John David Washington (born July 28, 1984) is an American actor and former football running back. He played college football at Morehouse College and signed with the St. Louis Rams as an undrafted free agent in 2006. Professionally, Washington spent four years as the running back for the United Football League's Sacramento Mountain Lions.
Washington shifted to an acting career like his father, Denzel Washington and mother, Pauletta Washington. He was part of the main cast of the HBO comedy series Ballers (2015–2019) and starred as Ron Stallworth in Spike Lee's crime film BlacKkKlansman (2018). For the latter, he received both Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations.
Washington was raised in the Toluca Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, the son of actor Denzel Washington and actress and singer Pauletta Washington (née Pearson); he is the oldest of their four children. At the age of seven, he appeared as a student in a Harlem classroom in Spike Lee's 1992 feature film Malcolm X, which starred Washington's father in the title role.