Michael Clarke Duncan (December 10, 1957 â€" September 3, 2012) was an
American actor 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. He also appeared in motion
pictures such as Friday (1995), Armageddon (1998), The Whole Nine
Yards (2000), Planet of the Apes (2001), The Scorpion King (2002),
Daredevil (2003), Sin City (2005), and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of
Ricky Bobby (2006), and had voice roles in films such as Brother Bear
(2003), Kung Fu Panda (2008), and Green Lantern (2011), and as Leo
Knox in the TV series Bones (2011) and its spin-off series The Finder
(2012).Duncan was born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in a
single-parent household with his sister, Judy, and mother, Jean Duncan
(a house cleaner), after his father left. 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 frameâ€"6 feet 5 inches (196 cm) and 315 pounds (143
kg)â€"helped him in his jobs digging ditches for Peoples Gas Company
and being a bouncer at several Chicago clubs. Duncan also played
basketball at Kankakee Community College and for one season for the
Alcorn State Braves.
American actor 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. He also appeared in motion
pictures such as Friday (1995), Armageddon (1998), The Whole Nine
Yards (2000), Planet of the Apes (2001), The Scorpion King (2002),
Daredevil (2003), Sin City (2005), and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of
Ricky Bobby (2006), and had voice roles in films such as Brother Bear
(2003), Kung Fu Panda (2008), and Green Lantern (2011), and as Leo
Knox in the TV series Bones (2011) and its spin-off series The Finder
(2012).Duncan was born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in a
single-parent household with his sister, Judy, and mother, Jean Duncan
(a house cleaner), after his father left. 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 frameâ€"6 feet 5 inches (196 cm) and 315 pounds (143
kg)â€"helped him in his jobs digging ditches for Peoples Gas Company
and being a bouncer at several Chicago clubs. Duncan also played
basketball at Kankakee Community College and for one season for the
Alcorn State Braves.
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