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Keith David
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==Career== ===Film and television === In 1980β81, David toured the country with [[John Houseman]]'s [[The Acting Company]] in productions of ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'' and [[Samuel Beckett]]'s ''[[Waiting for Godot]]''. Less than two years later, he went on to star as Childs, opposite [[Kurt Russell]] in [[John Carpenter]]'s ''[[The Thing (1982 film)|The Thing]]'', starting his lengthy on-screen career. In the 1980s run of ''[[Mister Rogers' Neighborhood]]'', he portrayed Keith the Southwood Carpenter in the [[Neighborhood of Make-Believe]] segments. He also played Keith, the game coin collector in an episode where Rogers and a small child learn to play the [[arcade game]] ''[[Donkey Kong (arcade game)|Donkey Kong]]''. He went on to appear in films such as ''[[Platoon (film)|Platoon]]'', ''[[They Live]]'', ''[[Men at Work (1990 film)|Men at Work]]'', ''[[Marked for Death]]'', and ''[[Stars and Bars (1988 film)|Stars and Bars]]''. He played Kirby in the 1995 film ''[[Dead Presidents]]'', and he appeared in the 1995 [[Spike Lee]] film ''[[Clockers (film)|Clockers]]''. Roles in other films followed, in ''[[Volcano (1997 film)|Volcano]]'', ''[[There's Something About Mary]]'', ''[[Requiem for a Dream]]'', ''[[Pitch Black (film)|Pitch Black]]'', ''[[Barbershop (film)|Barbershop]]'', ''[[Agent Cody Banks]]'', ''[[Head of State (2003 film)|Head of State]]'', ''[[Hollywood Homicide]]'', ''[[Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London]]'', ''[[The Chronicles of Riddick]]'', ''[[Crash (2004 film)|Crash]]'', ''[[ATL (film)|ATL]]'', ''[[Delta Farce]]'' and ''[[First Sunday (film)|First Sunday]]''. He portrayed "Father" in the romantic comedy action film ''[[Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005 film)|Mr. & Mrs. Smith]]''. At the same time, he has appeared in numerous independent films including the critically acclaimed ''[[Requiem for a Dream]]'', playing the role of Big Tim. He has also appeared extensively in television productions since the 1980s and as a regular character Lieutenant Williams on the short-lived television series ''[[The Job (2001 TV series)|The Job]]''. He was a regular on another shoot, ''The Big House'', made for ABC in 2004. David portrayed Detective Jim Crenshaw in the 2010 horror film ''[[Chain Letter (2010 film)|Chain Letter]]''.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/37495/at-last-a-poster-deon-taylors-chain-letter|title=At Last a Poster for Deon Taylor's Chain Letter|publisher= | website= dreadcentral.com |date=August 6, 2010|access-date=January 22, 2011}}</ref> In 2010, David was cast as Max Malini for the NBC television series ''[[The Cape (2011 TV series)|The Cape]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Keith David Stars In NBC's New One-Hour Drama 'The Cape'|url=http://www.vibe.com/2011/01/keith-david-stars-nbcs-new-one-hour-drama-cape/kd3logosponsor|magazine=[[Vibe (magazine)|Vibe]]|date=March 29, 2012|access-date=February 14, 2016|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304114239/http://www.vibe.com/2011/01/keith-david-stars-nbcs-new-one-hour-drama-cape/kd3logosponsor/|url-status=dead}}</ref> On April 18, 2011, Keith appeared in the 21st episode of [[Hawaii Five-0 (2010 TV series, season 1)|season one]] of ''[[Hawaii Five-0 (2010 TV series)|Hawaii Five-0]]'' as criminal tycoon Jimmy Cannon. In 2012, he appeared in the horror film ''[[Smiley (2012 film)|Smiley]]'' and the science-fiction drama ''[[Cloud Atlas (film)|Cloud Atlas]]''. In 2013, David appeared in the controversial drama ''Boiling Pot'' which is based on true events of racism. In 2014, David portrayed Command Sergeant Major Donald Cody in the Fox comedy series ''[[Enlisted (TV series)|Enlisted]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Keith David Cast In Fox Pilot 'Enlisted', Jack McGee Joins CBS Comedy 'McCarthys'|url=https://deadline.com/2013/02/keith-david-cast-in-fox-pilot-enlisted-jack-mcgee-joins-cbs-comedy-mccarthys-423995/| website= [[Deadline Hollywood|Deadline]].com |last=Andreeva|first=Nellie|date=February 6, 2013|access-date=February 14, 2016}}</ref> Later in 2014, David was cast as Elroy Patashnik in [[Community season 6|the sixth season]] of the sitcom ''[[Community (TV series)|Community]]''.