Denzel Washington is an American actor and filmmaker. Washington has received much critical acclaim for his film work since the 1990s, including his portrayals of real-life figures such as South African anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko (in the 1987 film Cry Freedom), Muslim minister and human rights activist Malcolm X (in the 1992 film Malcolm X), boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter (in the 1999 film The Hurricane), football coach Herman Boone (in the 2000 film Remember the Titans), poet and educator Melvin B. Tolson (in the 2007 film The Great Debaters), and drug kingpin Frank Lucas (in the 2007 film American Gangster).