Duncan was born in Chicago and raised in a single-parent household with his sister Judy by his mother Jean Duncan a house cleaner after his father left. Duncan's large frameβ6 feet 5 inches cm and pounds kg βhelped him in his jobs digging ditches for Peoples Gas Company and as a bouncer at several Chicago clubs.
In , he participated in the Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey Park , home of the Chicago White Sox , where he was among the first people to run onto the field and slide into third base. During the ensuing riot, his silver belt buckle was stolen [ 7 ] while he was stealing a baseball bat from the dugout. Duncan took various security jobs in Los Angeles while trying to get some acting and modelling work in commercials.
When rapper Notorious B. After having begun his career with several bit parts playing bouncers in films such as Bulworth and A Night at the Roxbury , Duncan came to prominence when he was cast as Bear in the blockbuster Michael Bay action film Armageddon During the production of the film, Duncan became friends with castmate Bruce Willis , and it was Willis' influence that helped him to get his breakout role as gentle giant John Coffey in the Frank Darabont film The Green Mile Following his role as Coffey, Duncan was then cast in a string of films that helped to establish him as an actor in both action and comedy roles: The Whole Nine Yards , See Spot Run , Planet of the Apes , The Scorpion King , Daredevil , and in the latter movie, he played Kingpin.
When Duncan was cast as Kingpin in , [ 12 ] he faced the dual challenge of portraying a typically white character, [ 13 ] [ 14 ] having to gain 40 pounds 18 kg to fit the character's large physique. In July , Duncan showed interest in returning for the role of Kingpin, but stated that he would not be willing to regain the weight that he had lost. Critic Roger Ebert praised Duncan for his performance in The Island , writing that '[Duncan] has only three or four scenes, but they're of central importance, and he brings true horror to them.
In addition to his film roles, Duncan guest-starred in numerous television shows. Most notably, in April , Duncan guest-starred on an episode of TV series Bones as Leo Knox which, in , led to Duncan's receiving his first starring role as the same character in the spinoff series The Finder. The Bones Season 8 episode " The Partners in the Divorce ", which aired three weeks after his death, was dedicated to him. During the week of May 14, , Duncan appeared as a guest on the late night talk show The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson when the show was taping for a week in Scotland.