<ref name="hollywoodreporter1"/> In 2015, David was cast in the leading role alongside [[Lynn Whitfield]] in the [[Oprah Winfrey Network]] drama series ''[[Greenleaf (TV series)|Greenleaf]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2015/09/keith-david-cast-greenleaf-own-drama-series-1201513678|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904113023/http://deadline.com/2015/09/keith-david-cast-greenleaf-own-drama-series-1201513678/|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 4, 2015|title=Keith David To Star In OWN Drama Series 'Greenleaf'| first=Nellie |last=Andreeva |work=[[Deadline Hollywood]] |date=September 3, 2015|access-date=September 3, 2015}}</ref> ===Voice acting=== David also works extensively as a [[voice actor]]. He was the voice of the Flame King in ''[[Adventure Time]]'', [[King Andrias]] from ''[[Amphibia (TV series)|Amphibia]]'', [[Goliath (Gargoyles)|Goliath]] from ''[[Gargoyles (TV series)|Gargoyles]]'', the [[Spawn (comics)|title character]] in the ''[[Todd McFarlane's Spawn|Spawn]]'' animated series, and Lemuel Kane in ''[[Archer (2009 TV series)|Archer]]''. In the English dub of ''[[Princess Mononoke]]'', David played the narrator and Okkoto. He played the role of Mama in the English dub of ''[[3Γ3 Eyes]]''. He provided the voice for the character Decker in the [[role-playing video game]] ''[[Fallout (video game)|Fallout]]'' and the voice for the character Vhailor in ''[[Planescape: Torment]]''. He provided the voice of the [[Arbiter (Halo)|Arbiter]] for the video game ''[[Halo 2]]'', released in 2004; later, he reprised that role in the [[Xbox 360]] follow-up ''[[Halo 3]]''. He portrayed the character again in ''[[Halo: The Master Chief Collection]]'' and also in ''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'', released in 2014 and 2015 respectively. He played the role of [[David Anderson (Mass Effect)|Captain David Anderson]] in [[BioWare]]'s ''[[Mass Effect]]'' series. David did voice work in the video game ''[[Saints Row]]'' and its sequel ''[[Saints Row II]]'', playing gang leader of the 3rd Street Saints Julius Little, as well as voicing himself in ''[[Saints Row IV]]''. He is also heard on the intro of several [[Ice Cube]] projects, including [[Westside Connection]]'s 2003 release ''[[Terrorist Threats]]'', Cube's 2008 solo album ''[[Raw Footage]]'', Cube's 2010 solo album ''[[I Am the West]]'', and he narrated the documentary ''[[Beef II]]'', which also featured Ice Cube.{{citation needed|date=June 2016}} He provides the voice for the [[United Parcel Service|UPS]] "What Can Brown Do for You" commercials. He did the voice of [[Despero]] in the two part episode "Hearts and Minds" of ''[[Justice League (TV series)|Justice League]]''. He has done voice work for early [[Adult Swim]] commercials for ''[[Inuyasha]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGQFdjWHAfo|title=Adult Swim Inuyasha First Promo: Retro|publisher=YouTube|date=August 31, 2002|access-date=January 25, 2011}}</ref> He has worked with documentary filmmaker [[Ken Burns]] numerous times, narrating Burns' ''[[Jazz (documentary)|Jazz]]'', ''[[Mark Twain (documentary)|Mark Twain]]'', ''[[The War (miniseries)|The War]]'', ''[[Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson]]'', ''[[Jackie Robinson (film)|Jackie Robinson]]'', ''[[Muhammad Ali (film)|Muhammad Ali]]'', and ''[[Leonardo da Vinci (2024 film)|Leonardo da Vinci]]''. David won the [[Emmy Award]] for [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance|Outstanding Voice-Over Performance]] for his work in ''The War'' and ''Unforgivable Blackness''. He performs the narration duties in the [[BBC]] documentary, ''[[World War II: Behind Closed Doors]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00fkx70|title=World War II: Behind Closed Doors|publisher=Bbc.co.uk|date=November 10, 2008|access-date=January 22, 2011}}</ref> The 