Really sad news this evening I’m afraid as Oscar nominated actor and all-round top bloke Michael Clarke Duncan has died aged 54. The news came from the Associated Press who reported that it was fiancée who broke the sad news.
Clarke Duncan was probably best known for his role as John Coffey (“like the drink only not spelt the same”) in the movie 1999 movie The Green Mile opposite Tom Hanks. The film is based on the Stephen King book and every single time I watch that movie, it’s Clarke Duncan’s performance that moves me to tears every single time. For this role, he was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.
He also starred in numerous other movies with some of the most high profile being Michael Bay’s Armageddon in 1998 opposite Bruce Willis (among many others) where he played the character of Bear and also in Daredevil where he played Kingpin.
I never got the chance to meet him but everyone who did is singing his praise as being an absolutely lovely man who loved what he did and was always a pleasure to be around.
RIP Michael Clarke Duncan, you shall be missed greatly and it makes me so sad that we’ll never see you in another movie.
Michael Clarke Duncan – 1957 – 2012.
Though there are many moments which spring to mind, mostly from The Green Mile, this was the one which I recalled first. It’s a small moment, it features Ben Affleck singing very badly and it’s by no means the highlight of anyone’s career but the smile on Bear’s face as he chimes in with the song gets me every time. (Jon)
[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3JWFklREK8′]
