Mount Vernon's Denzel Washington ins a bonafide legend of Hollywood. Acting was the furthest thing from his mind during his early life, though - his father was a Pentecostal minister, and when he was 14, he was sent to a military school to work on his discipline. He would later say that his mother's decision to send him there probably saved his life - he'd got in with 'the wrong' crowd during his early teens, and many of his peers are now either dead or in jail.
With his new-found discipline, Washington dedicated himself to the arts and has been handsomely rewarded. In the trophy cabinet which we presume he has at home, he has a Tony Award, two Golden Globes, and two Oscars, one of which is the 'Best Actor' award for 2001's 'Training Day.' He's shown a particular flair for playing real-life figures in biopic movies, including Malcolm X, Frank Lucas, Steve Biko, and Rubin Carter.