Welcome to 5 Favorites. Each week, I will put together a list of my 5 favorites (films, performances, whatever strikes my fancy) along with commentary on a given topic each week, usually in relation to a specific film releasing that week.

Among actors, Forrest Whitaker is a regular treasure. He’s a hardworking, generous actor who has delivered some great performances in films that some may never see. He’s also an Oscar winner who took the prize for one of this week’s covered films. Whitaker has a supporting role in this week’s Aretha Franklin biopic, Respect. Jennifer Hudson stars and while the film is releasing wide, it will unfortunately be little seen on the big screen without ample support from critics. Now, here are my five favorite films featuring Whitaker.

Good Morning Vietnam (1987)

If you’ve seen this 1987 war comedy, you probably don’t remember Forrest Whitaker in it. That’s not because he’s not good, which he always is, but because the film is so heavily dominated by star Robin Williams. Williams is so dominant, in fact, that as much as you try, you probably won’t remember much more about the film than his performance. The film centers around an Army serviceman (Williams) who is assigned to a Saigon armed forces radio station where he plays rock-n-roll music and tells sensational jokes to the enlisted men’s excitement.

The politics of the film are watered down compared to then more recent works like Platoon, but it is not without its sermonizing moments, namely a late-film rebuke of US action in Vietnam by an “enemy” of the US military who had befriended Williams’ character. Whitaker is, as always, dependable in a role that puts him alongside Williams for prominent moments in the film. Williams deservedly scored an Oscar nomination for the performance, though no one else in the cast did.

The Crying Game (1992)

In Neil Jordan’s The Crying Game, Whitaker is given another supporting role, but it is an important one. The film tells the tale of an Irish Republican Army (IRA) cell who kidnaps British soldier Jody (Whitaker), holding him hostage as a bargaining chip to exchange for one of their imprisoned leaders. While watching over Jody, Fergus (Stephen Rea) bonds with him and agrees to seek out his girlfriend Dil (Jaye Davidson), who is working as a hairdresser, should anything happen to him.

Fergus is initially attracted to Dil, but a mid-film revelation leads to his reticence. Meanwhile, his IRA cell wants him to carry out an assassination on a British judge, but is prevented from doing so by Dil. His fellow cell members Jude (Miranda Richardson) and Maguire (Adrian Dunbar) carry out the assassination, but Maguire is grievously wounded sending Jude on a revenge mission against Fergus. All of the actors in the film are terrific with Rea, Davidson, and Richardson all delivering Oscar-caliber work. All three would be nominated for Academy awards that year (Richardson was nominated for Damage instead), though none of them would win. While Whitaker is only in the film early on, his presence is felt through the rest of the film, a testament to his performance.

The Last King of Scotland (2006)

In what will likely go down as one of his greatest roles, Forest Whitaker won his Oscar for playing Idi Amin, the ruthless Ugandan dictator in Kevin Macdonald’s film adaptation of Giles Foden’s novel. The film is ostensibly about an idealistic young Scottish doctor (James McAvoy) who finds few opportunities after medical school and devotes his life to helping the less fortunate in Uganda. There, he meets Amin who he believes will one day bring peace to the African nation.

Whitaker is chilling in this film, portraying the charismatic gravitas of Amin and bringing a surprising humanity to a figure whose actions, once revealed to the world, were among the most evil and heinous in modern history. He was also a supporting character in the film to McAvoy’s doctor, but ended up winning in lead category at the Oscars. While the titular Last King of Scotland is a nom de guerre Amin adopts for himself, the film is about McAvoy learning more about the atrocities being inflicted on the Ugandan people and who barely escapes with his life to inform the West of the horrors that are going on. Whitaker undeniably delivers a great performance, as does McAvoy and the rest of a prominent cast, including Gillian Anderson, Kerry Washington, and David Oyelowo, the latter two of whom had yet to break out with American audiences.

Where the Wild Things Are (2009)

Maurice Sendak’s acclaimed children’s novel is turned into a mesmerizing fantasy adventure directed by Spike Jonze from his own screenplay co-written with Dave Eggers. The film follows a young boy of divorced parents who feels his life’s adrift and finds refuge and friendship in a fictional world of his imagination. A live-action treatment of the film didn’t always seem like the way to go, but the end result is one of imaginative beauty and creative energy.

Forest Whitaker appears in the film in a minor role as one of the Wild Things of the title. His isn’t one of the primary characters interacting most frequently with our lead character Max, making this one of his most limited roles ever. Although he ultimately only provides the voice for Ira and not the physical presence, akin to James Earl Jones’ vocal work in Star Wars, it’s still one of the most memorable films he’s ever been in. Throw in the fascinating setting details and a wondrous score by Karen O, and you have one of the most compelling and involving children’s films made in the last couple of decades.

Black Panther (2018)

Of all the Marvel Cinematic Universe films that have been released, this is not only one of the most creatively forward-thinking, it’s also one of the most dynamic, inventive, and compelling films in the franchise. Introduced in earlier films, the character of T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman), who operates under the guise of the titular Black Panther, comes to lead the secretive African nation of Wakanda, but another (Michael B. Jordan) thinks that it’s time Wakanda step out from the shadows and claim its dominance on a world stage. A plot unwinds that would see Jordan’s Killmonger take over the nation and lead them to certain ruin as a warlike nation.

Black Panther features a bountiful array of prominent Black actors including Oscar winners Forest Whitaker and Lupita Nyong’o, Oscar nominees Angela Bassett, Jordan, future Oscar winner Daniel Kaluuya, and a mix of newer names like Danai Gurira, Boseman, Letitia Wright, and Winston Duke. Boseman provides a solid anchor for a tremendous cast that are working well beyond what a superhero film should allow. Their stellar performances are supported ably by Ryan Coogler’s tremendous talents behind the camera along with resplendent costumes and sets and superb cinematography. Whitaker contributes a small, but pivotal role to the film as Zuri, one of T’Challa’s spiritual advisors who provides a link to his Black Panther’s father’s past.