Cynthia Baron is Professor of Theatre and Film at Bowling Green State University, USA. She is co-author of Reframing Screen Performance (2008) and Appetites and Anxieties: Food, Film, and the Politics of Representation (2014), co-editor of More Than a Method: Trends and Traditions in Contemporary Film Performance (2004), editor of The Projector: A Journal on Film, Media and Culture.

“Baron’s timely research allows readers to both consider the actor’s career and make sense of how his against all odds exalted status was achieved. … Cynthia Baron’s research is a useful addition to the British Film Institute series because it is a thorough discussion of an actor whose artistic achievements have transcended race even as some attempted to keep him shackled to it. Scholars, cultural critics, and fans alike should seek out Denzel Washington by any means necessary.” (Rob Prince Obey, Journal of Film and Video, Vol. 69 (1), 2017)

• Acknowledgments.- Introduction.- 1. Stardom and the Politics of Representation.- 2. After Blaxploitation, Before New Jack Cinema.- 3. Academy Award Winning Actor.- 4. One of America's Favourite Movie Stars.- 5. Blues Detectives.- Conclusion.- Notes.- References.- Filmography.- Index?.