Isaiah Washington

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Isaiah Washington

Birth name	Isaiah Washington IV
Born	August 3, 1963 (age 43) Houston, Texas, United States
Spouse(s)	Jenisa Marie Washington (14 February 1999 - present) 3 children
Notable roles	Dr. Preston Xavier Burke on Grey's Anatomy

Isaiah Washington IV (born August 3, 1963) is an American actor.

1 Biography
- 1.1 Early life
- 1.2 Career
2 Filmography
3 References
4 External link

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Washington was born in Houston, Texas, where his parents were residents in the Houston Heights community. His parents relocated to Missouri City, Texas around 1980, where he was one of the first graduates from Willowridge High School, Houston, in 1981. Washington has alluded to a challenging phase when he was younger, including an incident where, after a confrontation where he admits to 'popping off' at the wrong person, he was shot. He still bears a small scar from the bullet (right hip).^[1] Washington went on to serve in the United States Air Force and attended Howard University.

[edit] Career

Washington is perhaps best known for his role as Dr. Preston Xavier Burke on Grey's Anatomy, a portrayal that earned him a 2007 NAACP image award for Best Actor in a Drama series. Washington is featured in a central role in the show, and has been paired onscreen with Sandra Oh, who plays intern Cristina Yang. When Washington went to audition for Grey's Anatomy, it was originally for the role of Derek Shepherd, which ultimately went to Patrick Dempsey; Burke had originally been described as a nebbish, stout fortysomething man.

In the show's third season, Washington became a central figure in widely reported backstage controversies. In October 2006, news reports surfaced that Washington had grabbed co-star Patrick Dempsey by the throat. It was reported that the altercation was prompted by or related to Washington's use of a derogatory epithet toward costar T.R. Knight and his sexuality. Shortly after the details of the argument became public, Knight publicly disclosed that he is gay. The situation seemed somewhat resolved when Washington issued a statement, apologizing for his "unfortunate use of words during the recent incident on-set. The controversy later resurfaced when the cast appeared at the Golden Globes in January, 2007. After the show won Best Drama, Washington, in response to press queries as to any conflicts backstage, said that he had never referred to Knight as a faggot. Grey's Star Heigl presumably is angry that her costar denied using gay slurs against T.R. Knight. However, in an interview with Ellen Degeneres, Knight said that Washington had, in fact, used that particular epithet. After being rebuked by his studio, ABC's Touchstone Television, Washington again apologized for unnecessarily using the epithet and indicated that he has "asked for help" in "dealing with issues he obviously needs to examine within his own soul." On January 30, 2007, a source told People magazine that Washington was scheduled to return to the Grey's Anatomy set as early on that Thursday for the first time since entering counseling after making a homophobic slur. After being reprimanded by the network for his remarks, his future on the show remains unclear.