Winston Duke (born 15 November 1986) is a Tobagonian actor. He made his feature film debut in the role of M'Baku in ''

Black Panther A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been ...

'' (2018) and is best known for portraying the character in two films in the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published ...

. Duke was born in the village of Argyle,

Tobago Tobago () is an island and ward within the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located northeast of the larger island of Trinidad and about off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. It also lies to the southeast of Grenada. The offic ...

. With his sister and mother, Duke moved to

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

at age nine. After graduating from the

Yale School of Drama The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University is a graduate professional school of Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1924 as the Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts, the school provides training in e ...

with a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts ...

in acting in 2013, Duke had small roles in theatre productions and television shows such as ''

Person of Interest "Person of interest" is a term used by law enforcement in the United States, Canada, and other countries when identifying someone possibly involved in a criminal investigation who has not been arrested or formally accused of a crime. It has no le ...

'' and ''

Modern Family ''Modern Family'' is an American family sitcom television series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan for the American Broadcasting Company. It ran for 11 seasons, from September 23, 2009, to April 8, 2020. It follows the lives of th ...

''. He portrayed M'Baku in four

Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC (originally known as Marvel Films from 1993 to 1996) is an American film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of the Walt Disney Company. Marvel Studios produces the Ma ...

films and also starred in

Jordan Peele Jordan Haworth Peele (born February 21, 1979) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his film and television work in the comedy and horror genres. Peele's breakout role came in 2003, when he was hired as a cast membe ...

's horror film '' Us'' (2019). Duke's latest role was M'Baku in '' Black Panther: Wakanda Forever'' (2022).

Early life and education

Winston Duke was born in the village of Argyle,

in the country of

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

on 15 November 1986. He was raised by single mother Cora Pantin, a Tobagonian government worker and restaurant owner. As a child, Duke showed the restaurant's customers to their tables and learned how to "charm" strangers at an early age. When he was nine, his mother sold the restaurant and their possessions. Duke, Pantin and his older sister, Cindy, then moved to a studio apartment in

so that Cindy could attend medical school. Duke attended a public primary school in Crown Heights, and often frequented the local library and comic book store after school. He graduated from Brighton High School in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

in 2004. He attended the

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 18 ...

, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in theatre. He then moved on to

where he received a

in acting and graduated in 2013.

Career

2014–2016: Theatre and television roles

Duke started acting in theatre productions for

Portland Stage Company Portland Stage Company is a professional LORT (League of Resident Theaters) theater company in the state of Maine. Founded as the Profile Theatre in 1974 as a touring theater company, the company made Portland a permanent home in 1976. In 1982, it ...

and

Yale Repertory Theatre Yale Repertory Theatre at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut was founded by Robert Brustein, dean of Yale School of Drama, in 1966, with the goal of facilitating a meaningful collaboration between theatre professionals and talented stude ...

before being cast in ''

''. While at Yale, he befriended fellow actor

Lupita Nyong'o Lupita Amondi Nyong'o (, ; ; born 1 March 1983) is a Kenyan-Mexican actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award, and nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Tony Award. The daughter of Kenyan politi ...

, with whom he later starred in ''

'' and '' Us''. In 2012 Duke returned to his native Trinidad and Tobago to appear in the theatre production of ''An Echo in the Bone'' starring alongside actress Taromi Lourdes Joseph and directed by fellow Yale alumna Timmia Hearn Feldman. He was cast in small roles in television series, such as a football star who commits a hate crime in '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', a gang leader in ''Person of Interest'' and a football player in ''

''. Duke was aware of how his casting may have been influenced racially and by his height of 6 ft 5 in (1.95 m). In September 2016, Duke was cast in the role of M'Baku for the upcoming film ''Black Panther'' after

Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics * ...

tested several actors for the role, including

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (; born July 15, 1986) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Black Manta in the superhero films ''Aquaman'' (2018) and ''Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom'' (2023), Bobby Seale in the Netflix historical legal drama ' ...

