Isaiah Washington - Actor
Age: 62
Country: United States Occupations:
Actor
Isaiah Washington is an American actor and film producer born on August 3, 1963, in Houston, Texas.
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### 🎬 Career Highlights
* He has had a long and varied acting career across stage, television, and film, often playing a wide variety of roles including gangsters, cops, and surgeons.
Washington is well-known for his breakthrough role as *Dr. Preston Burke**, a brilliant and ambitious cardio-thoracic surgeon, on the ABC hit series, _Grey's Anatomy_ (2005–2007; 2014).
For his portrayal of Dr. Burke, he was honored with the 2007 *NAACP Image Award** for Best Actor in a Drama Series.
He collaborated with director *Spike Lee** on several films in the mid-1990s, including Crooklyn, Clockers, Girl 6, and Get on the Bus.
Other film appearances include Love Jones*, Out of Sight, Romeo Must Die, and Exit Wounds.
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### ✈️ Early Life and Education
After graduating from high school, Washington served for four years in the *U.S. Air Force**.
Following his military service, he moved to Washington, D.C., and studied drama at *Howard University**.
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### 📰 Public Controversy
Washington's time on Grey's Anatomy* was marked by a public controversy regarding the use of an anti-gay slur during an on-set disagreement with a costar in 2006, reportedly in reference to another costar.
He later apologized for using the word, but the incident led to his eventual *dismissal** from the show.
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### 🌍 Humanitarian and Ancestral Work
A genealogical DNA test revealed that Washington's maternal ancestors can be traced to *Sierra Leone**, West Africa.
He has established a *charity** to benefit the people of Sierra Leone, providing public health materials and constructing a school.
He was granted *Sierra Leonean citizenship** and vested with a chieftaincy title from the Mende people.