Denzel Washington · Filmography Ranked
Best Denzel Washington Films, Ranked by IQ Score
Four decades of the most-canonical leading Black actor in American film history. Every Denzel film, ranked.
Denzel Washington's filmography is the most-canonical leading-Black-actor catalog in American film history. Two Oscars (Best Supporting for Glory in 1989, Best Actor for Training Day in 2001), the second Black actor to win Best Actor after Sidney Poitier.
Anchor picks: Malcolm X (1992), Spike Lee's biographical epic and Denzel's canonical performance. Training Day (2001) won his Best Actor Oscar. Glory (1989) won his Best Supporting Actor Oscar. Fences (2016) was his directorial-and-leading work for the August Wilson canonical adaptation.
8 titles · ranked by IQ Score
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Questions about this ranking
What is the best Denzel Washington film?
By IQ Score on TV Intelligentsia, Malcolm X (1992) anchors the catalog. Training Day (2001), Fences (2016), Glory (1989), and Philadelphia (1993) round out the canonical Masterclass tier.
How many Oscars has Denzel won?
Two, Best Supporting Actor for Glory (1989) and Best Actor for Training Day (2001). He's been nominated nine times and is the second Black actor to win Best Actor after Sidney Poitier.
Which Denzel performance is most underrated?
He Got Game (1998), Mo Better Blues (1990), and The Hurricane (1999) are consistently underrated relative to Training Day and Malcolm X. The Spike Lee collaborations especially are central to Denzel's catalog beyond what casual viewers associate with him.
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