Keith David

This is the 108th post in our Celebrity of the Day series.



Keith David Williams or Keith David was born in 1956 in Harlem. He first discovered his love of acting when he played the Cowardly Lion in his school play of the Wizard of Oz. He then went on to study at the Manhattan School of Performing Arts.

In 1980 Keith David joined John Houseman's The Acting Company and began touring the country performing in theater productions. In 1982 he got his first film role starring in John Carpenter's The Thing with Kurt Russell. From them on he became a constant figure in the movie industry, usually as a supporting actor but always as an opposing presence that overtook any scene he was in.

During the 1980s he was in films like Platoon, They Live and Braddock: Missing in Action III. The 1980s also was the time in which he started his voice acting career for which he is also very well known. His first voice acting role was in 1987 with Christmas in Tattertown but after that his voice was featured in many very popular movies including Aladdin, Hercules, Princess Mononoke, and Coraline. But you can also find his voice in a number of popular video games including the massively popular Halo franchise.

Throughout the 1990s Keith David became a constant supporting figurehead in a number of film roles including Men At Work, Requiem for a Dream, Volcano, and Dead Presidents.

He may not be a household name but it is unlikely that you have spent your life without seeing or hearing this prolific actor at least once.

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