List of awards and nominations received by Forest Whitaker

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This is a list of awards and nominations received by American actor, filmmaker, and activist Forest Whitaker.

Forest Whitaker awards and nominations

Whitaker at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con
Awards and nominations Award Wins Nominations Academy Awards 1 1 BAFTA Film Awards 1 1 Cannes Film Festival 1 1 Critics' Choice Awards 2 4 Golden Globe Awards 1 2 Emmy Awards 1 5 Satellite Awards 1 3 Screen Actors Guild Awards 2 6
Totals[a]
Wins	59
Nominations	68
Note Certain award groups do not simply award one winner. They acknowledge several different recipients, have runners-up, and have third place. Since this is a specific recognition and is different from losing an award, runner-up mentions are considered wins in this award tally. For simplification and to avoid errors, each award in this list has been presumed to have had a prior nomination.

Over his career Whitaker has earned an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Emmy Award, Golden Globe Award, a Cannes Film Festival Awards, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor, BAFTA Award for Best Actor, Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama, and Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role for his portrayal of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland (2006). In 2022 he won the Honorary Palme d'Or.

Major associations

Academy Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
2007	Best Actor	The Last King of Scotland	Won	[1]

BAFTA Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
British Academy Film Awards
2006	Best Actor in a Leading Role	The Last King of Scotland	Won	[2]

Cannes Film Festival

Year	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
1988	Best Actor	Bird	Won	[3]
2022	Honorary Palme d'Or		Won

Critics' Choice Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
Critics' Choice Movie Awards
2007	Best Actor	The Last King of Scotland	Won	[4]
2014	Joel Siegel Award		Won	[5]
2019	Best Acting Ensemble	Black Panther	Nominated	[6]
Critics' Choice Television Award
2016	Best Supporting Actor in a Movie/Miniseries	Roots	Nominated	[7]

Emmy Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
Primetime Emmy Awards
2003	Outstanding Television Movie	Door to Door	Won	[8]
2007	Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series	ER	Nominated	[9]
2010	Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking	Brick City	Nominated	[10]
2025	Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series	Andor (for "I Have Friends Everywhere")	Pending	[11]
News & Documentary Emmy Awards
2012	Outstanding Informational Programming – Long Form	Brick City	Nominated	[12]

Golden Globes Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
1988	Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama	Bird	Nominated	[13]
2006		The Last King of Scotland	Won	[14]

Independent Spirit Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
2006	Best Male Lead Actor	American Gun	Nominated	[15]
2014	Best First Feature	Fruitvale Station (as a producer)	Won	[16]
2016		Songs My Brother Taught Me (as a producer)	Nominated	[17]
2019		Sorry to Bother You (as a producer)	Won	[18]

Screen Actors Guild Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
1994	Outstanding Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie	The Enemy Within	Nominated	[19]
2003		Deacons for Defense and Justice	Nominated	[20]
2006	Outstanding Actor in a Leading Role	The Last King of Scotland	Won	[21]
2013		The Butler	Nominated	[22]
	Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture		Nominated
2018		Black Panther	Won	[23]

Miscellaneous awards

AARP Movies for Grownups Awards

The AARP Movies for Grownups Awards are given annually by the AARP to encourage the film industry to make more movies by and about people over the age of 50.

Year	Work	Category	Result	Ref.
2013	The Butler	Best Actor	Nominated	[24]
		Best Grownup Love Story	Nominated

Audie Awards

Year	Work	Category	Result	Ref.
2008	The Bible Experience (Old Testament)	Audiobook of the Year	Nominated	[25]
		Inspirational/Spiritual	Won
		Multi-Voiced Performance
2010	Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales	Audiobook of the Year	Won	[26][27]
		Multi-Voiced Performance
2014	Nelson Mandela by Kadir Nelson	Children's Title for Ages Up to Eight	Nominated	[28]

BET Awards

Year	Work	Category	Result	Ref.
2007	The Last King of Scotland	Best Actor	Won	[24]
2014	The Butler		Nominated	[29]
2020	Godfather of Harlem		Nominated	[30]

Black Reel Awards

Year	Work	Category	Result	Ref.
2003	Panic Room	Outstanding Supporting Actor, Motion Picture	Nominated	[31]
2004	Phone Booth		Nominated	[32]
	Deacons for Defense	Outstanding Actor, TV Movie or Limited Series	Won
2007	The Last King of Scotland	Outstanding Actor, Motion Picture	Won	[33]
2010	Where the Wild Things Are	Outstanding Voice Performance	Won	[34]
2014	Fruitvale Station (as a producer)	Outstanding Film	Nominated
	The Butler	Outstanding Actor, Motion Picture	Nominated
2016	Southpaw	Outstanding Supporting Actor, Motion Picture	Nominated	[35]
2020	Godfather of Harlem (as a producer)	Outstanding Drama Series	Nominated	[36]
		Outstanding Actor, Drama Series	Nominated
2021	"Make It Work" (from Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey)	Outstanding Original Song	Nominated	[37]
2022	Passing (as a producer)	Outstanding Film	Pending	[38]

British Independent Film Awards

The British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) is an organisation that celebrates, supports and promotes British independent cinema and filmmaking talent in United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.

