Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
There is puh-lenty to love about Black Panther, the latest Marvel blockbuster that has totally redefined the Marvel blockbuster. The film broke a ton of records, scoring the biggest opening weekend in history for February, the winter season, and President’s Day. It’s not a surprise how successful Black Panther has been; what was a surprise was just how many of the film’s supporting players would emerge as breakout, meme-worthy (and thirst-worthy) stars.
Obviously Chadwick Boseman and Michael B. Jordan have their admirers, and Black Panther just adds more fuel to that fire. Fans have been following their careers for years, but the same cannot be said for Winston Duke–you know, the mountainous M’Baku of the Jabari tribe. He’s been crowned Twitter’s Salad Daddy due to M’Baku and the Jabari tribe’s veggie ways. It’s easy to say that everyone in Black Panther is a scene-stealer, because that’s 100% true. But Duke, a relative newcomer compared to acclaimed actors like Angela Bassett and Lupita Nyong’o, is the scene-stealer’s scene stealer. His charisma? Present. His comedic timing? Perfect. His whole vibe? On point.
And don’t think fans haven’t noticed this:
Fans are into Winston Duke, understandably! He’s 6’4″ of cuddly manliness, able to pivot from fierce intimidation to a charming and disarming smile like whoah. How can you not love M’Baku, and how can you not love Winston Duke?!
Since we still have a few months before Avengers: Infinity War drops (brace yourselves for some more M’Baku scene-stealing!) and Black Panther screenings are selling out left and right, we want to let all y’all know you can watch Duke at home on these shows. Now you can plan your Black Panther viewings around these Winston Duke episodes.
'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit' (2014)
Duke’s first IMDb credit is an episode of Law & Order: SVU, a Season 15 episode titled “Gridiron Soldier.” The episode deals with the disappearance of a high school football star from Georgia. That star is Cedric Jones, a character played by Winston Duke. The SVU crew investigates Jones’ disappearance and, when they find him, they discover that there’s a whole lot more going on that they initially thought. This being SVU, here’s the required content warming for hazing, violence, and sexual assault.
'Person of Interest' (2014-2015)
After SVU, Duke scored a recurring gig on Season 4 of the crime thriller Person of Interest. Duke played Dominic Besson (a.k.a. Mini) in 7 episodes. Like M’Baku, Dominic was the leader of an organization. Unlike M’Baku, that organization was a gang called The Brotherhood and… well, Dominic isn’t as amenable as the Jabari leader. But if you’re looking for a lot more of Winston Duke, then this arc is what you need. You can stream all of Person of Interest on Netflix, including the following Duke-filled episodes: “Brotherhood,” “Pretenders,” “Point of Origin,” “The Devil You Know,” “Blunt,” “Asylum,” and “YHWH.”
Watch Winston Duke's Person of Interest storyline on Netflix
'The Messengers' (2015)
Duke had another storyarc on the short-lived CW supernatural drama The Messengers. The show follows a group of five individuals gifted with superpowers and chosen to prevent the impending apocalypse. Duke’s character, Zahir Zakaria, appears in the final three episodes as a journalist. This being The Messengers, he’s also a powered-up individual (his deal: he can manipulate electricity!) with a grudge against Famine. Yes, Famine, as in “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” Famine.
'Major Crimes' (2015)
After a stint with the supernatural, Duke returned to the crime genre in an episode of the cable series Major Crimes titled “#FindKaylaWeber.” This time around, Duke doesn’t play a football player or a crime kingpin; he’s the bodyguard for the family of a pro baseball player named Jim Weber. Once Jim’s daughter Kayla goes missing, the Major Crimes unit has to figure out whodunit. One suspect? Duke’s character, Curtis Turner!
Purchase the Major Crimes episode "#FindKaylaWeber" in iTunes
'Modern Family' (2016)
Considering how sharp Duke’s comic timing is in Black Panther, it’s actually surprising to see that he’s been primarily cast in dramas. He finally got a chance to stretch his comedic muscles in a three-episode arc on Modern Family last season, playing a high school football player named Dwight. Which… okay, it’s a little wild that Duke went from playing a high school student to adult roles like “journalist” and “bodyguard”… and then went back to playing a high school student. But whatever! It gave him a chance to be funny alongside Eric Stonestreet’s Cam! You can find Duke in three ModFam episodes: “Blindsided,” “Weathering Heights,” and “Thanksgiving Jamboree.”
