Frank Lucas

"See, you are what you are in this world. That's either one of two things: Either you're somebody, or you ain't nobody."

- Frank Lucas

Frank Lucas is the main protagonist and anti-hero of the 2007 movie American Gangster. In the prologue of the movie, he is depicted as the driver, bodyguard, and henchman of New York crime boss Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson. After Bumpy dies of a heart attack, Frank Lucas begins to start making his own drug empire in the vacuum left by Bumpy. His rise to power in unexpected due to his relatively low status in the criminal world. Despite this, he eventually becomes powerful enough to be considered "above" the Mafia. As the movie progresses, he becomes more and more enraged by the amount of people demanding payment, including the police. He is portrayed by Denzel Washington. Denzel Washington and the movie received and won numerous nominations for Academy Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, and Satellite Awards.