Great performances

Check out the best of Denzel Washington

By Geoff Berkshire

October 31, 2007

Great performances
(Credit: Jim Spellman/WireImage.com)
Photos:
"Cry Freedom" (1987) "The Mighty Quinn" (1989) "Glory" (1989) "Much Ado About Nothing" (1993)
He didn't exactly make an auspicious debut in 1981's race relations comedy "Carbon Copy."

But after five Oscar nominations and numerous hit films, Denzel Washington has achieved the rarest of feats. He's both a bona fide movie star and a respected actor. Look no further than his latest hotly anticipated film, "American Gangster," for proof of that.

Narrowing down Washington's body of work to 10 great performances may seem easy, all five of those Oscar noms were richly deserved, but there are plenty of tough calls to be made. All apologies go to "Crimson Tide," "Philadelphia," "A Soldier's Story," "The Manchurian Candidate" and "Inside Man" for just missing this list.

Fortunately, Denzel has also made quite a few films that didn't exactly merit consideration (here's looking at you "Ricochet," "Virtuosity," "The Bone Collector" and "John Q").

Take a look at what did make the cut.

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