BEVERLY HILLS — For an actor who can fill the big screen with towering menace as brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin or a corrupt L.A. cop who's capable of killing his own colleagues, Forest Whitaker is a surprisingly gentle giant in the flesh.

During an exclusive interview with The Oklahoman in April to promote the film "Street Kings,” the man who won an Oscar for his tyrannical turn in "The Last King of Sc...