2018–2022: Marvel Cinematic Universe and film roles

Duke has supporting roles in

's ''

'' (2018) and '' Avengers: Infinity War'' (2018) and a brief role '' Avengers: Endgame'' (2019) as M'Baku.

Wesley Morris Wesley Morris (born 1975) is an American film critic and podcast host. He is currently critic-at-large for '' The New York Times'', as well as co-host, with Jenna Wortham, of the ''New York Times'' podcast ''Still Processing.'' Previously, Mor ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' named his performance in ''Black Panther'' as one of the best in 2018, describing him as "funny, shameless ndimposing". In 2019, Duke starred in the blockbuster

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, ap ...

'' Us'', directed by

. In October 2019, Duke signed on to headline in the upcoming

Apple TV+ Apple TV+ is an American subscription streaming service owned and operated by Apple Inc. Launched on November 1, 2019, it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service was announced ...

drama series '' Swagger'', but was replaced by O'Shea Jackson Jr. due to an injury suffered on-set in February 2020. In September, Duke was named Actor of the Year by GQ Australia. He starred in ''

Nine Days Nine Days (stylized as ''ninedays'') is an American rock band from Long Island, New York. It was formed in 1994 by John Hampson and Brian Desveaux, and released three independent albums in the 1990s before their mainstream debut album, '' The M ...

'' (2020), directed by Edson Oda, as a manager who interviews unborn souls and selects them to live on Earth. In March 2020, he starred alongside

Mark Wahlberg Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971), former stage name Marky Mark, is an American actor, businessman, and former rapper. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Mark Wahlberg, multiple accolades, including a B ...

in the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

thriller ''

Spenser Confidential ''Spenser Confidential'' is a 2020 American action comedy film directed by Peter Berg and with a screenplay written by Sean O'Keefe and Brian Helgeland. The film stars Mark Wahlberg, Winston Duke, Alan Arkin, Iliza Shlesinger, Bokeem Woodbine, Do ...

''. On October 24, 2021, Duke received the Maverick Award at the

Newport Beach Film Festival The Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF) is an annual film festival in Newport Beach, California, typically held in late April. In 2022, it was announced that the festival have permanently changed its date to be held in October, as the festival beg ...

. It was reported in July 2021 that Duke would be playing Bruce Wayne/Batman in the

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active use ...

podcast audio drama ''

Batman Unburied ''Batman Unburied'' is an American superhero audio drama podcast series featuring the DC Comics hero Batman. It is the first of an intended series of Spotify-produced scripted podcasts based on DC's characters. In June 2022, the podcast w ...

'', which was released in 2022. Although Duke worried that backlash from fans about a Black actor playing Wayne would surface, his role was instead met with support and intrigue. Duke reprised his role as M'Baku in '' Black Panther: Wakanda Forever'' (2022). He appeared in the latest Savage X Fenty fashion show.

Future projects

In 2022, Duke was cast in the upcoming 2024 film ''The Fall Guy''.

Personal life

In October 2022, Duke's mother, with whom he was close, died at age 66. Duke mentioned about struggling with grief during the ''Wakanda Forever'' press tour. He does not have a relationship with his father. ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

'' described Duke as an "art fanatic". He is 6 ft 5 in (1.95 m) tall. As his mother had eleven siblings, Duke has a large extended family. His cousin is the Tobagonian politician and

Progressive Democratic Patriots The Progressive Democratic Patriots (PDP) is a political party in Trinidad and Tobago. Founded in 2016, it is currently the second-largest party in Tobagonian politics following the decline of the Tobago Organisation of the People. The party pla ...

leader Watson Duke.

Filmography

Film

Television

Audio

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Duke, Winston 21st-century Trinidad and Tobago male actors 1986 births American male film actors American male television actors Trinidad and Tobago emigrants to the United States Living people Male actors from Rochester, New York Trinidad and Tobago male film actors Trinidad and Tobago male television actors University at Buffalo alumni Yale School of Drama alumni Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners 21st-century Trinidad and Tobago actors