How big was Michael Clarke Duncan? The actor’s physique explained

Michael Clarke Duncan He had a physique that made him perfect for the strongman and powerful characters he played throughout his career. Getting destroyed for a role is common for Marvel actors these days, but many stars have maintained a superhero physique throughout their careers, providing them with a niche in the film and television industry. Michael Clarke Duncan used his size difference to separate himself from the pack when entering trials, leading to a successful, albeit very brief, career.

Duncan has had an exceptional career in film and television, beginning in 1995 when he had an uncredited appearance in Friday and appeared in episodes of four notable TV shows, including The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Married… with children. His debut came in the 1999 Stephen King adaptation The green mile as John Coffey, which earned him Oscar, Golden Globe and SAG nominations. Other notable performances included appearances on Talladega Nights and Sin Cityeach of whom utilized their impressive stature.

Michael Clarke Duncan was 6’5″ and 315 pounds

Duncan’s size led him to get physical jobs before his acting career

Michael Clarke Duncan was a physically imposing man, more like an NFL linebacker than an actor. Duncan checked in at 6′ 5″ and about 315 pounds during filming for The green mile through (The Baltimore sun). In the novel, Coffey is about 6 feet tall and 350 pounds, so Duncan, someone relatively close in size and also an incredible dramatic actor, was the perfect person for the role.

Duncan has always cut a surprisingly tall and broad figure, playing football in high school (via Chicago Tribune) and basketball briefly in college (via The Guardian). He also worked as a trench digger for a gas company (via CNN) and as security (via Biography), his large size makes him an easy hire for physical jobs.

His co-workers at the gas company used to tease him about his Hollywood dreams, calling him out while he was in a hole digging dirt:

“I would be about two meters below the surface of the Earth in this big net, removing all this dirt around it. They’d say, ‘Hey, Big Mike, Bruce Willis is on line two, he wants you to do a movie!’ And everyone would laugh.”

He said this laughing while sitting next to Willis in the Larry King livebecause they promoted The whole nine meters. Duncan’s size and deep voice were crucial to many of the characters he played in his career. The actor playing John Coffey must be frighteningly large, as this is a big reason why the town assumes, with little evidence, that he killed the girls.

Michael Clarke Duncan died of a heart attack aged 54

Duncan died a few months before his wedding

Sadly, Duncan passed away at the age of 54 due to a heart attack (via TMZ). On July 13, 2012, he was taken to a Los Angeles hospital after suffering cardiac arrest that morning. He was with his fiancée, Omarosa Manigault, whom he planned to marry in January 2013. Michael Clarke Duncan spent just over a month in the hospital before passing away on September 3, 2012 (via LA Times). From him The green mile costar Tom Hanks spoke at his funeral (via Vulture) praising a talented actor who left too soon.

Michael Clarke Duncan’s size played a role in most of his roles

Duncan balanced his imposing size with his range as an actor

With his Oscar-nominated breakout role in The green mileMichael Clarke Duncan quickly proved he was a legitimate actor with real talent. However, there was no escaping his size, and while the actor did a good job of escaping classification with a variety of roles, his imposing stature came into play with most of his characters. This can be seen in his prominent supporting role in Armageddonwhere he played the gentle giant of the crew of heroes, Bear.

It was through this role that Bruce Willis recommended Duncan to Frank Darabont for the role of John Coffey in The green mile. Obviously, this movie depended on his ability to outperform most of the actors, even if some of the movie’s tricks were thrown in to make him seem even bigger. From there, Duncan continued to use his size as a way to land some of his biggest roles.

He played the greatest of gorilla warriors, Attar, in Planet of the Apes and when Marvel struggled to find a fighter who could convincingly play the role of legendary big bad Kingpin in Recklessthey switched the character’s race to allow Duncan to take on the role. He even managed to play an imposing foil to Dwayne Johnson in The Scorpion Kingwhich is rare for any Hollywood tough guy. While his size was an advantage for many of these roles, Duncan always made sure his talent was still evident.

Which Michael Clarke Duncan Roles Were Not His Size

Some of the actor’s lesser-known roles didn’t focus on his formidable size

With an actor like Michael Clarke Duncan, despite the talents on display, it was sometimes difficult for audiences to ignore his impressive size. This meant that most of his roles, certainly the ones he was best known for, focused on the character’s size. However, there were some roles where this was not the case and Duncan was able to shine simply as an actor, although many of these films ended up being lesser-known projects in Duncan’s career.

The sports drama From the rough tells the story of Catana Starks, a former swimming coach who becomes a member of the Tennessee State Tigers men’s golf team. Duncan has a supporting role as a former athlete who gives wise advice to one of the main characters. It’s a role that allows Duncan to present himself as a kind and caring man. Likewise, the drama Redemption Road finds Duncan playing a kind-hearted man taking a struggling musician on a trip.

One of Duncan’s best films is Talladega Nightsthe hilarious sports comedy starring Will Ferrell as an obnoxious, arrogant NASCAR driver. Duncan gets the role of Lucius, the boss of Ricky Bobby’s crew. Lucius is a powerful man, but the film doesn’t rely on Duncan’s size for jokes, as many of his comedic roles do. Instead, he gets to stretch his comedic muscles, like in the scene where Lucius washes a car like a NASCAR pit.