Biography for
Keith David (I) More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

4 June 1956, Harlem, New York, USA

Birth Name

Keith David Williams

Height

6' 2" (1.88 m)

Mini Biography

Keith David was born in New York City's Harlem district and raised in East Elmhurst, in the Queens section of the city. As a child, he realized he wanted to act after playing the cowardly lion in his school's production of "The Wizard of Oz." He later enrolled in New York's High School of the Performing Arts and continued his studies at Juilliard. After graduation, he was hired as an understudy for Tullus Aufidius in William Shakespeare's "Coriolanus." In 1992, he received a Tony Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical for his role in the Broadway play "Jelly's Last Jam."

IMDb Mini Biography By: Matt Dicker

Mini Biography

Keith's extraordinary range of talent is evidenced by his body of work. Recent films include "The Princess and the Frog", "Coraline", and "Crash". Other credits include "Barbershop", "Agent Cody Banks", and "Requiem for a Dream". Prior to that, Keith was featured in "There's Something About Mary", "Armageddon" and "Dead Presidents".

Keith has received Emmy Awards for his narration of two Ken Burns documentaries: "The War" and "Unforgivable Blackness", and was nominated for his narration of "Jazz". He received a daytime Emmy nomination for his work in Showtime's "The Tiger Wood's Story".

Keith David gained wide attention in 1986 for his role as King in the Oscar winning film "Platoon". Other of his over 75 film credits includes "Men at Work", "Clockers", and "Pitch Black". Keith has also worked with notable directors including Clint Eastwood ("Bird"), Steven Spielberg ("Always") and John Carpenter ("The Thing" and "They Live").

Born in Harlem, New York and raised in East Elmhurst, Queens, Keith sang in the all borough choir as a boy. He knew he wanted to act at the age of nine when he appeared as the cowardly lion in his school's production of "The Wizard of Oz". He later attended New York's famed High School of the Performing Arts and then graduated from Juilliard. There he studied under such voice and speech teachers as Robert Williams and Edith Skinner.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Silvermine Entertainment

Spouse

Margit Edwards Williams

(22 September 1990 - ?) (divorced)

Trade Mark

Deep, commanding voice, very reminiscent of Orson Welles

Often plays hot-tempered, irritable characters

His big smile, with a gap between his teeth

Trivia

Following the 1986 film Platoon (1986), Charlie Sheen - who starred in the films - did a TV interview and credits David with saving his life. While shooting in an open-doored Huey gunship, the helicopter banked too hard, and Sheen was thrown towards - and would have gone through - the open door. David grabbed Sheen by the back and pulled him back in.

Very popular voice-over actor.

Took over as narrator for the show "City Confidential" (1998) after the death of Paul Winfield.

Nominated for Broadway's 1992 Tony Award as Best Actor (Featured Role - Musical) for "Jelly's Last Jam."

Frequent voice collaborator with fellow voice-actor Ron Perlman. Computer games: Fallout: A Post-Nuclear Role-Playing Game (1997) (VG), Lords of EverQuest (2003) (VG), Halo 2 (2004) (VG), Halo 3 (2007) (VG). Animated series: "Aladdin" (1994), "Fantastic Four" (1994), "Justice League" (2001), "Teen Titans" (2003). And they have both had a guest appearance on the TV series "The Outer Limits" (1995).

His ex-wife attended Hunter College of the City University of New York (CUNY) with Lisa Nicole Carson where they both appeared (and worked backstage) in theater department productions.

Studied acting with Michael Howard in New York City.

In February 2010 he became the first actor to provide his voice for two films nominated for Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature. He played the part of The Cat in Coraline (2009) and the villain Dr. Facilier in The Princess and the Frog (2009).

Profiled in "Character Kings: Hollywood's Familiar Faces Discuss the Art & Business of Acting" by Scott Voisin. [2009]

Personal Quotes

Actually, I wanted to be an actor when I was two years old.

[on "Gargoyles" (1994)] I was very moved by Goliath. I was moved by playing him. They're not displaced citizens but they are citizens from another time and another place that were placed in this modern context and maintained that integrity.

You get to celebrate the content of someone's character as opposed to the the color of their skin or their outward appearance. That to me is the most impressive element about "Gargoyles" (1994) because if forces you to deal with who they are. Not what they look like or anything external. You are dealing with internal principles about these people.