Forest Whitaker Trivia Quiz

Answer: Texas

Forest was born in Longview, Texas. His father Forest Whitaker jnr sold insurance, whilst his mother, Laura, taught special education. Forest was the second of four children, his siblings being Deborah, Kenn and Damon.

Answer: Palisades High School

Palisades was open to grades 9-12, where Forest learned through the art of speech lesson, to pick up his love of acting. It is said his first role was the lead in the Dylan Thomas play "Under Milk Wood".

Other notable former students that attended Palisades were: actor Jeff Bridges, singer/songwriter Susanna Hoffs, NBA player Steve Kerr, actress Jennifer Jason Leigh and Black Eyed Peas member will.i.am

Answer: Jay Schroeder

Whitaker was a very useful defensive tackle and was expected to go on to great things in the game. His heavy build was ideal for the position, and his pace was something he was very proud of. Forest follows the San Francisco 49ers and was often seen at games during the NFL season.

Schroeder was born in Wisconsin in 1961. He attended the Palisades school where he indeed teamed up with Forest. Whilst injury put paid to Forest's football career, Schroeder went on to star for UCLA and then was drafted to the Washington Redskins in the 1984 NFL draft (Round 3, pick 83). A Super Bowl ring was won (Super Bowl XXII) before he moved on to play for the Raiders, Bengals and Cardinals.

Answer: Opera as a tenor

A back injury ended the football career of Forest but, determined to do something worthwhile, Forest took up the offer to study opera and sing as a tenor. After graduating in 1982 he went to the Berkeley, California branch of the Drama Studio London, where I met him. The Ealing School was based next door to where I went to school and although unaware of what Forest would become, he was often around to join in the lunchtime kickabouts at the back of our respective education establishments.

Notably, Dame Judy Dench is the president of the Drama Studios, an establishment Academy Award nominee Emily Watson also attended.

Answer: The Color of Money

It was Forest's first accredited role. "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" (1982) was directed by Amy Heckerling and was a coming of age American teen movie. It was also the launching pad for a number of actors of which three would later go on to win Oscars -- the three are Nicolas Cage (1995 'Leaving Las Vegas'), Sean Penn (2003 'Mystic River') and of course Forest Whitaker (2006 'Last King of Scotland'). The three also appeared with Judge Reinhold ('Beverley Hills Cop' fame), Eric Stoltz, Anthony Edwards, and Jennifer Jason Leigh.

"The Color of Money" (1986) saw Forest appear as a pool player who competes with Paul Newman (Oscar winner for Best Actor in this film) and a young Tom Cruise. The film directed by Scorsese was adapted from the book by Walter Tevis.

Answer: Big Harold

Big Harold is a role Forest has stated as being one of his favourite roles. Part of the unit that spends its time getting drunk, stoned and listening to Motown, Harold befriends Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) and helps him to overcome the pain he is feeling in the field after a NVA (North Vietnamese Army) unit falls into an ambush. Gardner is killed and its here where Sgt. Barnes (Tom Berenger) gives his speech about being aware (and awake) whilst on duty. Big Harold loses his leg after an artillery pounding leads him into a NVA booby trap.

His character survives the war.

Answer: Pfc. Edward Garlick

This part really catapulted Forest into the psyche of many cinema goers. His friendly nature and backing of Adrian Cronaeur (Robin Williams) endears him to many. He introduces the madcap DJ to many of the radio station's staff and is there to persuade Cronaeur to take back the show after his suspension.

The memorable scene being when riding in an army jeep, traffic halts any further movement and Garlick spots two US Army trucks filled with G.I.'s. He then introduces Cronaeur to the troops and after a period of laughter and mickey-taking, Cronaeur understands what has to be done, the call is made "GOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING VIETNAAAAAAMMMM".

Answer: The Crying Game

A tough, hard hitting film, Forest plays the part of Jody, a captured British soldier and held prisoner by the Irish Republican Army (IRA). His girlfriend Dil (Jaye Davidson) plays her part really well and befriends and arguably falls in love with an IRA hit man called Fergus (Stephen Rea).

Not to spoil the film too much, Jody is ordered to be executed by Fergus, but through a number of twists, Fergus cannot carry out the order, but whilst escaping Jody is run over by a British army truck.

Answer: True

The 1994 film "Prêt-à-Porter" (Ready to Wear) takes a look at the Parisian fashion scene over a week long filming. Many of the cast were household names and due to its size and calibre, the film won the National Board of Review award for casting in 1994, the first of its kind. Here is a list at the hall of fame involved:

Forest Whitaker, Marcello Mastroianni, Sophia Loren, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Kim Basinger, Chiara Mastroianni, Stephen Rea, Anouk Aimée, Rupert Everett, Rossy de Palma, Tara Leon, Georgianna Robertson, Lili Taylor, Ute Lemper, Tom Novembre, Richard E. Grant, Anne Canovas, Julia Roberts, Tim Robbins, Lauren Bacall, Lyle Lovett, Tracey Ullman, Sally Kellerman, Linda Hunt, Teri Garr, Danny Aiello, Jean Rochefort, Michel Blanc, Harry Belafonte, Björk, Paolo Bulgari, Anello Capuano, Cher, Helena Christensen, David Copperfield, Sonia Rykiel, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Christian Lacroix, Issey Miyake, Susie Bick, Carla Bruni, Linda Evangelista, Roshumba Williams, Ève Salvail, Claudia Schiffer, Adriana Sklenaříková and Christy Turlington. Some cast that.

Answer: Empathetic

The film "Species" spawned (forgive the pun) three more films, but was easily the better of the four. Forest played the empathetic Dan Smithson who can use his telepathic skills to track down the beautiful Natasha Henstridge who plays Sil, the killer alien who needs to find a human mate to breed with and ultimately destroy the human race.

When she achieves her goal, she gives birth to a son, within hours of falling pregnant. The speed of the development shown has the baby grow into a boy of around six years within minutes, and it's Forest's part that hunts her down and ultimately has her and her offspring killed.