Michael Clarke Duncan Biography

Fast Facts

• Named Male Star of Tomorrow at the 2000 ShoWest Convention
• Won numerous awards in 2000 for his supporting performance in "The Green Mile," including a Saturn Award, a Black Reel award and a Critics Choice Award
• While pursuing acting in Los Angeles, he worked as a bodyguard for several entertainment figures, including Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Jamie Foxx and LL Cool J
• Studied communications at Alcorn State University, but dropped out to support his mother when she fell ill, digging ditches for a gas company during the day and working as a bouncer at night
• Quote: "I tell people, 'It's just like a cliché, but it's true: In Hollywood, dreams can come true․'"
• His towering build and booming voice made him a popular choice as a supporting actor and as a voice actor
• Often typecast as bouncers and bodyguards early on, he delivered a career-changing performance in "The Green Mile" as a gentle giant with strange powers convicted of killing and raping two young girls
• Converted to vegetarianism in 2009 and made an animal rights film for PETA later that year about his conversion to veganism
• Died early due to complications that followed a heart attack
• While working as personal security for the producer of the touring stage show "Beauty Shop, Part 2," he often asked to be a part of the play and was always refused