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Actor Michael Clarke Duncan has passed away at the age of 54, from complications suffered from a heart attack he had in July.

Known for his big build and deep voice, Duncan was in the prime of his life. His first movie role was in 1995's Friday, and he had several small parts playing bouncers and muscle men. It wasn't until 1997's Armageddon that he had a meatier role with more lines, playing one of the rough-and-tumble drilling crew drafted into blowing up an approaching asteroid.

In 1999 Duncan received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his work in The Green Mile. Based on the Stephen King novel and directed by Frank Darabont, Duncan played a mentally challenged prisoner named John Coffee who possessed a supernatural ability to heal. The role showed that Duncan could play characters that were more dimensional than their brusier exterior.

Duncan worked extensively throughout the 2000s. He played The Kingpin opposite Ben Affleck in Daredevil; a warrior comrade in The Scorpion King; a gorilla general in Tim Burton's reimagining of Planet of the Apes; and showed more of his comedic side with parts in Talladega Nights, The Producers and The Slammin' Salmon.

Two new films of Duncan's remain to be released: The Sibling, a horror-thriller; and From the Rough, a sports-drama.

The announcement of Michael Clarke Duncan's passing was made this morning by his fiancée, Omarosa Manigault.