---
name: "Mike Colter"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/mike-colter"
fi1m_id: "mike-colter"
imdb_id: "nm1591496"
tmdb_id: 450
wikidata_id: "Q1058675"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "26 August 1976"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 4
average_fi1m_score: 75
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 4
updated: "2026-10-06T05:03:15.326002+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Mike Colter

## Identity

Mike Colter

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/mike-colter
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** mike-colter
- **IMDb ID:** nm1591496
- **TMDB ID:** 450
- **Wikidata ID:** Q1058675
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Colter, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1058675, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1591496/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/450

Actor. Born 26 August 1976 in Columbia, South Carolina, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 26 August 1976, Columbia, South Carolina, USA
- **Active:** 2004–present
- **Also known as:** Mike Randal Colter , Michael Colter, Μάικ Κόλτερ, 마이크 콜터, مايك كولتر, 麥克・寇特, 麥克·寇特
- **Average Fi1m score:** 75, as actor, over 4 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 2000s 86 (1), 2010s 72 (2), 2020s 72 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 75 to 73 across 4 titles
- **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 1 of 3 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Action 2, Drama 2, Thriller 2, Adventure 1, Comedy 1, Science Fiction 1
- **Screen time:** 8 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $1,078m across 4 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Colter, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1058675, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1591496/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/450

## Streaming the US now

- **Apple TV:** [*Million Dollar Baby*](https://film.one/film/million-dollar-baby.md) (86)
- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Plane*](https://film.one/film/plane.md) (72)
- **Paramount+:** [*Men in Black 3*](https://film.one/film/men-in-black-3.md) (63)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Mike Colter

> Mike Colter does his best work standing still. Big, quiet and watchful, he lets a scene come to him, which has served him better in long-running television than in films that keep giving him an entrance and no time to use it.

Watch what Mike Colter does when nobody is talking to him. In *Men in Black 3* (2012) his Colonel turns up late, says little, and matters a great deal to the ending in ways we will not describe. We wanted more of him, and we were mildly cross with Barry Sonnenfeld's film for not noticing what it had. That is his film career in one part: a man built to hold a scene, handed a walk-on.

He began as Big Willie Little, the boxer in Clint Eastwood's *Million Dollar Baby* (2004), opposite Eastwood, Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman. We did not single him out at the time, and we would not now; it is a film about three other people. What followed was a stop-start decade of guest spots, and then Lemond Bishop, the Chicago drug lord on *The Good Wife* (2010–2015), a man who could be courteous and frightening in the same sentence. Robert and Michelle King kept asking him back: as David Acosta, the priest in training in *Evil* (2019–2024), and now as the lead in *Cupertino*. Between those came Luke Cage, introduced in *Jessica Jones* (2015) and given his own series in 2016.

The thing he does is simple to describe and hard to do. He carries strength through presence and leaves the dialogue to other people, and he has said as much: "I learned early on that you don't need dialogue: acting is doing, it's behaviour." In *Luke Cage* critics saw pain and anger working under a surface that never moved, in a series that sprawled around him. The same stillness makes his heavies interesting, Bishop above all, and the antagonist he plays in *The Union* (2024). He has also said he would rather not be cast as athletes for ever, which is reasonable from a man whose first part required a boxer's body.

Film has mostly wanted the shoulders. *Zero Dark Thirty* (2012), *Plane* (2023) and *The Union* use him as a large reliable object in the frame, and he is good at being one, but it is a narrow brief. Television, and the Kings in particular, have wanted the face, and the face is where the work is. He returns to Luke Cage in *Daredevil: Born Again*, and the Kings have a new series for him. Our advice is to follow the Kings. They have understood for fifteen years what the films are still finding out.

## Biography

Mike Colter is an American actor. He was born on 26 August 1976 in Columbia, South Carolina. He studied theatre at the University of South Carolina and received an MFA from the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University.

Colter played Big Willie Little in the film *Million Dollar Baby* (2004). He is known for his role as Luke Cage in the series *Jessica Jones* (2015–2019) and *Luke Cage* (2016–2018), and as Lemond Bishop in *The Good Wife* (2010–2015) and *The Good Fight* (2018–2019). He stars as Michael Price in the series *Cupertino* (2026).

*Sources: imdb.com, ew.com, variety.com.*

## On Fi1m (4)

- *Plane* (2023), Fi1m 72, as Louis Gaspare — [page](https://film.one/film/plane.md)
- *Men in Black 3* (2012), Fi1m 63, as Colonel — [page](https://film.one/film/men-in-black-3.md)
- *Zero Dark Thirty* (2012), Fi1m 80, as Mike - DEVGRU — [page](https://film.one/film/zero-dark-thirty.md)
- *Million Dollar Baby* (2004), Fi1m 86, as Big Willie Little — [page](https://film.one/film/million-dollar-baby.md)

