Washington was raised in the Toluca Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, the son of actor Denzel Washington and actress and singer Pauletta Washington ; he is the oldest of their four children. At the age of seven he appeared as a student in a Harlem classroom in Spike Lee's 1992 feature film Malcolm X, which starred his father Denzel in the title role. Washington attended Campbell Hall School in Los Angeles, where he was a letterman in football, basketball, and track. He graduated from high school in 2002 and from Morehouse College in 2006.
Football career
College
As a Morehouse College senior, Washington led the conference in rushing with 1,198 yards. He also had a 5.6-yard average, nine touchdowns, and ten receptions for 69 yards. In his college career, Washington holds the school's single-game and career rushing records.
Professional
After going undrafted in the 2006 NFL Draft, Washington was signed by the St. Louis Rams on May 1, 2006 as an undrafted free agent. Washington was released by the Rams on August 31. Three days later, the Rams re-signed him to their practice squad. Washington played in NFL Europe for the Rhein Fire in the 2007 offseason. Washington was drafted by the California Redwoods of the United Football League in the UFL Premiere Season Draft in 2009. He signed with the team on August 18. Washington stayed with the team after their move to Sacramento, playing for the Mountain Lions until 2012, when the league abruptly folded that October.
Acting career
Washington returned to acting in 2015 in the role of Ricky Jerret in the HBO drama series Ballers. The series was well-received by critics, and continued on for five seasons through 2019. In September 2017, Washington was cast in the lead role of detective Ron Stallworth in Spike Lee's thriller BlacKkKlansman, which was based on Stallworth's memoir. The film competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, where it premiered on May 14, 2018. It did not win the Palme d'Or, but was awarded the Grand Prix by the festival jury. The film began a U.S. theatrical release on August 10, 2018, a date chosen to coincide with the one year anniversary of the Charlottesville rally. The film was a commercial success, earning Washington both Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations. In 2018, Washington also starred in the films Monsters and Men and All Rise, both of which screened in the U.S. Dramatic Competition section at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. He also appeared in The Old Man & the Gun, which was released on September 28, 2018 by Fox Searchlight Pictures. Washington will next star in Tenet, to be directed by Christopher Nolan.
