American actor Forest Whitaker is the recipient of more than 50 international acting performance awards, among them an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA and a New York Film Critics Circle Award for his portrayal of former Ugandan president Idi Amin in Kevin Macdonald’s The Last King of Scotland (2006). He also won the Best Actor Award at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival for his performance in Clint Eastwood’s Bird, and was given the Creative Achiever Award at the 2013 Abu Dhabi Film Festival. He played distinctive roles in more than 120 films and TV series; The Color of Money (1986) by Martin Scorsese, Platoon (1986) by Oliver Stone, The Crying Game (1992) by Neil Jordan and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999) by Jim Jarmusch. In addition to his outstanding repertoire as an actor, Whitaker is also the director of six feature and short films. Whitaker is committed to supporting humanitarian causes, and is the founder of the International Institute for Peace and the Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative. He is also a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Peace and Reconciliation, and a UNESCO Special Envoy working to combat poverty and hunger. He is the recipient of a Crystal Award from the 2017 World Economic Forum in Davos for his philanthropic efforts in youth empowerment.