A tall and imposing actor, David began performing as a child, singing in New York's All Borough Chorus. After graduating from the renowned High School of Performing Arts, he studied theater and voice at Juilliard. Within hours of graduating, he was rehearsing for Joseph Papp's Public Theater production of "Coriolanus" opposite Christopher Walken. He went on to understudy Raul Julia in the title role of "Othello" at the Shakespeare Festival in Central Park. For much of the 1980s, David alternated between theater, TV movies, and films, making his Broadway debut in Albee's "The Lady From Dubuque" (1980) and his feature debut in John Carpenter's remake of "The Thing" (1982). He garnered critical praise for his turn as King in Oliver Stone's Oscar-winning "Platoon" (1986). Other notable movie performances are as jazz saxophonist Buster Franklin in Clint Eastwood's "Bird" (1988) and as a paraplegic Vietnam veteran in "Article 99" (1992). He returned to Broadway, winning critical kudos (and a Tony nomination) for his sensational singing and dancing in "Jelly's Last Jam" (1992) opposite Gregory Hines. In 1995, David received attention for a quartet of roles: a gunfighter hired to kill Gene Hackman in "The Quick and the Dead"; a tough but paternalistic housing cop in Spike Lee's "Clockers"; Jackie Robinson in a fantasy sequence of "Blue in the Face"; and a one-legged owner of a pool hall in "Dead Presidents". David has a secondary career providing narration for National Geographic specials and character voices for two Disney-produced animated series, "Aladdin" and "Gargoyles".
- Also Credited As:
Keith David Williams
- Born:
Keith David Williams on June 4, 1956 in New York City, New York, United States
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Job Titles:
Actor, Singer, Voice actor
Education
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The School of Performing Arts, New York, NY, 1975
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The Juilliard School, New York, NY, theater, music, BFA, 1979
Milestones
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1979 First TV appearance, Roots: The Next Generations
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1979 Made stage debut in the Public Theatre production of Coriolanus ; also starred Christopher Walken
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1980 Made Broadway debut in Edward Albee s The Lady From Dubuque
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1982 Feature film debut, The Thing
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1986 Appeared in Oliver Stone s Platoon
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1988 Co-starred in They Live
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1992 Played featured role in the Broadway production of Jelly s Last Jam
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1995 Returned to Broadway to play the leading role in August Wilson s Seven Guitars
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1997 Voiced Apollo in the Disney animated feature, Hercules
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1998 Appeared as an Army general in the sci-fi blockbuster, Armegeddon
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1998 Played Cameron Diaz s stepfather in There s Something About Mary
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1998 Played golf great Tiger Woods father Earl Woods in the telepic, The Tiger Woods Story
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2000 Starred as Leontes in the Central Park staging of The Winter s Tale
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2001 Had pivotal role as a drug dealer in Requiem for a Dream
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2001 Played the title role of Othello in a New York Shakespeare Festival staging
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2002 Appeared as part of the acclaimed ensemble in Barbershop
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2002 Played The Sheriff in the off-kilter thriller, 29 Palms
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2003 Cast as the CIA director in the youth-skewing action-comedy, Agent Cody Banks
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2003 Played Harrison Ford s boss in the action-comedy, Hollywood Homicide
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2004 Reprised role as the CIA Director in Agent Cody Banks 2
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2005 Cast opposite Jason Statham in The Transporter 2
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2006 Co-starred with Cuba Gooding Jr. in the crime drama, Dirty
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2007 Co-starred in the comedy, Delta Farce
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2009 Appeared in the comedy, All About Steve, with Thomas Haden Church and Bradley Cooper