MARITAL STATUS
Professions Actor , Executive producer
Nationality American
Birth June 4, 1956
BIOGRAPHY
Born to a mother who was a manager at New York Telephone and a father who was a payroll manager, Keith David intended to become an actor when he played the not-so-brave lion in a school production of The Wizard of Oz. Once he completed his secondary education, he joined the High School of Performing Arts in Manhattan. Then, he attended the drama division of the Juilliard School where he obtained his baccalaureate in 1979. The young man then multiplied the castings.
Keith David found his first role in the blaxploitation film Le Camé with Rudy Ray Moore , that of a bar owner, then appeared in the drama Coriolanus . In 1982, his career took off when he was cast as Childs, the mechanic, in John Carpenter ‘s horror film The Thing , which quickly became cult. Building on this success, he starred in several iconic films of the 1980s, such as An Officer and a Gentleman , Platoon , An Englishman in New York , Bird , Invasion Los Angeles and Always . During the 1990s, Keith David established his status as a solid supporting role. Thus, the Harlem native is, among others, starring in Designated to Die , Hot Blood for Cold-Blooded Murder , Generation 90 , Masters of the World , Dead or Alive , Brooklyn Boogie , Clockers , Sacrificed Generation , Au Beyond the Laws , Never Met Picasso , Volcano , Armageddon and Mary at All Costs , a lucrative comedy in which he plays Cameron Diaz ‘s teasing father . A short but memorable appearance. At the same time, the actor could not be more active as a voice actor for the big screen ( Hercules , Princess Mononoke , Coraline , The Princess and the Frog , etc.) but especially the small screen and his numerous animated series ( Aladdin , The Four Fantastic , Gargoyles, Night’s Angels , Spawn , The Legend of Tarzan , The New Adventures of Spider-Man , Justice League , etc.). Note that his vocal work is also at the level of video games.
Keith David attacks the 2000s by playing a rich man organizing SM parties in the chilling Requiem for a Dream by the young and promising Darren Aronofsky. He also takes part in the Riddick franchise ( Pitch Black , The Chronicles of Riddick and Dark Fury ) via the character of Imam Abu al-Walid. Favoring action and thrillers, he was subsequently seen in Hollywood Homicide , Collision , Mr. and Mrs. Smith , The Transporter 2 , Dirty , Ultimate Game and Enemy Territory: Operation Colombia .
Increasingly, and especially from the 2010s, the charismatic actor multiplies his performances in DTV and other action B series with an impressive pace. However, he has not completely forgotten the big screen, since he plays in the original Wachowski science fiction film Cloud Atlas (2013), the hilarious buddy movie The Nice Guys (2016) or the solid thriller by the late Chadwick Boseman Manhattan Lockdown (2019).
On the series side, Keith David finds more or less important roles in The Big House , ER , 7 at home , The Cape , Belle’s , Big Time in Hollywood, FL , Community , Future Man , Liverspots and Astronots and Greenleaf . In the latter, visible on Netflix and comprising five seasons (2016 – 2020), the actor slips into the shoes of Bishop James Greenleaf, father of the Greenleaf family and founder of a church with many faithful.
In 2021, at the age of 65, Keith David continues his filming pace without wavering, quite the contrary. He stars in Horizon Line , Black As Night , The Gateway , The Seventh Day and Jersey 4, while lending his voice to characters in animated series like Final Space , Rick and Morty and Amphibia .
Laurent Schenck