2004 [[PBS]] documentary ''Ancient Refuge in the Holy Land''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/ancient-refuge-holy-land.html|title=Ancient Refuge in the Holy Land|date=November 23, 2004 |publisher=www.pbs.org|access-date=December 13, 2012}}</ref> and the 2005 [[History (American TV network)|History Channel]] documentary ''Crusades: Crescent & the Cross'' focusing on the medieval [[Crusades]] were both narrated by him, as well as the 2003 National Geographic documentary ''[[Inside Mecca]]''. He later parodied his documentary work by narrating the 2012 episode of ''[[Community (TV Series)|Community]]'', "[[Pillows and Blankets]]", a [[mockumentary]] revolving around a [[pillow fight]] between rival [[blanket fort]]s.{{citation needed|date=June 2016}} David has done voice-over work for many other documentaries including several for ''[[National Geographic Channel|National Geographic]]'' and the documentary ''[[Comic Book Superheroes Unmasked]]'' for the History Channel. He replaced [[Paul Winfield]] as narrator for the [[A&E Network|A&E]] show ''[[City Confidential]]'', taking over after Winfield's death in 2004. He voiced the trailer for the film ''[[Primeval (film)|Primeval]]'', which was released in the United States on January 12, 2007. David provided the voice of police detective [[Alex Cross]] for the [[audiobook]] versions of three novels by [[James Patterson]]: ''[[Cat and Mouse (James Patterson novel)|Cat and Mouse]]'' (1997), ''[[Pop Goes the Weasel (novel)|Pop Goes the Weasel]]'' (1999), and ''[[Roses are Red (novel)|Roses are Red]]'' (2000). Other voice roles include Bebe Proud Clone from ''[[The Proud Family Movie]]'', [[Atlas (DC Comics)|Atlas]] from ''[[Teen Titans (TV series)|Teen Titans]]'', the lone renegade male gorilla Tublat in ''[[The Legend of Tarzan (TV series)|The Legend of Tarzan]]'', and the [[Decepticon]] Barricade in ''[[Transformers: The Game]]''. He voiced [[Apollo]] the Sun God in ''[[Hercules (1997 film)|Hercules]]'', Council Member in ''[[Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within]]'', the Black Cat in ''[[Coraline (film)|Coraline]]'', Sergeant Foley in ''[[Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2]]'', Dr. Facilier in ''[[The Princess and the Frog]]'', and [[Tombstone (character)|Big Man]] in ''[[The Spectacular Spider-Man (TV series)|The Spectacular Spider-Man]]'' episode "[[Survival of the Fittest (The Spectacular Spider-Man)|Survival of the Fittest]]". [[File:KeithDavidJune10.jpg|thumb|David in 2010]] On May 25, 2008, he narrated Kansas City's Celebration at the Station, a [[Memorial Day]] service held annually at the [[National World War I Museum and Memorial|World War I Memorial]]. During the ceremony, he announced the attendance of [[Frank Buckles|Frank W. Buckles]], the last living veteran of [[World War I]]. He was the voice of [[Frederick Douglass]] in the third episode of the PBS documentary ''God in America: How Religious Liberty Shaped America'' in 2010.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/godinamerica/view/ |title=God in America |access-date=August 1, 2017 |publisher=[[PBS]] }}</ref> David returned to the ''[[Saints Row (series)|Saints Row]]'' series in ''[[Saints Row IV]]'', voicing a fictionalized version of himself as well as reprising Julius Little. He is the narrator of the History Channel series ''[[The Bible (TV series)|The Bible]]'' which premiered on March 3, 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/life/tv/article_a2805d0e-82d3-11e2-9d81-001a4bcf887a.html|title=Massive miniseries takes a look at The Bible|work=East Valley Tribune|date=March 3, 2013 |publisher=10/13 Communications|access-date=March 4, 2013}}</ref> David voiced the superhero gorilla [[Solovar]] in the two-part Gorilla City episode of ''[[The Flash (2014 TV series)|The Flash]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 8, 2017 |title=Keith David to Voice Gorilla Superhero Solovar for 'The Flash' 2-Episode Arc β TCA |url=https://deadline.com/2017/01/the-flash-keith-david-to-guest-as-gorilla-city-leader-solovar-tca-1201880889/ |website=Deadline}}</ref> Keith David also has