This undated image provided by Warner Bros. shows Tom Hanks, left, Michael Clarke Duncan, center, and David Morse in “The Green Mile.” Duncan has died at the age of 54 on Monday, Sept. 3, 2012 in a Los Angeles hospital after nearly two months of treatment following a July 13, 2012 heart attack, his fiancee, the Rev. Omarosa Manigault, said. (AP Photo/Warner Bros., Ralph Nelson)CHRISTY LEMIRE
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Michael Clarke Duncan was one big, irresistible jumble of contradictions.
His presence was formidable, even intimidating: The former bodyguard had a muscular, 6-foot-4 frame, but it was topped by the brightest of megawatt smiles.
His gravelly baritone was well-suited to everything from animated films to action spectacles, but no matter the role, a warmth and a sweetness was always evident underneath.
The prolific character actor, whose dozens of movies included an Oscar-nominated performance as a death row inmate in “The Green Mile” and box office hits including “Armageddon,” ”Planet of the Apes” and “Kung Fu Panda,” died Monday at age 54. And although he only turned to acting in his 30s, it’s clear from the outpouring of prayers and remembrances he received across the Hollywood and sports worlds that his gentle-giant persona made him much-loved during that relatively brief time.