The Green Mile

Background:

Michael Clarke Duncan grabbed public attention with his impressive portrayal of convict John Coffey in the box office adaptation of Stephen King’s The Green Mile (1999). Winning the hearts of audiences and critics, Duncan’s performance netted a Saturn Award, a Broadcast Film Critics Association Award and a Black Reel Award. He also received an Oscar, a Golden Globe, a Screen Actors Guild and a MTV Movie nomination. Since then, the huge-framed actor has taken roles in many popular films, including The Scorpion King (2002), Daredevil (2003), the popular series “CSI: NY” (2005), as well as Sin City (2005, portrayed Manute). Currently in demand, Duncan will be seen in several projects like the animated Delgo (2006), the biopic Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006) and the Sin City sequels, Sin City 2 (2007) and Sin City 3 (2008).

The sci-fi movie blockbuster Armageddon (1998) introduced Duncan to actor Bruce Willis. Willis reportedly recommended Duncan to The Green Mile’s director Frank Darabont. Duncan is also a good friend of The Rock, whom he also first met on a movie set.

The skilled actor, who once considered being a Los Angeles police officer, also tried out for a linebacker position (mid 1980s) with the Chicago Bears.


Big Mike

Childhood and Family:

Michael Clarke Duncan was born on December 10, 1957, in Chicago, Illinois. At the age of 5, his father left the family, leaving him and his sister Judith Duncan under the guidance of mother Jean Duncan. Michael received the nickname “Hollywood” and “Big Mike” from fellow workers.

Young Mike, who resisted drugs and alcohol, dropped out of high school and attended Kankakee Community College. He also took a Communications program at Alcorn State University in Mississippi, but later left the campus to take care of his mother, who was suffering from Lupus.

Mike’s 6’ 5”, 300-pound body frame helped him find jobs, especially jobs needing large men. He once dug ditches for a gas company, worked in security and was a bouncer at different Chicago clubs. Moving to Los Angeles, he worked as a bodyguard for celebrities like Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Jamie Foxx and LL Cool J, while finding some acting work in commercials.


Sin City

Career:

Michael Clarke Duncan made his first appearance on screen in the role of a drill sergeant in a beer ad. He made his movie debut with the unaccredited role of a craps player in the crime comedy Friday (1995) and debuted on the small screen with the guest role of Shaka in the drama action series “Renegade” (1995). Duncan was then seen in the series “Skwids” (1996, as a bodybuilder), the action movie Back in Business (1997, played the huge guard), and Bulworth (1998, as a bouncer).

Still in 1998, Duncan gained public attention in the Michael Bay-directed action adventure Armageddon, as Jayotis ‘Bear’ Kurleenbear. His big breakthrough screen role came when director Frank Darabont cast him to play John Coffey, a wrongly accused death row inmate, in the Stephen King’s adaptation of The Green Mile (1999). His impressive portrayal garnered him a Saturn, a Broadcast Film Critics Association and a Black Reel for Best Supporting Actor. For the same role, he earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor, as well as a Golden Globe, a Screen Actors Guild and a MTV Movie nomination for Best Actor.

The next year, Duncan re-teamed with Bruce Willis in the crime comedy The Whole Nine Yards, where he had the supporting role of Franklin ‘Frankie Figs’ Figueroa. He also costarred as Colonel Attar, alongside Mark Wahlberg and Tim Roth, in the remake of the sci-fi action Planet of the Apes (2001), before having his TV movie debut with the starring role of Coach Griffin in the biopic They Call Me Sirr (2001).

After a couple of videogame-character voicing jobs, the big actor provided his voice for Coach Webb in an episode of the animated comedy series “King of the Hill” (2002). Duncan then undertook the part of tribal leader Balthazar in The Scorpion King (2002), which featured The Rock and Kelly Hu. He was next seen as notorious Wilson Fisk/The Kingpin in Daredevil (2003). During 2004-2005, the actor was involved in even more projects, including the comedy action D.E.B.S. (2004), the made-for-TV animated sci-fi Crash Nebula (2004, as the voice of Rockwell), an installment of the popular series “CSI: NY” (2005), the sci-fi action The Island (2005,played Starkweather) and the adaptation of Frank Miller’s graphic novel Sin City (2005, portrayed Manute).

Recently, Duncan lent his voice for the animated character Massive, which appeared in three episodes of “Loonatics Unleashed” (2005, 2006). He will also provide the voices for The Wolf in the family comedy Air Buddies (2006) and Elder Marley in the animated Delgo (2006). In addition, Duncan is set to take part in Blaze (2006), the biopic Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006), Todd Phillips’ comedy School for Scoundrels (2006) and the family adventure Mimzy (2007). Following his upcoming effort with Michael Bay in Transformers (2007, as Officer Figueroa), Duncan is expected to reprise his role of Manute in Sin City 2 (2007) and Sin City 3 (2008, both directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez).


Awards:

- Black Reel: Theatrical - Best Supporting Actor, The Green Mile, 2000
- Broadcast Film Critics Association: Best Supporting Actor, The Green Mile, 2000
- Saturn: Best Supporting Actor, The Green Mile, 2000
- ShoWest: Male Star of Tomorrow, 2000