Forest Whitaker is one of the most exciting actors around and has starred in a wide range of exciting film and television projects during his career.
Two Men In Town
However, it is for his film work that he is best known with a Best Actor Oscar under his belt as well as a whole host of other roles that have made him a star.
He is back with new film Two Men In Town, which sees him team up with Harvey Keitel, and it is out on DVD this week. To celebrate we take a look at his great career and his stand out movie performances.
- Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
Back in 1982, Fast Times at Ridgemont High hit the big screen and kicked off the careers of Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Forest Whitaker.
Still regarded as an eighties teen classic, Fast Times at Ridgemont High was a breakout film for Whittaker, who played the gloomy and intimidating high school football star Charles Jefferson. In a fantastic scene, Whitaker thrashes his Lincoln High rivals on the field, mistakenly thinking they wrecked his car and wrote racial slurs, and wins the big game for Ridgemont in a blowout.
Fast Times at Ridgemont High was based on the book by Cameron Crowe - who went on to adapt his own work into a screenplay - while Amy Heckerling made her feature film directorial debut with the film.
This is a movie that has endured because it is a teen film that managed to capture those small and important details of teenage and school life - this really is a film that everyone can relate to in some shape or form - and it is, of course, laugh out loud funny.
Fast Times at Ridgemont High went on to be a cult classic, a great teen movie, and launch the careers of some of Hollywood's biggest stars.
- Good Morning, Vietnam (1988)
Whitaker returned to the big screen in 1988 when he starred alongside Robin Williams in the fantastic Good Morning, Vietnam.
The movie follows unorthodox DJ, Adrian Cronauer (Williams) who shake up things when he is assigned to the US Armed Services Radio station in Vietnam. The troops may love his no nonsense style but the arm bigwigs are less than impressed.
Whitaker took on the role of Private First Class Edward Montesquieu Garlick in the movie, as he teamed up with Williams for the first time. Of course, Good Morning, Vietnam is a movie that well and truly belongs to Williams but Whitaker delivers a terrific supporting performance as Garlick.
Whitaker's performance is the calm to Williams' storm and the pair really do make a terrific movie pairing. Good Morning, Vietnam is a vehicle for Williams to show off his comedic prowess, but it was also a film that allowed Whitaker to show off his acting abilities.
Good Morning, Vietnam is widely regarded as one of the greatest war movies of all time and it was another movie that helped Whitaker's rise to fame and major leading roles.
- Bird (1988)
One of the early leading roles of Whitaker's career came in 1988 when he starred in the central role of biopic Bird.
The movie followed the troubled life and career of jazz musician Charlie 'Bird' Parker and saw Whitaker team up with director Clint Eastwood for the first time.
Also starring Diane Venora, Michael Zelniker, and Samuel E. Wright, Bird shifts back and forth through Parker's brief life before his heroin overdose at the incredibly young age of 34.
As well as being a great character study movie, Bird is also a touching and sensitive tribute to a fine musician - who achieved so much in such a short space of time.
From start to finish, Whitaker is just wonderful in the central role as he got well and truly under this skin of this remarkable man and yet tortured man.
Whitaker's great performance is coupled with the haunting and dark mood that hangs over the entire piece - it is a movie that you think about long after the credits have rolled.
Whitaker won the Best actor gong at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated at the Golden Globes. However, his performance was overlooked by the Oscars.
- The Last King of Scotland (2006)
Whitaker had to wait until 2006 until he got his first Best Actor Oscar nomination... and that came for his staggering performance Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland.
His first nomination became his first win as he saw off the challenge from Leonardo DiCaprio, Ryan Gosling, Peter O'Toole, and Will Smith and dominated the awards season.
James McAvoy co-stars as Nicholas Garrigan the Scottish doctor who is taken under the wing of Amin and becomes his personal physician. As Nicholas becomes closer to Amin, he uncovers the truth behind the dictator's savage autocracy.
The Last King of Scotland was inspired by the book of the same name by Giles Foden, and while it is based on factual events of Amin's rule, it is a fictional story.
It is the performance of Whitaker that looms large over this movie from start to finish as he mixes funny, vulnerable character traits with the cruel dictator that we all knew him to be; his switch from charming to terrifying really will send shivers down your spine.
The role of Idi Amin remains one of Whitaker's best as he takes the Kevin MacDonald directed movie and elevated it to something more. As well as scooping the Best Actor Oscar, Whitaker went on to triumph at the Golden Globes, Screen Actors' Guild Awards, and the Baftas.
- Where the Wild Things Are (2009)
Where the Wild Things Are is one of the most beloved children's books and was brought to the big screen back in 2009 by visionary filmmaker Spike Jonze.
For me, Where the Wild Things Are was one of the best films of 2009 and Whitaker, James Gandolfini, Lauren Ambrose, Chris Cooper, Catherine O'Hara, Paul Dano, Michael Berry Jr, & Jonze lent their voices to the film to bring the 'Wild Things' to life.
The movie follows Max, a young boy wants escape and adventure, runs away from home, and sailed to an island filled with creature called 'Wild Things.' Here he becomes their king. In the film, Whitaker plays Ira, the slow-witted but goodhearted monster who has a very calming effect on the group, despite his talent for punching holes in tree trunks.
Where the Wild Things Are is one of the most evocative and powerful movies about childhood and how the innocence and imagination of that time slowly disappears.
It is a beautiful, dark, funny, and charming tale about leaving your childhood behind, and it is totally heartbreaking.
Gandolfini and Whitaker are the two actors that give terrific voice performances as Ira and Carol and together they give a wonderful ensemble performance.
Forget the fact that this is an adaptation of a children's book this movie is for anybody who has ever run around screaming, climbed trees, rolled in the dirt, then laughed about it afterwards, we all remember those days when life was innocent and care free.
- Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013)
Whitaker returned to a major lead role and critical acclaim back in 2013 with Lee Daniels' The Butler. Whitaker took on the title role of The Butler; Cecil Gaines who served eight presidents during his time as a butler at the White House, while Lee Daniels is in the director's chair.
The Butler was one of the most critical acclaimed films of 2013 and once again allowed Whitaker show off what a fine actor he is.
Whitaker shines in this heart-warming story, as Cecil gracefully walks the line between formality and servility. David Oyelowo plays his troubled son, who becomes entrenched in the black power movement with Oprah Winfrey portraying Cecil's wife.
The Butler is a heartwarming tale about one man's dedication and service during a time of political and racial unrest in the U.S.
Whitaker was nominated for his central performance at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, while the cast was also nominated for their ensemble performance.
- Two Men In Town (2015)
This gritty, no-holds barred psychological thriller tells the story of troubled youth Will Garnett (Whitaker) who is finally being released after an 18-year long stretch in prison.
With the help of an idealistic parole agent (Brenda Blethyn) and his new-found Islamic faith, Garnett struggles to rebuild his life and overcome the violent impulses which torture and possess him. However, Bill Agati (Keitel), the vengeful Sheriff of the small New Mexico border county where Garnett is released, has other ideas.
Convinced that Garnett is irredeemable and major a threat to the security of his county, Agati launches a vicious, sustained campaign to return Garnett to prison for life. A brilliantly understated revenge drama which asks the question: can we ever truly leave a dark past behind and start again?
Two Men In Town is out on DVD now.
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