A Week Since: R.I.P Michael Clarke Duncan

Michael Clarke Duncan was the gentle giant we took to our hearts after his star turn in Stephen King’s The Green Mile. News of his passing has saddened movie goers all over the globe.

Born December 10 1957, it took a while for the 6ft 5 actor to get his big break. Having previously been a bodyguard for various celebrities, he came to prominence when he was cast opposite Tom Hanks in 1999’s The Green Mile. His performance as John Coffey earned him both an Academy Award and Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor. His career had been kick started, and the offers came flooding in.

His distinctive vocal talents can be heard behind a mass of prosthetics in the 2001 remake of the classic Charlton Heston film, The Planet of the Apes. Duncan could easily transition between different genres. From comedy with Bruce Willis and Matthew Perry in The Whole Nine Yards, to comic book action as Kingpin in Daredevil. He later appeared in Frank Miller’s Sin City as Manute, further cementing his prowess at playing the quintessential comic book villain.

Bruce Willis, who starred with Duncan in three films, said “I will miss Big Mike in a big way.”

His vocal talents were readily utilized with video games such as Saints Row and God of War and then with animated vehicles Kung Fu Panda and Family Guy. Still Hollywood called upon the giant frame of Duncan. The Scorpion King with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, the Michael Bay action flick The Island and also the science fiction family film, The Last Mimzy.

Tom Hanks also paid a similar tribute: “He was the treasure we all discovered on the set of The Green Mile. He was magic. He was a big love of man and his passing leaves us stunned.”

On July 13 he was taken to hospital and placed in intensive care after suffering a heart attack. Reports had surfaced that his girlfriend Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth had performed life-saving CPR on the actor. He seemed to be on the road to recovery and was removed from intensive care on August 6. However, on September 3 2012, Duncan lost his fight for life. He died of natural causes.

 was the gentle giant we took to our hearts after his star turn in Stephen King’s The Green Mile. News of his passing has saddened movie goers all over the globe.

Born December 10 1957, it took a while for the 6ft 5 actor to get his big break. Having previously been a bodyguard for various celebrities, he came to prominence when he was cast opposite Tom Hanks in 1999’s The Green Mile. His performance as John Coffey earned him both an Academy Award and Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor. His career had been kick started, and the offers came flooding in.

His distinctive vocal talents can be heard behind a mass of prosthetics in the 2001 remake of the classic Charlton Heston film, The Planet of the Apes. Duncan could easily transition between different genres. From comedy with Bruce Willis and Matthew Perry in The Whole Nine Yards, to comic book action as Kingpin in Daredevil. He later appeared in Frank Miller’s Sin City as Manute, further cementing his prowess at playing the quintessential comic book villain.

Bruce Willis, who starred with Duncan in three films, said “I will miss Big Mike in a big way.”

His vocal talents were readily utilized with video games such as Saints Row and God of War and then with animated vehicles Kung Fu Panda and Family Guy. Still Hollywood called upon the giant frame of Duncan. The Scorpion King with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, the Michael Bay action flick The Island and also the science fiction family film, The Last Mimzy.

Tom Hanks also paid a similar tribute: “He was the treasure we all discovered on the set of The Green Mile. He was magic. He was a big love of man and his passing leaves us stunned.”

On July 13 he was taken to hospital and placed in intensive care after suffering a heart attack. Reports had surfaced that his girlfriend Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth had performed life-saving CPR on the actor. He seemed to be on the road to recovery and was removed from intensive care on August 6. However, on September 3 2012, Duncan lost his fight for life. He died of natural causes.