Just days after sharing the stage with his good friend, Spike Lee at the 7th Annual Governor’s Award, The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced that two-time Oscar winner, Denzel Washington will be the 2016 recipient of the Cecil B. DeMille Award at this year’s 73rd Annual Golden Globe Awards in January.
“Washington’s long and storied career is earmarked by his countless roles in front and behind the camera,” said Hollywood Foreign Press Association president Lorenzo Soria in a statement.
The honor is given each year by the Hollywood Foreign Press to an individual “demonstrated outstanding achievement in film and television entertainment,” the HFPA states.
Washington last appeared in 2014’s box office success The Equalizer with Training Day director Antoine Fuqua. Washington teams with Fuqua again in the remake of The Magnificent Seven, due in September 2016.
Washington certainly fits the bill. The heir apparent to the legendary Sidney Poitier, Washington has amassed countless cinematic honors over his career spanning three decades including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globes Awards, five Black Reel Awards and 15 Image Awards. He will become only the third black recipient of the Cecil B. DeMille award in its 63-year history. The other two: Morgan Freeman in 2012 and, 30 years earlier, Sidney Poitier in 1982.