Mike Colter (born August 26, 1976) is an American actor best known for his role as Luke Cage/Carl Lucas in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing in the streaming television series Luke Cage (2016–2018), The Defenders (2017), and Jessica Jones (2015; 2019). He has also appeared as Lemond Bishop in the television series The Good Wife (2010–2015) and The Good Fight (2018–2019), Malcolm Ward in Ringer (2011–2012), Jameson Locke in the Halo franchise (2014–2015), Agent J's father in Men in Black 3, and David Acosta, a former journalist studying to be a Catholic priest in the CBS/Paramount+ series Evil (2019–2024).
Colter is a graduate of Calhoun County High School. In his senior high school yearbook, his senior superlative as voted by the class was "most ambitious." Colter spent a year at Benedict College before transferring to the University of South Carolina, receiving a bachelor's degree in theatre in 1999. He obtained an MFA degree in acting from the Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts.
Colter's first role was in the film Million Dollar Baby as boxer Big Willie Little. He also guest-starred on Law & Order: Trial By Jury, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, The Good Wife, ER, and The Parkers, as well as several TV movies. He starred in the series Ringer.
In 2012, he was featured in the final act of the film Men in Black 3, playing agent J's father in the year 1969.
In 2014, Colter began portraying the role of Agent Jameson Locke in the Halo franchise.[6] Colter starred in the series Halo: Nightfall and provided the motion capture for Agent Locke in Halo 5: Guardians, and the voice acting is performed by Ike Amadi. He also co-starred as Luke Cage/Carl Lucas in Jessica Jones on Netflix. The first season was released online on November 20, 2015. This was followed by the character's own series, Luke Cage, and the first season was released on September 30, 2016. The second season release followed on June 22, 2018. In between the two seasons, Colter also played Luke in The Defenders. He also starred in the 2018 alien invasion movie Extinction.
Colter was announced as the male lead in the CBS drama pilot, Evil, as David Acosta, a Catholic seminarian who assesses unexplained phenomena for supernatural or scientific explanations.
In 2020, Colter starred in the Netflix anthology series Social Distance.
In 2023, Colter and Gerard Butler starred in the movie Plane by Lionsgate Play.
Colter met his future wife, Iva, at Rutgers University in New Jersey, where they were both graduate students. The couple married in 2002. They have two daughters. Colter is a second cousin of actress Viola Davis. He resides in Los Angeles.
In 2019, Colter played for the "home" roster during the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game at the Bojangles' Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina. The roster was made up of celebrities with Carolina roots.
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