Michael Clarke Duncan: This death shocked the world. He was only 54 years old

Michael Clarke Duncan Born December 10, 1957. He came from a poor Chicago family. In order to help his single and ailing mother, he had to abandon his studies and go into business. He had a variety of jobs, including digging trenches and standing on “targets” for Chicago clubs. In the late 90s, as a bodyguard, he took care of the safety of such stars as: will SmithAnd the Martin LawrenceAnd the Jamie Foxxand LL Cool J and Notorious B.I.G. After the latter’s murder, he quits his job as a security guard and begins appearing in commercials. This opened the way for him to pursue a career in Hollywood.

Duncan primarily attracted attention with his height (196 cm) and massive figure. But it was his acting that made him successful. In Hollywood, he has been described as a “giant with a big heart and a likable personality”.

Clark Duncan played her first major role in a movie “Catastrophe” (1998). Produce Michael Bay It was a huge commercial success and contributed to the development of the careers of several previously unknown actors, including Duncan.

“It was a bad first day on set. I remember him looking at it Ben Affleck Convinced that we will certainly have to fire him. But I said to him: Mike, I hired you, I want a nice actor that I met at the audition. The audience will love you,” Michael Bay recalled years later.

On the set, the black artist made friends with Bruce WillisHe later worked with them on the following productions: “Sin City – Sin City”And the “Breakfast of Champions” if “How to bite 10 million”. Willis was reportedly included in the role of Duncan “green mile”…

Creativity in production Frank Darabont, based on the novel by Stephen King, turned out to be the pinnacle of Duncan’s acting achievement. Duncan’s portrayal of John Coffey, a kind-hearted giant with supernatural abilities who was innocently sentenced to death and awaiting execution, earned Duncan Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actor.

The period from 1998 to 2001 was the busiest period of Duncan’s career. In addition to the aforementioned films, he has also appeared in Amazing Planet of the Apes (2001) Tim Burton. At that time, the actor also started working on anime production, and his powerful voice was great for dubbing.

Duncan was also remembered by viewers for his role as Wilson Fisk / Kingpin in the film adaptation of the comic book. “reckless” (2003). Movie Brand Stephen Johnson Although it earned close to $180 million, it did not get very positive reviews from critics. Unlike Duncan’s role, which was one of the few advantages of the production.

After “Armageddon”, Bay cast Duncan in one of his upcoming films – “The island” (2003). The production tells about the inhabitants of a closed center who dream of moving to the place of the title – the only piece of land that has not been polluted.

In the following years, Duncan appeared in such productions as “Ricky Bobby – Speed ​​Demon” (2006), “School for Bastards” (2006), “Welcome Home Mr. Jenkins” (2008), and “Black, White and Blues”. (2010). However, none of them achieved the success of his previous films.

On September 3, 2012, sad news spread around the world. Michael Clarke Duncan’s death was announced by his partner, reality TV star Omarosa Manigault. He died in hospital after complications from a heart attack that lasted for two months. The actor was only 54 years old.

After the death of the black actor, he said: “The loss of Big Mike shocked me. He was a treasure. He was a magician. He was a loving man and his death leaves us with great sadness and shock.” Tom Hankswho starred with Duncan in The Green Mile.

Frank Darabont, creator of The Green Mile, was also devastated after Duncan’s death. “He was one of the best people I have ever known and worked with. Michael had a very tender heart – he was the epitome of decency, honesty and kindness. I feel unimaginably sad. The experience of working together on The Green Mile was incredibly engaging and like the trip of a lifetime.” What lingers in my mind is his commitment to his work and the progress he has made as an artist. There has never been an actor more deserving of an Oscar nomination than Michael for his role as John Coffee. Michael certainly left us too soon. We have lost a great man with great interior design,” the director wrote in statement.

The actor is also mentioned by Michael Bay. “I am really devastated to lose such a wonderful man. I gave him his first big movie role. And we found him in the gym. He cried at the first audition that he got the part in Michael and Jerry because he wanted my mum to be proud of him. We gave him the part,” he wrote. director on his website.

Armageddon star Bruce Willis also praised Duncan’s role. The actor told a reporter for E! News: “Michael Duncan was an amazing actor, gentleman and my dear friend. I will miss Big Mike so much.”