Michael Clarke Duncan
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| Michael Clarke Duncan | |||||||
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| Born | December 10, 1957 Chicago, Illinois |
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| Years active | 1995-present | ||||||
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Michael Clarke Duncan (born December 10, 1957) is an American actor, best known for his breakout role as John Coffey in The Green Mile, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe.
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Biography
Early life
Duncan was born in Chicago, Illinois and grew up in a single-parent household with his sister, Judy, and mother, Jean Duncan (a house cleaner), after his father left.[1][2] He always wanted to act, but had to drop out of the Communications program at Alcorn State University to support his family when his mother became ill. Duncan's large frame — 6 feet 5 inches and 315 lbs[3] — helped him in his jobs digging ditches for the People's Gas Company and being a bouncer at different Chicago clubs. On September 24, 2008, he appeared on Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. During his interview with Craig, Duncan admitted ("for the first time ever"-his words) that one of his many jobs had been a stripper "back in the day" and his stage name was Black Caesar.
In 1979, he participated in the Infamous Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey Park, home of the Chicago White Sox: he was among the first 100 people to run onto the field and he slid into third base. He also had a silver belt buckle stolen during the ensuing riot[4] and apparently stole one of Bill Melton's bats from the dugout.[5]
Career
Duncan took other security jobs while in Los Angeles while trying to get some acting work in commercials. During this time, worked as a bodyguard for celebrities like Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Jamie Foxx, LL Cool J, and Notorious B.I.G. all the while doing bit parts in television and films. A friend was covering for Duncan the night that Notorious B.I.G. was killed. This was the reason for Duncan to quit this line of work.[3] In 1998, Duncan was cast as Bear in the film Armageddon, where he struck up a friendship with castmate Bruce Willis. It was Bruce Willis' influence that helped him to get his breakout role as John Coffey in the Frank Darabont-directed, The Green Mile, a role which netted him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture.[6] [7]
Duncan then was a cast in a string of films that helped to establish him as a star: The Whole Nine Yards, Planet of the Apes, The Scorpion King (where he starred alongside his friend, The Rock), Daredevil (as The Kingpin) and The Island. Duncan has also provided his voice for a number of roles including Brother Bear, The Land Before Time XI: Invasion of the Tinysauruses, "Quiznos commercials", and the video games Demon Stone, SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs, The Suffering: Ties That Bind, Saints Row, and Soldier of Fortune, with his most recent role being God of War II, where he provides the voice of Atlas, the Titan condemned by Zeus to stand at the western edge of the earth and hold up the sky on his shoulders. He reprised his role as the Kingpin in Spider-Man: The New Animated Series.
In 2005, he starred in the film Sin City (again alongside Bruce Willis) as Manute, a powerful mobster. Duncan appeared in a minor role in the 2006 movie Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, and he voiced the role of the villain Massive in the Loonatics Unleashed. In 2006, he voiced the role of Numbuh 26 in the animated movie Codename: Kids Next Door: Operation ZERO. He reprised his role as the Kingpin on the MTV Spider-Man series. He has been announced for the role of Balrog in the upcoming Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li movie. He voiced the prison guard in Kung Fu Panda.
He has also guest starred in numerous television shows. He appeared in a Suite Life episode "Benchwarmers" as Zack's basketball coach, Coach Little. Duncan guest-starred in a first-season episode of CSI: NY alongside Gary Sinise.[citation needed] He appeared as "Colt" in the second-season premiere of Chuck, "Chuck Versus The First Date." [8]
Filmography
References
- ^ CNN - 'Green Mile''s giant has taken massive strides - December 10, 1999
- ^ USA WEEKEND Magazine
- ^ a b Michael Clarke Duncan - Biography
- ^ Zwecker, Bill. "Love may have bloomed again on set for 'Garden State' star." Chicago Sun-Times September 28, 2006 [1]
- ^ Caldarelli, Adam. "From the Cubicle." Chicago Tribune May 20, 2006 [2]
- ^ 'Green Miles giant has taken massive strides[[3]]
- ^ Awards for The Green Mile[[4]]
- ^ NBC's 'Chuck': Good-natured, not much adult appeal September 29, 2008 [[5]]
