With his matinee idol looks and finely honed acting skills, the stage-trained Washington worked steadily in TV before emerging in the 1990s as one of Hollywood's elite society of bankable black film stars. He first received notice playing Dr. Phillip Chandler, an insecure young resident, on the well-regarded medical drama series, St. Elsewhere (NBC, 1982-88). Washington's film career, after an inauspicious debut as George Segal's illegitimate son in the inane comedy Carbon Copy (1981), was spurred by his riveting performance as the outspoken recruit in A Soldier's Story (1984). He garnered additional kudos playing the supporting role of South African activist Steven Biko in Cry Freedom (1987), resulting in his first Academy Award nomination.