In less than a decade, Winston Duke has starred in some of Hollywood’s critically acclaimed and successful movies. Although he began his screen career in 2014, Duke made his film debut in 2018 in the most iconic role of his career. Since then, seven of his eight movie credits have been critically favored. Duke has always been passionate about acting, having studied Theater at the University at Buffalo and receiving his MFA from the Yale School of Drama.
Movie audiences who have watched Winston Duke’s back-to-back performances would agree they have been nothing short of magnificent. His versatility has seen him go from playing a ruthless warrior, a family man, and a reclusive man to a stunt coordinator. Many Hollywood A-list actors do not have as much acting range as Winston Duke has shown over the years. These are Winston Duke movies that prove he’s one of Hollywood’s underrated actors.
Winston Duke Flawlessly Portrayed M’Baku
Ever seen an actor so good in a role that it’s impossible to picture someone else playing the character? Portraying the Jabari Tribe’s leader, M’Baku, in Black Panther was Winston Duke’s film debut. Although not a main character in Black Panther, Duke’s performance was one of the movie’s highlights. Unsurprisingly, the character was a fan favorite at the end of Black Panther. Winston Duke reprised the role in a few other Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies, beginning with Avengers: Infinity War released in the same 2018. Duke appeared in Avengers: Endgame (2019) and the Black Panther sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022).
Winston Duke Was Excellent In Jordan Peele’s Horror Film
Stepping away from playing the Jabari Tribe’s leader, Winston Duke starred in Jordan Peele’s 2019 psychological horror movie Us. In the movie, Duke played two characters, Gabriel “Gabe” Wilson and the tethered character Abraham. The movie’s plot is centered around tethered beings (a group of menacing doppelgängers) created by a failed government experiment. These tethered beings were forced to live underground for years, as a way of hiding the government’s experiment on human cloning.
Winston Duke’s Gabe character was the husband of Adelaide “Addy” Wilson (Lupita Nyong’o) and father to Zora Wilson (Shahadi Wright Joseph) and Jason Wilson (Evan Alex). Similarly, as a tethered being, his Abraham character had Red as his partner and Pluto and Umbrae as children. Although Lupita Nyong’o received praise for her performance, especially because she was the film’s lead, little was said about Winston Duke. His portrayal of both characters was exceptional, irrespective of whether critics took notice or not. Adding to his list of box office hits, Us grossed $256.1 million on a $20 million budget.
Winston Duke Shines In A Dramatic Role
Proving he’s not anyone’s average actor, Winston Duke takes on his first dramatic movie role with much panache. Set in the pre-existence, Duke is cast as Will, an arbiter in Edson Oda’s fantasy drama Nine Days. Duke plays a reclusive man who interviews souls to be born. Besides choosing the best souls to be born, Will also observes how they live on Earth. However, he begins to question the meaning of life after one of his previous selections, Amanda (Lisa Starrett), kills herself in a motor accident. As Nine Days cast lead, Winston Duke’s performance could not go unnoticed. Nine Days has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 89%, with Duke receiving particular praise.
Winston Duke Plays an Action Hero in Spenser Confidential
Cast in a supporting role as Hawk, Winston Duke co-starred alongside Mark Wahlberg in Peter Berg’s action comedy Spenser Confidential (2020). Although far from being critics’ favorite, the buddy cop movie helped showcase Duke’s versatility. Since his film debut, Winston Duke has starred in different genres. Although not entirely new to the action genre, especially with his guest appearance in the TV series Person of Interest, Duke delivered an above-average performance as an action star.
In 2024, Winston Duke was cast in a supporting role in David Leitch’s action comedy The Fall Guy. Duke plays Dan Tucker, the stunt coordinator to Ryan Gosling’s Colt Seavers character. Although The Fall Guy is his second movie in the action comedy genre, Duke plays a more laid-back character in the movie. Acknowledging his immense talents as an actor, Winston Duke has become one of Hollywood’s fastest-rising actors. Winston Duke has two other yet-to-be-released movies, Marked Man and Heroine, which are currently in post-production. If you enjoyed reading about Winston Duke’s movies, read about Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s competition in the James Bond casting.
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