Mike Colter
Mike Randal Colter (born August 26, 1976) is an American actor best known for his role as Luke Cage in Marvel's Luke Cage (2016–2018), The Defenders (2017), and Jessica Jones (2015; 2019), all set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He has also appeared as Lemond Bishop in the television series The Good Wife (2010–2015) and The Good Fight (2017–present), Malcolm Ward in Ringer (2011–2012), Jameson Locke in the Halo franchise (2014–2015) and Agent J's father in Men in Black 3.
Mike Colter | |
|---|---|
 Colter at the 2019 GalaxyCon | |
| Born | August 26, 1976 Columbia, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Education | Benedict College University of South Carolina, Columbia (BA) Rutgers University, New Brunswick (MFA) |
| Spouse(s) | Iva Colter (m. 2002) |
| Children | 2 |
Early life
Colter was born in Columbia, South Carolina the youngest of five children born to Eddie Lee, Sr. and Freddie Marion (née Mitchell) Colter and grew up in St. Matthews, South Carolina. He is a graduate of Calhoun County High School. In his senior high school yearbook, his senior superlative as voted by the class was "most ambitious."[1] Colter spent a year at Benedict College before transferring to the University of South Carolina, receiving a bachelor's degree in theater in 1999. He obtained an MFA degree in acting from the Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts.[2]
Career
Colter's first role was in the film Million Dollar Baby as boxer Big Willie Little. He also guest starred on Law & Order: Trial By Jury, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, The Good Wife, ER, and The Parkers as well as several TV movies. He starred in the series Ringer.[3]
In 2014, Colter began portraying the role of Agent Jameson Locke in the Halo franchise.[4] Colter starred in the series Halo: Nightfall and provided the motion capture for Agent Locke in Halo 5: Guardians, and the voice acting is performed by Ike Amadi. He also co-starred as Luke Cage in Jessica Jones on Netflix. The first season was released online on November 20, 2015.[5] This was followed by the character's own series, Luke Cage, and the first season was released on September 30, 2016. The second season release followed on June 22, 2018.[6] In between the two seasons, Colter also played Luke in The Defenders.
Colter was announced as the male lead in the CBS drama pilot, Evil as David Acosta, a Catholic seminarian who assesses unexplained phenomena for supernatural or scientific explanations.[7]
Personal life
Colter is married to Iva Colter as of 2002. He also confirmed on the September 27, 2016, segment of The Wendy Williams Show that he has a daughter with Iva. He is a second cousin of actress Viola Davis.[8][9] He resides in Los Angeles.
In 2019, Colter played for the "home" roster during the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game at the Bojangles' Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina. The roster was made up of celebrities with Carolina roots.[10]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Million Dollar Baby | Big Willie Little | |
| 2005 | Brooklyn Lobster | Jamal | |
| 2007 | And Then Came Love | Yuppie Paul | |
| 2010 | Salt | CIA Tactical Leader | |
| 2012 | Men In Black 3 | Colonel James Darrell Edwards Senior. | |
| Zero Dark Thirty | DEVGRU Operative Mike | ||
| 2015 | America Is Still the Place | Charlie Walker | |
| 2017 | Girls Trip | Stewart Pierce | |
| 2018 | Extinction | David | |
| Skin | Daryle Lamont Jenkins | ||
| 2019 | Before You Know It | Charles | |
| Breakthrough | Tommy Shine | ||
| Black and Blue | Darius Tureau | ||
| 2020 | Fatale | Rafe Grimes | |
| TBA | I’m Charlie Walker | Charlie Walker | Post-production |
| TBA | Till Death | Price | Post-production |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | ER | Watts | Episode: "Hindsight" |
| 2002 | The Parkers | Lamar | Episode: "Lights, Camera, Action" |
| 2005 | Law & Order: Trial by Jury | Officer Billy Tolbert | Episode: "Blue Wall" |
