John David Washington, son of Denzel Washington, first shunned Hollywood to build his own identity away from the shadow of his Oscar-winning father, and set his sights on the NFL.

After graduating, the 33 year old was signed by the St Louis Rams as an undrafted free agent but failed to make the opening day roster, before bouncing around the European and the United Football leagues until a torn Achilles tendon sidelined him for good. This forced Washington to return to his first passion - acting - and after nine auditions, he scored a tailor-made role as NFL player Ricky Jerret on the hit HBO series Ballers, starring Dwayne Johnson in the lead. Recently Washington landed his highest-profile gig yet and is set to be catapulted onto the world film stage as he heads to Cannes for the premiere of Spike Lee's crime dark comedy BlacKkKlansman, playing the real-life African American police officer in Colorado who infiltrated the local chapter of the Klu Klux Klan.