# John David Washington

John David Washington (born July 28, 1984) is an American actor and former professional football player. He is the son of actor Denzel Washington. He started his career in college football at Morehouse College and signed with the St. Louis Rams as an undrafted free agent in 2006. Professionally, Washington spent four years as a running back for the United Football League's Sacramento Mountain Lions.
Washington shifted to acting, his parents' careers. He was part of the main cast of the HBO comedy series Ballers (2015–2019). His breakthrough role came playing Ron Stallworth in Spike Lee's crime drama BlacKkKlansman (2018), for which he received Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations. Washington has since gained leading roles in films such as Tenet (2020), Malcolm & Marie (2021), and The Creator (2023). He made his Broadway debut in a 2022 revival of the August Wilson play The Piano Lesson and reprised his role in its 2024 film adaptation.

## Early life and family

Washington was born and raised in the Toluca Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. He is the oldest of four children born to actor Denzel Washington and actress and singer Pauletta Washington (née Pearson). John David, as a compound name, is his first name. At the age of seven, he played a student in Spike Lee's 1992 feature film Malcolm X, which starred his father 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 (a school record). 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 (242 yards) and career (3,699 yards) 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 (later the Sacramento Mountain Lions) 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 began acting in 2015 in the role of Ricky Jerret, an NFL player, in the HBO drama series Ballers. The series was well received by critics and continued for five seasons through 2019.
In September 2017, Washington was cast in the lead role of detective Ron Stallworth in Spike Lee's thriller feature film BlacKkKlansman, which was based on Stallworth's memoir. The film premiered on May 14, 2018, at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, where it competed for the Palme d'Or. It was awarded the Grand Prix by the festival jury. The film's U.S. theatrical release was 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 Monster, both of which screened in the U.S. Dramatic Competition section at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. He also appeared in the western film The Old Man & the Gun.
After seeing Washington's work in BlacKkKlansman, director Christopher Nolan hand-picked him to star in his thriller film Tenet. Nolan said of the actor, "[He's] just one of the greatest collaborators I've worked with: extraordinarily hard-working, very, very thoughtful, and very considerate of everybody around him in the most wonderful way." Released in September 2020, Tenet received mixed reviews. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone praised Washington's "star-in-the-making" performance, writing, "A former football running back, the actor brings a natural athletic grace to the stunts and hand-to-hand combat that forge a visceral bond between his character and the audience." For his performance, Washington won the Saturn Award for Best Actor.
Washington starred alongside Zendaya as the titular characters in the drama film Malcolm & Marie (2021), which had been filmed in secret during the COVID-19 pandemic. The film was released to mixed reviews, but Washington's performance received praise. He starred as Harold Woodman, a lawyer and war veteran, in the ensemble period film Amsterdam (2022), directed by David O. Russell. He then had a starring role in Gareth Edwards' 2023 science fiction film The Creator.
Washington performed in a Broadway revival of August Wilson's The Piano Lesson beginning in September 2022 and ending in January 2023. He reprised his role in a 2024 film adaptation of the play, directed by his brother, Malcolm Washington.
In 2025, Washington became the face of Tom Ford's fragrance Bois Pacifique.

## Filmography

Key :
| † | Denotes works that have not yet been released |

### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1992 | Malcolm X | Student in Harlem classroom | |
| 1995 | Devil in a Blue Dress | Boy with Toy Rifle | Uncredited |
| 2010 | The Book of Eli | — | Co-producer |
| 2017 | Love Beats Rhymes | Mahlik | |
| 2018 | Monsters and Men | Dennis Williams | |
| 2018 | Monster | Richard "Bobo" Evans | |
| 2018 | BlacKkKlansman | Ron Stallworth | |
| 2018 | The Old Man & the Gun | Lieutenant Kelley | |
| 2020 | Tenet | The Protagonist | |
| 2021 | Malcolm & Marie | Malcolm Elliott | Also producer |
| 2021 | Beckett | Beckett | |
| 2022 | Amsterdam | Harold Woodsman | |
| 2023 | The Creator | Joshua Taylor | |
| 2024 | The Piano Lesson | Boy Willie Charles | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2015–2019 | Ballers | Ricky Jerret | Main cast; 47 episodes |

### Theater

| Year | Title | Role | Category | Theatre | Ref. |
| 2022 | The Piano Lesson | Boy Willie | Broadway | Ethel Barrymore Theatre | |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Awards | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 2018 | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series | Ballers | Nominated |
| 2018 | IMDb STARmeter Awards | Breakout Star | Himself | Won |
| 2018 | People's Choice Awards | The Drama Movie Star of 2018 | BlacKkKlansman | Nominated |
| 2018 | Online Film Critics Society | Best Actor | BlacKkKlansman | Nominated |
| 2019 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama | BlacKkKlansman | Nominated |
| 2019 | Satellite Awards | Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Comedy/Musical | BlacKkKlansman | Nominated |
| 2019 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role | BlacKkKlansman | Nominated |
| 2019 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture | BlacKkKlansman | Nominated |
| 2019 | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series | Ballers | Nominated |
| 2020 | People's Choice Awards | Favorite Action Movie Star | Tenet | Nominated |
| 2021 | Critics' Choice Super Awards | Best Actor in an Action Movie | Tenet | Nominated |
| 2021 | Saturn Awards | Best Actor | Tenet | Won |
| 2024 | Montclair Film Festival | Performance Award | The Piano Lesson | Honored |
| 2024 | Chicago International Film Festival | Spotlight Award | The Piano Lesson | Honored |
| 2024 | Gotham Awards | Ensemble Tribute (shared with Samuel L. Jackson, Danielle Deadwyler, Ray Fisher, Michael Potts, Corey Hawkins and Erykah Badu) | The Piano Lesson | Honored |
| 2024 | Celebration of Cinema and Television | Actor Award – Film | The Piano Lesson | Won |
| 2025 | Black Reel Awards | Outstanding Lead Performance | The Piano Lesson | Nominated |
| 2025 | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture | The Piano Lesson | Nominated |
| 2025 | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture | The Piano Lesson | Nominated |