Forest Whitaker
Lt. John Kavanaugh

Emmy winner Forest Whitaker joins the cast this season as Internal Affairs Division’s go-to guy, “Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh.”

Forest Whitaker is one of Hollywood’s most accomplished actors/directors/producers who has showcased his talents in a multitude of demanding and diverse roles.

Whitaker recently wrapped Fox Searchlight’s The Last King of Scotland, where he plays the president of Uganda, Idi Amin. The film A Little Trip to Heaven, in which he co-starred with Julia Stiles, debuted at the 2005 Toronto Film Festival. He also recently completed production on the independent film Even Money, co-starring with Danny DeVito and Kim Basinger.

In 2003, Whitaker starred opposite Colin Farrell in Joel Schumacher’s Phone Booth for Twentieth Century Fox and received an NAACP Image award nomination for his performance. Last year, Whitaker appeared to critical acclaim opposite Ossie Davis in the Showtime original film Deacons of Defense, a docudrama about a secretive blach militia group in the 1960’s, and received another NAACP Image Award nomination as well as a Screen actors Guild Award nomination.

Whitaker won an Emmy for producing TNT’s Door to Door starring Bill Macy, under his multimedia company, Spirit Dance Entertainment. Additionally, this TV film was nominated for two Golden Globes and was also honored by the American Film Institute. In 2001 Whitaker starred in and executive produced the TV mini-series Feast of All Saints, which won an Emmy and was nominated in two other categories. Whitaker was also the consulting producer and host of the high profile remake of the television series The Twilight Zone, occupying the esteemed position originated by Rod Sterling. Before that, he starred in and executive produced under his Spirit Dance banner the feature Green Dragon, which won the Humanitas Award in addition to the Audience Award at the South By Southwest Film Festival.

In 1988, Whitaker was named Best Actor at The Cannes Film Festival and received a Golden Globe nomination for his brilliant portrayal of jazz legend “Charlie Parker” in Clint Eastwood’s Bird. Whitaker earned widespread recognition for his performance as “Jody,” the hostage British soldier in Neil Jordan’s Academy Award winning film The Crying Game. On television, he starred in the HBO presentation Criminal Justice, for which he earned a Cable ace Award nomination, and The Enemy Within for which he received a Screen Actor’s Guild nomination.

In 2000, Whitaker played the title role of a spiritual ganger in Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai directed by Jim Jarmusch. The film was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature and its soundtrack was a co-venture with Whitaker’s own company Spirit Dance Entertainment.

Whitaker’s other acting credits include The Panic Room for director David Fincher, opposite Jodie Foster; Light It Up; Phenomenon, opposite John Travolta; Robert Altman’s Ready to Wear; Platoon; Good Morning Vietnam; The Color of Money; and Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

Whitaker made his feature film directing debut with the critically acclaimed, box-office hit Waiting to Exhale for Twentieth Century Fox, starring Angela Bassett, Whitney Houston, Lela Rochon and Loretta Devine. He first gained recognition as a director for his debut film, the 1993 HBO Original Strapped, for which he received Best New Director, honors at the Toronto Film Festival. In 1998 he directed Hope Floats, starring Sandra Bullock. He also acted as executive producer on each of these films’ multi-platinum soundtracks that sold over 12 million copies collectively and earned a combined total of 14 Grammy nominations. One of his latest directorial projects was the romantic comedy entitled First Daughter, starring Katie Holmes, Michael Keaton, and Marc Blucas for New Regency.

Whitaker’s multimedia company, Spirit Dance Entertainment, includes film, television and music production and is both US and UK based. Spirit Dance in London, SD4UK, works with mentoring black and Asian filmmakers. In 2003, Whitaker became Executive Director of the Nodance Film Festival, a festival that celebrates the alternative digital film culture with an emphasis on first-time filmmakers and digital filmmaking. Previously held annually in Park City, Utah, Nodance holds the distinction of being the world’s first DVD-projected film festival and is currently moving to Los Angels.

Whitaker works closely with a number of charitable organizations. He serves as an Honorary Board Member for Penny Lane, an organization that provides assistance to abused teenagers. He is also involved with 4-D All-Stars, a motivational mentor program for teenagers as well as The Watts Cinema Project.

He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and children.