Keith David is one of the most accomplished African-American actors in Hollywood with multiple Emmys to his credit. Known for his big smile and deep commanding voice, David leveraged the latter to become an iconic voice-over actor. He is known for his roles in such projects as Gargoyles (1994–1997), Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson (2004), The War (2007), Dissidia Final Fantasy (2008), and Rick and Morty (2015–). David gained more acclaim for his performance in the Oprah Winfrey Network drama Greenleaf (2016–2020).
With over 300 roles spread across film, television, and theater, Keith David has earned a place among industry A-listers. From action to horror and comedies, David has shown great talent both in live-action and animation projects the latter for which he has earned numerous award recognition. He also has a several video game credits to his name. Explore more interesting facts you probably didn’t know about the iconic voice artist.
1. Keith David Was Born and Raised In New York
Of African-American ancestry, Keith David was born in Harlem, New York, on June 4, 1956. He was born to Lester Williams (father) and Dolores Dickenson (mother) who raised him in Corona, Queens. David had a modest childhood and was raised to go after his dreams. His father worked as a director of payroll operations while his mother was a manager at New York Telephone. Thus, the family had a decent life.
2. He Is a Julliard Graduate
Keith David has always known he wanted to become a movie star from childhood. Playing the Cowardly Lion in a school production of The Wizard of Oz sold the idea to him and he ran with it. Subsequently, he attended Manhattan’s High School of Performing Arts to sharpen his skills before jetting off to the prestigious Juilliard School where he studied in the Drama Division from 1975 to 1979 (Group 8). He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Julliard before taking the acting business by storm.
3. Keith David Had His First Professional Acting Role At Age 23
Straight out of Juilliard, Keith David got his first acting role in the 1979 film, Disco Godfather, albeit uncredited. He also made his theater debut the same year on the original off-Broadway production, The Haggadah. Following his Broadway debut in The Lady from Dubuque (1980), he began landing back-to-back film and television roles. He starred in The Thing as Childs, marking the beginning of his long list of credited roles on the silver screen. David went on to record more roles in films such as Stars and Bars (1988), Platoon (1986), Men at Work (1990), and The Chronicles of Riddick (2004) to mention a few.
Keith David has also built his career on the small screen to include roles in popular projects. He made his television debut on Mister Roger’s Neighborhood as Keith, The Handyman. David voiced multiple roles on the animated series Gargoyles and Aladdin from 1994 to 1997. Other major television projects he has worked on include The Legend of Tarzan, The Job, ER, 7th Heaven, The Cape, Adventure Time, Belle’s, Enlisted, Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters, and From Scratch.
4. A Plethora of His Most Notable Works Are Voice Roles
Interestingly, most of Keith David’s film and television roles are voice-over works. On the big screen, he voiced Apollo in Hercules, The Centre in Justice League: The New Frontier, Dr. Facilier in The Princess and the Frog, Frog King in The Frog Kingdom, Sheriff James in You Might Be the Killer, and as Dog-El in DC League of Super-Pets. On the small screen, David voiced the main role in Gargoyles from 1994 to 1997. Other voice projects in his television portfolio include Fantastic Four: The Animated Series, Todd McFarlane’s Spawn, Rick and Morty, Reverse Giraffe, Kulipari, Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters, Final Space, and Star vs. the Forces of Evil among others.
5. His Outstanding Voice Has Won Three Emmys
Keith David’s iconic deep voice has earned him several award nominations and wins. He won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for his voice work in The War and Unforgivable Blackness in 2007. A third Emmy was presented to him for Outstanding Narrator in the documentary Jackie Robinson. David is still active as a voice actor with more projects in the works.
6. Keith David Has Been Married and Divorced Twice
On September 22, 1990, Keith David married his first wife, Margit Edwards. The marriage produced Keith’s only son Owen before the couple divorced. he later married Dionne Lea Williams on April 28, 2001. However, the union ended in another divorce after producing two daughters – Maelee Williams and Ruby Williams. The popular voice-over actor has not been open about his love life recently.
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