Michael Clarke Duncan (December 10, 1957, Chicago, Illinois, USA – September 3, 2012, Los Angeles, California, USA) was an American actor. He is best known for his breakout role as John Coffey in The Green Mile (1999), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and other honors, and for playing Kingpin in Daredevil and Spider-Man: The New Animated Series (both 2003). He also appeared in movies such as Armageddon (1998), The Whole Nine Yards (2000), Planet of the Apes (2001), The Scorpion King (2002), Sin City (2005), and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006), as well as in the role of Leo Knox in the television series Bones (2011) and its spin-off The Finder (2012); he also appeared in episodes of Two and a Half Men. He also had voice roles in films, including Brother Bear (2003), Kung Fu Panda (2008), and Green Lantern (2011); he had the voice role of Benjamin King in the video game Saints Row (2006).
Duncan was born in Chicago and raised in a single-parent household with his sister Judy by his mother Jean Duncan (a house cleaner) after his father left. When he was younger, he wanted to play football, and tried out for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL), but decided to become an actor instead, when his mother refused to let him play, fearing he would get injured. He always wanted to act, but had to drop out of the communication program at Alcorn State University to support his family when his mother became ill.
Duncan's large frame—6 feet 5 inches (196 cm) and 315 pounds (143 kg)—helped him in his jobs digging ditches for Peoples Gas Company and as a bouncer at several Chicago clubs. Duncan also played basketball at Kankakee Community College and for one season for the Alcorn State Braves.
In 1979, he participated in the Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey Park, home of the Chicago White Sox, where he was among the first 100 people to run onto the field and slide into third base. During the ensuing riot, his silver belt buckle was stolen while he was stealing a baseball bat from the dugout.
Duncan took various security jobs in Los Angeles while trying to get some acting and modelling work in commercials. During this time, he worked as a bodyguard for celebrities like Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Jamie Foxx, LL Cool J, and The Notorious B.I.G., all the while doing bit parts in television and films. When rapper Notorious B.I.G. was killed in 1997, Duncan quit the personal-protection business.
| Year | Image | Character | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 
|
Commandant Rhino | Kung Fu Panda |
| 2005 | 
|
Stinktooth | Dinotopia: Quest for the Ruby Sunstone |
| 2003 | 
|
Tug | Brother Bear |