also appear in Lucasfilm's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story alongside Felicity Jones, Riz Ahmed, Diego Luna and Ben Mendelsohn. He then shot A&E Network's remake of the 1977 miniseries, Roots, in which he took on the role of "Fiddler."

In addition to all of his work in film, Whitaker made his Broadway debut in Eugene O'Neill's Hughie, directed by Tony Award winner Michael Grandage earlier this year.

As president of Significant Productions, Whitaker aims to support young, talented filmmakers. In 2013, he co-produced Ryan Coogler's directorial debut, Fruitvale Station. That film, the winner of Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Prize and Cannes Film Festival's Best First Film, was distributed by The Weinstein Company. Significant Productions' latest two films, Dope and Songs My Brothers Taught Me were also selected to debut in competition at the Sundance Film Festival, where they received excellent reviews. Additionally, both films were selected for inclusion in the 2015 Cannes Directors' Fortnight.

Whitaker made his directorial debut with Strapped in 1993, for which he won the International Critics' Award at the Toronto Film Festival. Since then, he has directed and executive produced Waiting to Exhale, Hope Floats and First Daughter. He has produced numerous other award-winning films and documentaries, including the Peabody Award winning Brick City, and has executive produced several made-for-television movies and miniseries.

Whitaker was the creator and producer of DEWmocracy.com, an interactive video game and website that allowed people to select a new flavor of Mountain Dew. Under Frank Cooper, he also directed the short film that opened the game. This campaign turned into the most successful launch of a soft drink in Mountain Dew's history.

Whitaker has devoted much of his time to his humanitarian work. He is the founder and CEO of The Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative, which has current branches in Uganda, South Sudan, Myanmar, Mexico and the United States. He is also the co-founder and chair of the International Institute for Peace, UNESCO Special Envoy for Peace and Reconciliation and a member of the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. He previously served on the President's Urban Policy Committee. Additionally, in 2014 he started collaborating with the Office of the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict as an Advocate for Children Affected by War, a topic on which he was invited to speak before the UN Security Council in September of that year.

Paramount Pictures