William Henry Duke Jr. (born February 26, 1943) is an American actor and film director. Known for his physically imposing frame, Duke works primarily in the action and crime drama genres often as a character related to law enforcement. Frequently a character actor, he has starred opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in Commando and Predator, and has appeared in films like Car Wash, American Gigolo, No Man’s Land, Bird on a Wire, Menace II Society, Exit Wounds, Payback, X-Men: The Last Stand, and Mandy. In television, he is best known as Agent Percy Odell in Black Lightning.
He has directed episodes of numerous television series including Cagney & Lacey, Dallas, Hill Street Blues, Miami Vice, The Twilight Zone, and American Playhouse. He has also directed the crime films Deep Cover and A Rage in Harlem, for which he was nominated for a Palme d’Or, as well as the comedy Sister Act 2.
Born in Poughkeepsie, New York, Duke received his first instruction in the performing arts at Boston University, where he majored in speech and drama. After studying at New York University’s Tisch School of Arts and the AFI Conservatory, Duke began his career behind the camera, directing episodes of several noteworthy 1980s television series, including Hill Street Blues and Miami Vice.
Duke became a familiar face on the screen in Commando and Predator, Action Jackson, Payback, and X-Men: The Last Stand. Other Duke films include Car Wash (1976) and American Gigolo (1980). Returning to the director’s chair, Duke began directing feature-length films in the 1990s with A Rage in Harlem and Deep Cover. He also directed The Cemetery Club and Sister Act 2. Duke continues to act and direct for both the small and silver screens. Duke directed a segment of HBO’s trilogy “America’s Dream,” entitled “The Boy Who Painted Christ Black,” for which he won Cable ACE and NAACP Image Awards for Best Director, and the pilot for the series “New York Undercover.”
As a writer, Duke and Danny Glover created a book of photo essays, Black Light: The African American Hero. He also directed “A Town Hall Meeting: Creating A Sense of Community” for the Los Angeles-based Artists Against Homelessness. Duke also mentors young African Americans aspiring for the performance arts.
Written by Dianne Washington