| 2005 | Silver Bells | Bill | Television film |
| 2007 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Dave Oldren | Episode: "Albatross" |
| 2009 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Joseph Serumaga | Episode: "Hell" |
| 2009 | Solving Charlie | Jack Dash | Television film |
| 2009 | Taking Chance | Master Gunnery Sergeant Demetry | Television film |
| 2010 | Royal Pains | Officer Tanner | Episode: "Lovesick" |
| 2010–2015 | The Good Wife | Lemond Bishop | 21 episodes |
| 2011 | Blue Bloods | Cliff Reacher | Episode: "The Blue Templar" |
| 2011–2012 | Ringer | Malcolm Ward | 17 episodes |
| 2013 | The Following | Nick Donovan | 8 episodes |
| 2013 | Criminal Minds | Colin Bramwell | Episode: "Final Shot" |
| 2014 | American Horror Story: Coven | David | 3 episodes |
| 2014 | Halo: Nightfall | Agent Jameson Locke | 5 episodes |
| 2015 | Agent X | Miles Lathem | 7 episodes |
| 2015; 2019 | Jessica Jones | Luke Cage | 8 episodes |
| 2016–2018 | Luke Cage | 26 episodes; Nominated – Black Reel Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series (2017) Nominated – MTV Movie Award for Best Hero (2017) Nominated – NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series (2017) Nominated – Saturn Award for Best Actor on Television (2017) | |
| 2016 | Comedy Bang! Bang! | Himself | Episode: "Mike Colter Wears a Pink Button Up and Black Boots" |
| 2017 | The Defenders | Luke Cage | 8 episodes; Nominated – NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series (2018) |
| 2018 | American Dad! | Guerrilla Soldier (voice) | Episode: "(You Gotta) Strike for Your Right" |
| 2018–2019 | The Good Fight | Lemond Bishop | Episodes: "Day 471" and "The One with the Celebrity Divorce" |
| 2019–present | Evil | David Acosta | Main cast; Nominated – Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series (2020) |
| 2019 | Seis Manos | Brister (voice) | 8 episodes |
| 2020 | Tiny Creatures | Narrator (voice) | 8 episodes |
| 2020 | Monsterland | Brian Cooke | Episode: "Newark, New Jersey" |
| 2020 | Social Distance | Ike | Episode: "Delete All Future Events" |
Video games
| Year | Title | Voice role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Halo: The Master Chief Collection | Spartan Jameson Locke | |
| 2015 | Halo 5: Guardians | N/A | Role: Spartan Jameson Locke Motion-capture only |
References
- "7 Fast Facts About Mike Colter Marvel's Luke Cage". The Geek Twins. Retrieved July 16, 2016.
- Gleaton, Dionne (July 22, 2012). "Following a dream: St. Matthews native navigating acting world". The Times and Democrat. Orangeburg, South Carolina.
- "Mike Colter | TV Guide". TVGuide.com. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
- Opam, Kwame (November 10, 2015). "Meet the new face of 'Halo'". The Verge. Retrieved July 16, 2016.
- Truitt, Brian. "'Jessica Jones' star Mike Colter a powerhouse as Luke Cage". USA Today. Gannett Company. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
- Stedman, Alex (December 4, 2016). "'Luke Cage' Renewed for Season 2 on Netflix". Variety. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
- Baysinger, Tim (February 19, 2019). "Luke Cage' Star Mike Colter Cast as Lead on CBS Drama Pilot 'Evil'". www.thewrap.com. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
- Sharma, Nemisha (December 6, 2015). "'Luke Cage': 5 Cool Things You Didn't Know About Marvel/Netflix Star Mike Colter". Design & Trend. Archived from the original on July 27, 2016. Retrieved July 16, 2016.
- Mike Colter; Luke Cage (September 30, 2016). "Mike Colter Interview With The Breakfast Club (9-30-16)". The Breakfast Club (Radio program). Interviewed by DJ Envy, Angela Yee and Charlamagne Tha God. New York City. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
- release, Official. "ESPN and NBA announce celebrity rosters and coaches for 2019 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game presented by Ruffles exclusively on ESPN". NBA.com. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
