John David Washington (born July 28, 1984) is an American actor and former American football running back. He shifted to an acting career like his father, Denzel Washington and mother, Pauletta Washington. In 2015, he started with the HBO comedy series Ballers and his role in BlacKkKlansman (2018) brought him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor. After seeing Washington's work in BlacKkKlansman, well-renowned director Christopher Nolan hand-picked him to anchor his thriller film Tenet (2020). Since then, Washington has also starred in Malcolm & Marie (2021), Amsterdam (2022) and The Creator (2023).