Michael Clarke Duncan Biography

Quick Facts

NAME: Michael Clarke Duncan
OCCUPATION: Film Actor
BIRTH DATE: December 10, 1957 (Age: 54)
EDUCATION: Alcorn State University
PLACE OF BIRTH: Chicago, Illinois

ZODIAC SIGN: Sagittarius

more about Michael

Best Known For

Michael Clarke Duncan is an African-American actor best known for his role in The Green Mile.

Print Cite This

Michael Clarke Duncan

APA Style

Michael Clarke Duncan. (2012). Biography.com. Retrieved 09:16, May 23, 2012 from http://www.biography.com/people/michael-clarke-duncan-9542283

Harvard Style

Michael Clarke Duncan [Internet]. 2012. http://www.biography.com/people/michael-clarke-duncan-9542283, May 23

MLA Style

" Michael Clarke Duncan." 2012. Biography.com 23 May 2012, 09:16 http://www.biography.com/people/michael-clarke-duncan-9542283

MHRA Style

' Michael Clarke Duncan', Biography.com,(2012) http://www.biography.com/people/michael-clarke-duncan-9542283 [accessed May 23, 2012]

Chicago Style

" Michael Clarke Duncan," Biography.com, http://www.biography.com/people/michael-clarke-duncan-9542283 (accessed May 23, 2012).

CBE/CSE Style

Michael Clarke Duncan [Internet]. Biography.com; 2012 [cited 2012 May 23]. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/michael-clarke-duncan-9542283.

Bluebook Style

Michael Clarke Duncan, http://www.biography.com/people/michael-clarke-duncan-9542283 (last visited May 23, 2012).

AMA Style

Michael Clarke Duncan, http://www.biography.com/people/michael-clarke-duncan-9542283 (last visited May 23, 2012).

Synopsis

Michael Clarke Duncan was born on December 10, 1957 in Chicago, Illinois. Duncan dropped out of college and worked security jobs for clients including actors Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. Encouraged by his mother to pursue acting,

he made his big-screen debut in the comedy hit Friday and made numerous TV appearances as a tough guy. Duncan's role in The Green Mile earned him an Oscar nomination.

Profile

Actor. Born December 10, 1957, in Chicago, Illinois. Raised on Chicago??s South Side by his mother, Jean, Duncan studied communications at Alcorn State University in Mississippi. He dropped out and returned to Chicago, working as a ditch digger for a gas company and moonlighting as a bouncer in various South Side nightclubs. He eventually landed a security position with a touring stage company production of Beauty Shop, Part 2. After touring 56 cities with the company, Duncan settled in Los Angeles in 1995, where he again supported himself by working security jobs for clients including actors Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. Encouraged by his mother to pursue acting, Duncan obtained an agent and made his acting debut, as a drill sergeant on a beer commercial. After a number of regional and national TV spots, Duncan made his big-screen debut in a walk-on role in the comedy hit Friday (1995).

As a 6-foot-5-inch African-American man weighing over 300 pounds, Duncan found himself typecast in the role of bouncer or "tough guy" in television appearances-The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, The Jamie Foxx Show, Married: with Children, and The Bold and the Beautiful-and in films, including Warren Beatty's Bulworth and A Night at the Roxbury (both 1998). He gained notice in 1998 for his performance as Bear, a member of the motley crew of astronauts led by Bruce Willis in the action blockbuster Armageddon.

It was reportedly Willis who recommended him to director Frank Darabont, who cast Duncan in his film adaptation of Stephen King??s serial novel, The Green Mile (1999), starring Tom Hanks. As death-row inmate John Coffey, a massive but supremely gentle man imbued with supernatural healing powers, Duncan earned widespread critical acclaim, including an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He reunited with Willis in the little-seen Breakfast of Champions (1999) as well as in the comedy hit The Whole Nine Yards (2000).