Raised by his single mother on Chicago's South Side, Michael grew up resisting drugs and alcohol, instead concentrating on school. He wanted to play football in high school, but his mother wouldn't let him, fearing he would get hurt. He then turned to acting, dreaming of becoming a famous actor. After graduating from high school and attending community college, he worked digging ditches at Peoples Gas Company in Chicago. When he quit his job and headed to Hollywood, he landed small roles while working as a bodyguard. Michael's role in the movie Armageddon led to his breakthrough performance in The Green Mile, when his Armageddon co-star Bruce Willis called director Frank Darabont, suggesting Michael for the part of convict John Coffey. He landed the role, receiving critical acclaim for his performance.
Supposedly gives five dollars to anyone who recognizes him on the street and knows what his full name is. Considered becoming a police officer with the LAPD, which was revealed during an interview on Live with Regis. Attended Alcorn State University in Mississippi, but dropped out to support his family when his mother became ill. Has an older sister, Judith. Worked as a security guard for a theatre troupe. Played basketball at Kankakee Community College. After college, spent several years digging ditches for the gas company in Chicago. Did bodyguard work for Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Jamie Foxx, LL Cool J, and Notorious B.I.G.; he let a friend take over for him the night Notorious B.I.G. got shot, which prompted him to quit that line of work. For his role as the criminal mastermind behemoth Kingpin in Daredevil, Clarke put on 40 lbs. to his already largely built physique. While filming The Scorpion King, was accidentally hit by The Rock during a fight sequence. He leaned in too far for a hit, and his chin connected with The Rock's elbow. He's played characters related to animals. He played a guy named Bear in Armageddon, he voiced a dog Sam in Cats & Dogs, and played Colonel Attar, a gorilla, in Planet of the Apes. He also played a grizzly in Disney's Brother Bear. He tried out for the Chicago Bears in the mid 1980s. He wanted to try out at for one of the linebacker postions, but the coaches chose to see how he would be perform at Tightend. Has appeared in 4 films with Bruce Willis: Armageddon (1998), Breakfast Of Champions (1999), The Whole Nine Yards (2000), Sin City (2005) Narrates the 2005 Major League Baseball World Series Film, featuring the 2005 World Champion Chicago White Sox. Ran onto the field and slid into third base during the Disco Demolition Night fiasco at Comiskey Park on July 12, 1979. His Daredevil character, Wilson Fisk/Kingpin, first appeared as an enemy of Spiderman until Frank Miller made him a major enemy of Daredevil. Duncan has played him opposite both characters, and as both a white man (in the animated Spiderman television series) and a black man (in the live-action film Daredevil).