a recurring role as [[The President (Rick and Morty)|the President of the United States]] in the adult animated series ''[[Rick and Morty]]''. David was the narrator of the [[MLB Network]] special ''Mr. Padre'', the video biography of [[San Diego Padres]] Hall-of-Fame outfielder [[Tony Gwynn]]. David has also narrated several WWE documentaries including ''The True Story of Wrestlemania'' and the 20 episodes of ''The Monday Night War'', documenting the battle between WWE Raw and WCW Nitro. David later recurred in ''[[Stargirl (TV series)|Stargirl]]'' as the voice of [[Mister Bones]]. David began voicing Commander Zavala in the ''[[Destiny (video game series)|Destiny]]'' franchise beginning in ''[[Destiny 2: The Final Shape]]'', replacing [[Lance Reddick]] following his death.<ref>{{cite web |date=August 10, 2023 |title=Thank you, Commander: The Future of Zavala's Journey |url=https://www.bungie.net/7/en/News/article/zvaa |website=[[Bungie]]}}</ref> ===Stage acting=== In 1992, David received a [[Tony Award]] nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical for his performance in ''[[Jelly's Last Jam]]''. David received raves for his Shakespeare work on stage in [[Central Park]], New York City. In 1995, he played the lead as Floyd "Schoolboy" Barton in [[August Wilson]]'s ''[[Seven Guitars]]'' on [[Broadway theater|Broadway]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gerard| first=Jeremy| date=March 29, 1996| title=Seven Guitars |url= https://variety.com/1996/legit/reviews/seven-guitars-3-1200445186/ |access-date=June 3, 2021| website=Variety|language=en-US}}</ref> In 1995, David acted alongside [[Whitney Houston]], [[Cedric the Entertainer]], and [[Samuel E. Wright]] in the 1995 Apollo revival of ''[[The Wiz]]''. In May 2006, he appeared in the [[musical theater|musical]] ''[[Hot Feet]]'' on Broadway in New York. David appeared in the 2013 revival of August Wilson's ''[[Joe Turner's Come and Gone]]'' at the Mark Taper Theater in Los Angeles. Directed by [[Phylicia Rashad]], he played the part of innkeeper Seth Holly.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hofler|first=Robert|date=May 9, 2013|title=Legit Review: 'Joe Turner's Come and Gone'| url= https://variety.com/2013/legit/reviews/joe-turners-come-and-gone-review-1200478453/|access-date=June 3, 2021|website=Variety|language=en-US}}</ref> His performance in Ebony Repertory Theatre's 2014 ''[[Paul Robeson]]'' by Phillip Hayes Dean<ref>{{cite news| url= https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-xpm-2014-mar-27-la-et-cm-paul-robeson-review-ebony-repertory-theatre-20140325-story.html |title= In 'Paul Robeson,' an inspiring life falters in the telling | work=Los Angeles Times| first= Margaret| last= Gray |date= March 27, 2014 | url-access= subscription| access-date= February 6, 2024}}</ref> was scheduled for March 12, 2014, but was postponed due to a knee injury<ref>{{cite news| first= David|last=Ng| url= https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-keith-david-paul-robeson-play-20140313-story.html |title= Keith David's injury postpones Ebony Repertory's 'Paul Robeson' |work=Los Angeles Times |date=March 13, 2014 | url-access= subscription |access-date= February 6, 2024}}</ref> and opened on Friday, March 21, 2014. From April 21, 2015, to May 10, 2015, Keith David starred as Dolomite in the [[off-Broadway]] play ''ToasT''. The play (produced by [[Lemon Andersen]] and co-starred [[Hill Harper]]) was set in the [[Attica Correctional Facility|Attica Prison]] around the time of [[Attica Prison riot|its 1971 prison riot]] and told of the lives of its prisoners, using [[poetic prose]].<ref>{{cite web| url= http://broadwayblack.com/toast-opens-public-theatre-starring-hill-harper-keith-david/ |title= ToasT Opens in Public Theatre| first= Franceli |last= Chapman| date= May 7, 2015| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904194316/http://broadwayblack.com/toast-opens-public-theatre-starring-hill-harper-keith-david/ |archivedate=September 4, 2017 | website= BroadwayBlack.com| access-date= February 6, 2024}}</ref>
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