Oscar-nominated actor Michael Clarke Duncan has passed away at the age of 54, according to his fiancée Omarosa Stallworth and news reports on the wire. Duncan suffered a heart attack on July 13 and according to his publicist, he never fully recovered from it.
After a number of years doing television and small movie roles, Michael Clarke Duncan first got the attention of moviegoers when he was cast in the role of inmate John Coffey in Frank Darabont’s 2000 prison drama The Green Mile, giving a performance opposite Tom Hanks that would earn him an Oscar nomination at the age of 43.
From there, he was paired with Bruce Willis and Matt Perry in the 1999 comedy The Whole Nine Yards, which spawned the sequel The Whole Ten Yards, but the 6′ 5″ Clarke Duncan found most of his success appearing in genre films. From Tim Burton’s remake of Planet of the Apes to Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez’s Sin CIty, from playing the Kingpin in Daredevil to Michael Bay’s Armageddon and The Island andStreet Fighter: The Legend of Chu-Li, Clarke Duncan’s impressive size always made him a presence on the screen.
On top of that, the actor had an unmistakable voice that could be heard in numerous animated shows and films, including “Teen Titans,” Kung Fu Panda and providing the voice of Kilowog in the 2010 movie Green Lantern.
(Photo Credit: Adriana M. Barraza/WENN.com)
