There will never be another actor quite like Michael Clarke Duncan, the 6ft tall actor who made a name for himself in Hollywood by portraying giants. Duncan’s path to stardom began with none other than Michael Bay, who made him help Bruce Willis and friends blow up an asteroid using their oil drilling skills and good old American know-how in Armageddon.
Since then, Duncan has gone on to star in many different movies, including some cult hits and bona fide blockbusters. With that being said and in honor of this amazing actor’s legacy, here are Michael Clarke Duncan’s five best and five worst movies, according to Rotten Tomatoes.
BEST: Talladega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby (2006) – 71%
In Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Duncan’s character Lucius – Ricky Bobby’s pit boss – is quite possibly the only voice of reason. Though serious compared to everyone else, Lucius still had some great comic moments, particularly that time he yelled at Ricky not to put that evil in him.
Talladega Nights was praised for its cleverness, dry humor, and wicked satire of NASCAR culture and the faux machismo that permeates it – none of which could’ve been done without its stellar comic cast.
WORST: Cats & Dogs: The Revenge Of Kitty Galore (2010) – 13%
Aside from portraying gentle and cruel giants on film, Duncan is also known for his voice work. One example of this is his time in the Cats & Dogs movies, where he portrayed Sam: an Old English Sheepdog and veteran dog agent.
However, his role was all but reduced to a cameo in the sequel The Revenge of Kitty Galore. Here, he gets maybe five seconds of screen time and a single line of dialogue before disappearing from the movie. It’s worth noting that the first installment (where Sam had more to do) scored 53% on Rotten Tomatoes.
BEST: Bulworth (1998) – 76%
Before Armageddon turned him into a star, Duncan showed up in movies as an extra. One of his earlier roles is simply named “Bouncer,” which is what his thankless job was in Bulworth.
Bulworth tells the story of a world-weary senator who decides to end his life, but not before telling the public how he really feels about them and indulging in his gangster rap fantasies. Though released in 1998, Bulworth is a fun and biting satire that’s worth seeking out today.
WORST: Delgo (2008) – 12%
Another one of Duncan’s voice acting gigs was in the animated feature Delgo, which is also known as the lowest-grossing computer animated film of all time. It currently holds the second worst wide opening ever, bested only by The Oogieloves.
In Delgo, Duncan voiced Elder Marley, who serves as the sagely mentor of the titular character. Duncan was part of a surprisingly impressive voice cast that included Jennifer Love Hewitt, Val Kilmer, Burt Reynolds and Siri herself Susan Bennett, but their combined talents couldn’t save Delgo from its infamous legacy.
BEST: Sin City (2005) – 77%
Duncan was a notable actor in the early days of the superhero movies’ resurgence, appearing in two adaptations as a villain. His more critically acclaimed comic role was in Sin City, where he portrayed Manute. The gigantic and imposing Manute is mob boss Wallenquist’s main enforcer, meaning the character was perfect for someone of Duncan’s stature and commanding presence.
Sin City was praised for breaking the comic movie mold with its anthological style and unapologetic grit that hearkened back to the hardboiled Film Noirs of past. Following Duncan’s passing, Dennis Haysbert took over the role in the prequel/sequel Sin City: A Dame To Kill For. While Haysbert’s performance was commended, Duncan was still sorely missed.
WORST: A Night at the Roxbury (1998) – 11%
By pure coincidence, Duncan’s early roles all had him portraying security personnel, as is the case for the SNL movie A Night at the Roxbury. Based on one of the long-running show’s skits (you know, the one with Haddaway’s song), A Night at the Roxbury continued the Roxbury Guys’ quest to own a club or enter one.
Duncan was The Roxbury’s bouncer, who told the Butabi brothers to get back in line since their names weren’t on the list. A Night at the Roxbury failed to make critics laugh but if the audience score of a nice 69% is anything to go by, SNL fans loved it.
BEST: The Green Mile (1999) – 78%
John Coffey – a gentle giant with healing powers who’s wrongly accused of murder – is without a doubt the one role that’s synonymous to Duncan. The Green Mile needed Coffey to be the heart of the story, and Duncan pulled off this role perfectly.
While the character of John Coffey has been criticized for being a “Magical Negro,” Duncan’s performance all but elevated Coffey from stereotype to compellingly tragic figure. Today, The Green Mile stands as one of the best non-horror Stephen King movies and is still known to make people cry whenever they hear Fred Astaire’s “Cheek to Cheek.”
WORST: Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li (2009) – 5%
Despite its cinematic misstep in 1994, the Street Fighter name still commands respect, which led to its second attempt at a live-action film in The Legend of Chun-Li. Here, Duncan portrayed Shadaloo enforcer Balorg. Duncan was visually perfect for the role, but his Balrog was really more of a bodybuilder who punched people part-time rather than the fighting game’s famous boxer.
Unfortunately, The Legend of Chun-Li was terrible and is universally regarded as one of the worst video game movies ever made. And yet, believe it or not, it’s not Duncan’s lowest rated movie on Rotten Tomatoes.
BEST: Kung-Fu Panda (2008) – 87%
As if to balance the cosmic scales and make up for Delgo, Duncan also had a supporting voice role in Kung-Fu Panda, which is one of the biggest computer animated franchises to come out of the 2000s.
He voiced the rhino Commander Vachir, the warden of Chorh-Gom Prison and commander of the elite rhino army known as the Anvil of Heaven. His task was to keep the first movie’s villain Tai Lung imprisoned but he failed to do so, possibly dying during the escape.
WORST: Caught Up (1998) – 0%
The worst movie on Duncan’s record is Caught Up: a ‘90s crime drama that appeared in a time when the genre was overflowing with mediocrity and downright terrible movies. The thing about Caught Up is that it seems few people bothered to see it, as proven by its measly seven negative reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.
Duncan is credited as the bit character BB (short for Big Black), although he didn’t really do anything of note in the movie. Caught Up was criticized for prioritizing style over substance and for having an unwieldy plot, dooming it to be buried under even more ‘90s-era crime thrillers that suffered from the same problems.