Mike Colter
American actor (born 1976)
Mike Colter (born August 26, 1976) is an American actor best known for his role as Luke Cage in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since 2015, including in the series Luke Cage (2016-2018).
He has also appeared as David Acosta in the CBS/Paramount+ series Evil (2019-2024), Lemond Bishop in the television series The Good Wife (2010-2015) and The Good Fight (2018-2019), Malcolm Ward in Ringer (2011-2012), and Agent J's father in Men in Black 3 (2012), and Jameson Locke in the Halo franchise (2014-2015).
01Early life
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 theater in 1999. He obtained an MFA degree in acting from the Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts.
02Career
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 & Order: Criminal Intent, The Good Wife, ER, and The Parkers as well as several television films. He starred in the series Ringer.
In 2012, Colter appeared in Men in Black 3 as Agent J's father.
In 2014, Colter began portraying the role of Agent Jameson Locke in the Halo franchise. Colter starred in the series Halo: Nightfall and provided the motion capture for Locke in Halo 5: Guardians, with Ike Amadi voicing the character.
Colter 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 a solo series, Luke Cage, with the first season being released on September 30, 2016. The second season release followed on June 22, 2018. In between the two seasons, Colter also appeared as Cage in The Defenders.
Colter starred in the 2018 alien invasion film 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 film Plane by Lionsgate Play. Colter was expected to headline a sequel titled Ship, but the film was cancelled before production commenced.
Colter reprised his role as Luke Cage in the second season finale of the Marvel Studios' Disney+ series Daredevil: Born Again and is set to return in the third season.
03Personal life
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.
04Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Million Dollar Baby | Big Willie Little | |
| 2005 | Brooklyn Lobster | Jamal | |
| 2007 | And Then Came Love | Yuppie Paul | |
| 2010 | Salt | CIA Tactical Leader | |
| 2012 | Men in Black 3 | Col. James Darrell Edwards II | |
| Zero Dark Thirty | DEVGRU Operative Mike | ||
| 2017 | Girls Trip | Stewart Pierce | |
| 2018 | Extinction | David | |
| Skin | Daryle Lamont Jenkins | ||
| 2019 | Before You Know It | Charles | |
| Breakthrough | Tommy Shine | ||
| Black and Blue | Darius Tureau | ||
| 2020 | Fatale | Rafe Grimes | |
| 2021 | South of Heaven | Whit Price | |
| 2022 | I'm Charlie Walker | Charlie Walker | |
| Carter | Smith | ||
| 2023 | Plane | Louis Gaspare | |
| Murder City | Neil | ||
| 2024 | The Union | Nick Faraday | |
| 2025 | Alarum | Orlin | |
| TBA | Casket Girls † | Galpin | Post-production |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | ER | Watts | Episode: "Hindsight" |
| The Parkers | Lamar | Episode: "Lights, Camera, Action" | |
| 2005 | Law & Order: Trial by Jury | Officer Billy Tolbert | Episode: "Blue Wall" |
| Silver Bells | Bill | Television film | |
| 2007 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Dave Oldren | Episode: "Albatross" |
| 2009 | Taking Chance | Master Gunnery Sgt. Demetry | Television film |
| Solving Charlie | Jack Dash | Television film | |
| Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Joseph Serumaga | Episode: "Hell" | |
| 2010 | Royal Pains | Officer Tanner | Episode: "Lovesick" |
| 2010-2015 | The Good Wife | Lemond Bishop | Recurring cast (season 1-2 & 4-6) Guest (season 3); 21 episodes |
| 2011 | Blue Bloods | Cliff Reacher | Episode: "The Blue Templar" |
| 2011-2012 | Ringer | Malcolm Ward | Main cast; 16 episodes |
| 2013 | Criminal Minds | Colin Bramwell | Episode: "Final Shot" |
| The Surgeon General | Dr. McCallan | Television film | |
| 2013-2014 | American Horror Story: Coven | David | Recurring cast; 3 episodes |
| 2013-2015 | The Following | Nick Donovan | Recurring cast (season 1 & 3); 8 episodes |
| 2014 | Halo: Nightfall | Agent Jameson Locke | Main cast; 5 episodes |
| 2015 | Agent X | Miles Lathem | Main cast; 10 episodes |
| 2015-2019 | Jessica Jones | Luke Cage | Main role (season 1); 7 episodes
Guest role (season 3); Episode: "A.K.A. Everything" |
| 2016 | Comedy Bang! Bang! | Himself | Episode: "Mike Colter Wears a Pink Button Up and Black Boots" |
| 2016-2018 | Luke Cage | Luke Cage / Carl Lucas |
Lead role; 26 episodes |
| 2017 | Hollywood Game Night | Himself/Celebrity Player | Episode: "Playing Hardwick to Get" |
| Breakthrough | Himself/Narrator (voice) | Episode: "Addiction: A Psychedelic Cure?" | |
| The Defenders | Luke Cage | Main role, miniseries; 8 episodes | |
| 2018 | Comic Book Men | Himself | Episode: "Power Man vs. Counter Man" |
| American Dad! | Guerrilla Soldier (voice) | Episode: "(You Gotta) Strike for Your Right" | |
| 2018-2019 | The Good Fight | Lemond Bishop | 2 episodes |
| 2019 | Drop the Mic | Himself | Episode: "Mike Colter vs. Ne-Yo and Christina Milian vs. Ashlee Simpson" |
| Hollywood Game Night | Himself/Celebrity Player | Episode: "Kiss Me in Lamorne-ing" | |
| Seis Manos | Brister (voice) | Main cast 8 episodes | |
| 2019-2024 | Evil | David Acosta | Main cast 50 episodes |
| 2020 | Tiny Creatures | Narrator (voice) | Main cast 8 episodes |
| Monsterland | Brian Cooke | Episode: "Newark, New Jersey" | |
| Social Distance | Ike | Episode: "Delete All Future Events" | |
| 2021 | Match Game | Himself/Celebrity Panelist | Episode #6.2 |
| City Confidential | Himself/Narrator (voice) | Main narrator (season 12) | |
| 2024 | Accused | John | Episode: "Megan's Story" |
| 2026-present | Daredevil: Born Again | Luke Cage | Guest role (season 2); Episode: "The Southern Cross"
Main role (season 3); Post-production |
| 2026 | M.I.A. | Dominick Pierre | Recurring cast; 3 episodes |
| Big City Greens | Mr. Brawn (voice) | Episode: "Fitness Test" |
Video games
| Year | Title | Voice role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Halo: The Master Chief Collection | Spartan Jameson Locke | |
| 2015 | Halo 5: Guardians | Also likeness Motion-capture only |
05Awards and nominations
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Luke Cage | Black Reel Awards | Black Reel Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series | Nominated |
| MTV Movie & TV Awards | MTV Movie Award for Best Hero | Nominated | ||
| NAACP Image Awards | NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series | Nominated | ||
| Saturn Awards | Saturn Award for Best Actor on Television | Nominated | ||
| 2018 | The Defenders | NAACP Image Awards | NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series | Nominated |
| 2020 | Evil | Critics' Choice Television Awards | Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series | Nominated |
| 2021 | Critics' Choice Super Awards | Critics' Choice Super Award for Best Actor in a Horror Series | Nominated | |
| Saturn Awards | Saturn Award for Best Actor on Television | Nominated |
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Mike Colter”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Mike Colter - Los Angeles Comic Con 2025.jpg by Kevin Paul, CC BY 4.0
- Mike Colter by Gage Skidmore.jpg by Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0
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