Age: 64
male
Forest Steven Whitaker (born July 15, 1961) is an American actor, producer, director, and activist. He is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a British Academy Film Award, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. After making his film debut in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), Whitaker went on to earn a reputation for intensive character study work for films, such as Platoon (1986), Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), Bird (1988), The Crying Game (1992), Phenomenon (1996), Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999), The Great Debaters (2007), The Butler (2013), Arrival (2016), and Respect (2021). He has also appeared in blockbusters, such as Panic Room (2002), Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) as Saw Gerrera, and Black Panther (2018) as Zuri. For his portrayal of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the British historical drama film The Last King of Scotland (2006), Whitaker won the Academy Award for Best Actor. Whitaker made his directorial debut with the television film Strapped (1993), and directed the films Waiting to Exhale (1995), Hope Floats (1998), and First Daughter (2004). Apart from his film career, Whitaker is also known for his humanitarian work and activism. In 2011, he was inducted as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, later receiving a promotion to Special Envoy for Peace and Reconciliation, and serves as the CEO of Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative (WPDI), a non-profit outreach program.
Forest Whitaker
W. D. Wheeler
for W. D. Wheeler in The Greatest Showman (1997)
Suggested by legoking516
Barnum loses his job as a clerk at a shipping company after the company goes bankrupt, and returns home for Caroline's birthday. He takes out a loan from a bank, deceiving them into accepting his former employer's lost ships as collateral. He uses this loan to set up Barnum's American Museum in downtown Manhattan, an attraction showcasing various wax models. Initially, sales are slow. On the suggestion of his children to showcase something "alive", Barnum searches for "freaks" to serve as performers for his museum. He gathers a large group of them, including bearded lady Lettie Lutz. This attracts a large audience despite protests and poor reviews from well-known critic James Gordon Bennett, prompting Barnum to rename his venture "Barnum's Circus".