Year	Work	Category	Result	Ref.
2006	The Last King of Scotland	Best Actor	Nominated	[39]

Gotham Awards

The Gotham Awards is an awards show presented annually by the Gotham Film & Media Institute to honor independent films in cinematic achievement.

Year	Work	Category	Result	Ref.
2013	Fruitvale Station (as a producer)	Audience Award	Nominated	[40]
	Himself	Gotham Tributes Honor	Won
2018	Sorry to Bother You (as a producer)	Audience Award	Nominated	[41]
2021	Passing (as a producer)	Best Feature	Nominated	[42]

Guild of Music Supervisors Awards

Year	Work	Category	Result	Ref.
2021	"Make It Work" (from Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey)	Best Song Written and/or Recorded for a Film	Nominated	[43]

NAACP Image Awards

The NAACP Image Awards NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature.

Year	Work	Category	Result	Ref.
1995	The Crying Game	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture	Nominated
1997	Phenomenon		Nominated
2004	Phone Booth		Nominated
	The Crying Game	Outstanding Actor in a TV Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special	Nominated
2007	The Last King of Scotland	Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture	Won	[44]
2008	The Great Debaters	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture	Nominated	[45]
2014	The Butler	Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture	Won	[46]
	Himself	Chairman's Award	Won
2016	Southpaw	Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture	Nominated	[47]
2019	Godfather of Harlem (as a producer)	Outstanding Drama Series	Nominated	[48]
2020	Godfather of Harlem	Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series	Nominated	[49]
2021	Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey	Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture	Nominated	[50]
2022	Godfather of Harlem	Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series	Pending	[51]

National Board of Review Awards

The NAACP Image Awards NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature.

Year	Work	Category	Result	Ref.
1994	Pret a Porter	Best Acting by an Ensemble	Won
2006	The Last King of Scotland	Best Actor	Won	[52]

Satellite Awards

The Satellite Awards are annual awards given by the International Press Academy that are commonly noted in entertainment industry journals and blogs.

Year	Work	Category	Result	Ref.
2006	The Last King of Scotland	Best Actor – Motion Picture	Won	[53]
	The Shield	Best Supporting Actor – Miniseries or TV Film	Nominated
2013	The Butler	Best Actor – Motion Picture	Nominated	[54]

Critics awards

Association	Year	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
American Black Film Festival	1999	Best Director	Hope Floats	Nominated
	2014	Best Ensemble Cast	The Butler	Nominated	[55]
				Nominated
		Movie of the Year	Fruitvale Station (as a producer)	Nominated
		Artist of the Year	Himself	Nominated
AAFCA Awards	2006	Best Actor	The Last King of Scotland	Won
	2013		The Butler	Won	[56]
Austin Film Critics Association	2019	Best Ensemble	Black Panther	Nominated	[57]
Blockbuster Entertainment Award	1997	Favorite Supporting Actor – Drama	Phenomenon	Won	[58]
Boston Society of Film Critics	2006	Best Actor	The Last King of Scotland	Nominated	[59]
Capri Hollywood International Film Festival		Capri Legend Award	Himself	Won
Chicago Film Critics Association	2006	Best Actor	The Last King of Scotland	Won	[60]
Christopher Award	2006	Television & Cable Award	Door to Door	Won	[61]
Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association	2006	Best Actor	The Last King of Scotland	Won	[62]
Deauville American Film Festival	1993	Best Director	Strapped	Nominated
Florida Film Critics Circle	2006	Best Actor	The Last King of Scotland	Won	[63]
Georgia Film Critics Association	2019	Best Ensemble	Black Panther	Nominated	[64]
Hollywood Film Awards	2006	Actor of the Year	The Last King of Scotland	Won	[65]
London Film Critics' Circle	2006	Actor of the Year		Won	[66]
Los Angeles Film Critics Association	2006	Best Actor		Won	[67]
National Society of Film Critics	2006			Won	[68]
New York Film Critics Circle	2006			Won	[69]
New York Film Critics Online	2006			Won	[70]
Online Film Critics Society	2006			Won	[71]
Santa Barbara International Film Festival	2007	American Riviera Award		Won	[72]
	2014	Excellence in Film Award	Himself	Won	[73]
Seattle Film Critics Society	2018	Best Ensemble	Black Panther	Nominated	[74]
St. Louis Film Critics Association	2006	Best Actor	The Last King of Scotland	Won	[75]
Toronto Film Critics Association	2006	Best Actor		Nominated	[76]
Vancouver Film Critics Circle	2006	Best Actor		Won	[77]
Washington DC Area Film Critics Association	2006	Best Actor		Won	[78]
	2018	Best Ensemble	Black Panther	Nominated	[79]