Biography

Standing 6'5" and weighing over 300 pounds, African American actor Michael Clarke Duncan inarguably possesses one of Hollywood's more unforgettable figures. A former bodyguard and bouncer, Duncan first gained attention when he appeared as one of a group of oil drillers sent to stop an asteroid from annihilating the Earth in the 1998 blockbuster Armageddon. A year later, Duncan's career got another significant boost when the actor earned lavish critical plaudits for his portrayal of a wrongfully convicted death row inmate in The Green Mile.

Born in Chicago on December 10, 1957, Duncan was raised on the city's south side by his single mother. A serious student, Duncan decided that he wanted to play football in high school; after his mother refused to let him, fearing he would get hurt, he developed an interest in acting instead. Following his graduation from high school, the aspiring actor studied communications at Mississippi's Alcorn State University. His studies were cut short when he returned to Chicago to attend to his mother, who had fallen ill. He subsequently found work digging ditches with the Peoples Gas Company and moonlighted as a club bouncer. His work led to a chance encounter with a stage producer who hired him as a security guard for a traveling theatre company, which eventually brought Duncan to Hollywood.

Upon his arrival in L.A., Duncan, who was hovering dangerously close to bankruptcy, secured further work as a security guard and found his first agent. He got his professional start on television, appearing in commercials, sitcoms, and on the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. He started his film career playing -- surprisingly enough -- bouncers in such films as The Players Club and Bulworth (both 1998), finally getting his big break -- and the first role that didn't require him to boot people out of clubs -- in Armageddon.

Thanks to the great commercial success of Armageddon, Duncan was able to find subsequent employment in a number of productions, most notably The Green Mile. He earned overwhelmingly strong reviews for his portrayal of doomed, saintly John Coffey, a man whose conviction for a brutal double murder seems at odds with his exceedingly gentle, almost child-like demeanor. Duncan garnered Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe and Oscar nominations for his work in the film. He next switched genre gears, re-teaming with Armageddon co-star Bruce Willis to star in the comedy The Whole Nine Yards, which cast him a brutish thug who terrorizes mild-mannered dentist Matthew Perry. ~ Rebecca Flint, All Movie Guide

Filmography

George and the Dragon (2003) .... Tarik
Daredevil (2003) .... The Kingpin (Wilson Fisk)
"Spider-Man: The Animated Series" (2002) TV Series (voice) .... Wilson Fisk/the Kingpin
AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Tom Hanks (2002) (TV) .... Himself
Scorpion King, The (2002) .... Balthazar
Hollywood Digital Diaries (2001) .... Himself
They Call Me Sirr (2001) (TV) .... Coach Griffin
Planet of the Apes (2001) .... Colonel Attar
Cats & Dogs (2001) (voice) .... Sam the Sheepdog
Immigrant Garden, The (2001) (as Michael Duncan) .... Quentin Lawrence
32nd NAACP Image Awards (2001) (TV) .... Himself
See Spot Run (2001) .... Murdoch
Soldier of Fortune (2000) (VG) (voice) .... Hawk
2000 MTV Movie Awards (2000) (TV) (as Michael Duncan Clarke) .... Himself
Wrestlemania 2000 (2000) (V) .... Himself
... aka WWF Wrestlemania XVI (2000) (V) (USA)
... aka Wrestlemania XVI (2000) (V) (USA)
Whole Nine Yards, The (2000) .... Franklin Figueroa (A.K.A. Frankie Figs)
... aka Nouveau voisin, Le (2000) (Canada: French title)
Underground Comedy Movie, The (1999) .... Gay Virgin
Green Mile, The (1999) .... John Coffey
... aka Stephen King's The Green Mile (1999) (USA: complete title)
Miracle of the Green Mile, The (1999) (TV) .... Himself
Breakfast of Champions (1999) (as Michael Duncan) .... Eli, Inmate at Sheperdstown Correctional Facility
Night at the Roxbury, A (1998) (as Michael 'Big Mike' Duncan) .... Roxbury Bouncer
Armageddon (1998) .... Jayotis 'Bear' Kurleenbear
Bulworth (1998) .... Bouncer
Players Club, The (1998) .... Bodyguard
Caught Up (1998) .... BB
Back in Business (1997) .... Huge Guard
... aka Heart of Stone (1997) (USA)
"Skwids" (1996) TV Series .... Body Builder
Friday (1995) (uncredited) .... Craps Player
"Bold and the Beautiful, The" (1987) TV Series .... Slash (1992-1994)
... aka "Belleza y poder" (1987) (USA: Spanish title)
... aka "Glamour" (1987)