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Fruitvale Station (2013) - On July 21, Forest Whitaker returns to the silver screen not as an actor but as the producer of the greatly-anticipated film Fruitvale Station, about the questionable death of a young Black man at the hands of police. For the last 30 years, the Oscar-winning thespian has built a powerhouse Hollywood career. Here's a project-by-project look at Whitaker's on-screen evolution.  (Photos from left: Kevin Winter/Getty Images, The Weinstein Company)

Photo By Photos from left: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

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Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) - In this '80s teen classic, Forest Whitaker found his breakout role playing the brooding and intimidating high school football star Charles Jefferson. (Photo: Universal Pictures)

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Platoon (1986) - Mr. Whitaker was cast as sensitive soldier Big Harold in the Oscar winning drama Platoon about the horrors of the Vietnam war. Keith David and Johnny Depp also starred. (Photo: Hemdale Films)

Photo By Photo: Hemdale Films

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Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) - The following year, Forest landed in another film about Vietnam, this time the classic comedy Good Morning, Vietnam starring Robin Williams. Forest played Private First Class Edward Montesquieu Garlick. (Photo: Touchstone Pictures)

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Bird (1988) - Director Clint Eastwood handed Forest his first leading role, playing bebop jazz pioneer Charlie Parker in the biopic Bird. In the role of younger Charlie was Damon Whitaker, Forest's younger brother. (Photo: Warner Bros.)

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A Rage in Harlem (1991) - In A Rage in Harlem, based on a Chester Himes novel, Forest starred as the bashful Jackson, who is head-over-heels in love with Robin Givens' character Imabelle. (Photo: Miramax Fims)

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The Crying Game (1992) - Forest pushed the envelope of sexuality in The Crying Game. As British soldier Jody, who's held hostage by the Irish Republican Army, he convinces an IRA guard to look after his girlfriend who is actually a pre-op transsexual. (Photo: Palace Pictures)

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Jason's Lyric (1994) - Usually playing noble and gentle characters, Whitaker went against type in the romantic hood flick Jason's Lyric. Playing Allen Payne's alcoholic dad, movie-goers thought the actor was loving until he unleashed an explosion of abuse. (Photo: Jackson/McHenry Company)

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Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999) - Blending quiet nobility with a killer instinct, Forest played a secret mob assassin who religiously read (and followed) Hagakure: The Way of the Samurai. When his cover is discovered, he becomes dispensable... and the one trying to stay alive.  (Photo: Pandora Filmproduktion)

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Panic Room (2002) - As burglar Burnham in Panic Room, Forest leads a three-man team to break into a house to get a fortune. When he discovers there's a mom and daughter in a locked, fortified room watching him via a camera, Forest takes on the new goal of getting them first. (Photo: Columbia Pictures)

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American Gun (2005) - Forest was cast as a concerned, inner city school prinicipal in this story, which interwove three stories dealing with the results of gun use. Also in the cast were Donald Sutherland and Marcia Gay Harden.  (Photo: IFC Films)

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The Last King of Scotland (2006) - Forest took home a Best Actor Oscar in 2007 for his brilliantly played role as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland. Playing one of his several wives was Kerry Washington.  (Photo: Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Photo By Photo: Fox Searchlight Pictures

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The Great Debaters (2007) - Denzel Washington, who both starred in and directed this story about a Black college debate team in the '30s, cast Forest in the role of James Farmer Sr., the father of debater and future civil rights figure James Farmer Jr. The irony in this was the actor playing his son was named Denzel Whitaker.  (Photo: Harpo Films)

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Our Family Wedding (2010) - Returning to comedy, Forest lands the part of Brad Boyd, Lance Gross's father in Our Family Wedding. The cast includes Regina King, Carlos Mencia and Charlie Murphy.  (Photo: Scott Garfield/Fox Searchlight Pictures)

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The Butler (2013) - In Lee Daniels's much-anticipated drama, The Butler, Mr. Whitaker dons the role of Cecil Gaines, who served eight presidents as the White House's head butler from 1952 to 1986. Also starring will be Orpah Winfrey and Terrence Howard.  (Photo: The Weinstein Company)