## Complete filmography (51)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Cupertino* (2026), series, as Michael Price — coming soon, [page](https://film.one/tv/cupertino.md)
- *M.I.A.* (2026), series, as Dominick Pierre
- *Daredevil: Born Again* (2025), series, as Luke Cage — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/tv/daredevil-born-again.md)
- *Alarum* (2025), as Orlin
- *The Union* (2024), as Nick Faraday
- *Murder City* (2023), as Neil
- *Accused* (2023), series, as John
- *Plane* (2023), as Louis Gaspare — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/film/plane.md)
- *Carter* (2022), as Smith
- *I'm Charlie Walker* (2022), as Charlie Walker
- *South of Heaven* (2021), as Whit Price
- *Fatale* (2020), as Rafe Grimes
- *Social Distance* (2020), series, as Ike
- *Monsterland* (2020), series, as Brian Cooke
- *Black and Blue* (2019), as Darius
- *Seis Manos* (2019), series, as Wallace Brister (voice)
- *Evil* (2019), series, as David Acosta
- *Before You Know It* (2019), as Charles
- *Skin* (2019), as Daryle Jenkins
- *Breakthrough* (2019), as Tommy Shine
- *Extinction* (2018), as David
- *Marvel's The Defenders* (2017), series, as Luke Cage
- *Girls Trip* (2017), as Stewart Pierce
- *The Good Fight* (2017), series, as Lemond Bishop
- *Marvel's Luke Cage* (2016), series, as Luke Cage
- *Marvel's Jessica Jones* (2015), series, as Luke Cage
- *Breakthrough* (2015), series, as Narrator (voice)
- *Halo: Nightfall* (2014), series, as Jameson Locke
- *Halo: Nightfall* (2014), as Jameson Locke
- *The Following* (2013), series, as Agent Nick Donovan
- *Zero Dark Thirty* (2012), as Mike - DEVGRU — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/zero-dark-thirty.md)
- *Men in Black 3* (2012), as Colonel — Fi1m 63, [page](https://film.one/film/men-in-black-3.md)
- *American Horror Story* (2011), series, as David
- *Ringer* (2011), series, as Malcolm Ward
- *Blue Bloods* (2010), series, as Cliff Reacher
- *Salt* (2010), as CIA Tactical Leader
- *The Good Wife* (2009), series, as Lemond Bishop — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-good-wife.md)
- *Taking Chance* (2009), as MGySgt Demetry
- *Royal Pains* (2009), series, as Officer Tanner
- *And Then Came Love* (2007), as Yuppie Paul
- *Silver Bells* (2005), as Bill
- *Brooklyn Lobster* (2005), as Jamal
- *Criminal Minds* (2005), series, as Colin Bramwell — Fi1m 60, [page](https://film.one/tv/criminal-minds.md)
- *Law & Order: Trial by Jury* (2005), series, as Billy Tolbert
- *American Dad!* (2005), series, as Guerrilla Solider (voice)
- *Million Dollar Baby* (2004), as Big Willie Little — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/film/million-dollar-baby.md)
- *Law & Order: Criminal Intent* (2001), series, as Dave Oldren
- *Law & Order: Special Victims Unit* (1999), series, as Samuel Mbazzi
- *ER* (1994), series, as Watts — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/tv/er.md)
- *The Casket Girls*, Actor
- *The Very Thought of You*, Actor

## Gallery

- ![Mike Colter](https://film.one/media/person/95632/gallery-aaea8891762b.jpg) Mike Colter — Kevin Paul, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9c/Mike_Colter_-_Los_Angeles_Comic_Con_2025.jpg/1280px-Mike_Colter_-_Los_Angeles_Comic_Con_2025.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Dragon Con 2025 - Daredevil Panel with Colby Smith, Deborah Ann Woll, Mike Colter and Vincent D'Onofrio](https://film.one/media/person/95632/gallery-5694d960c45c.jpg) Dragon Con 2025 - Daredevil Panel with Colby Smith, Deborah Ann Woll, Mike Colter and Vincent D'Onofrio — Thomson200, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6b/Dragon_Con_2025_-_Daredevil_Panel_01.jpg/1280px-Dragon_Con_2025_-_Daredevil_Panel_01.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Dragon Con 2025 - Daredevil Panel with Colby Smith, Deborah Ann Woll, Mike Colter and Vincent D'Onofrio](https://film.one/media/person/95632/gallery-d9089e565541.jpg) Dragon Con 2025 - Daredevil Panel with Colby Smith, Deborah Ann Woll, Mike Colter and Vincent D'Onofrio — Thomson200, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fb/Dragon_Con_2025_-_Daredevil_Panel_02.jpg/1280px-Dragon_Con_2025_-_Daredevil_Panel_02.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Dragon Con 2025 - Daredevil Panel with Colby Smith, Deborah Ann Woll, Mike Colter and Vincent D'Onofrio](https://film.one/media/person/95632/gallery-12e63302befc.jpg) Dragon Con 2025 - Daredevil Panel with Colby Smith, Deborah Ann Woll, Mike Colter and Vincent D'Onofrio — Thomson200, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6b/Dragon_Con_2025_-_Daredevil_Panel_03.jpg/1280px-Dragon_Con_2025_-_Daredevil_Panel_03.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Mike Colter](https://film.one/media/person/95632/gallery-62f3b99200b7.jpg) Mike Colter — Image via TMDB
- ![Mike Colter](https://film.one/media/person/95632/gallery-b57f26efe6d4.jpg) Mike Colter — Image via TMDB
- ![Mike Colter](https://film.one/media/person/95632/gallery-de747afa5644.jpg) Mike Colter — Image via TMDB
- ![Dragon Con 2025 - Daredevil Panel with Colby Smith, Deborah Ann Woll, Mike Colter and Vincent D'Onofrio](https://film.one/media/person/95632/gallery-0a32344c0f3e.jpg) Dragon Con 2025 - Daredevil Panel with Colby Smith, Deborah Ann Woll, Mike Colter and Vincent D'Onofrio — Thomson200, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/67/Dragon_Con_2025_-_Daredevil_Panel_04.jpg/1280px-Dragon_Con_2025_-_Daredevil_Panel_04.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Dragon Con 2025 - Daredevil Panel with Colby Smith, Deborah Ann Woll, Mike Colter and Vincent D'Onofrio](https://film.one/media/person/95632/gallery-d1a41836d272.jpg) Dragon Con 2025 - Daredevil Panel with Colby Smith, Deborah Ann Woll, Mike Colter and Vincent D'Onofrio — Thomson200, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3e/Dragon_Con_2025_-_Daredevil_Panel_05.jpg/1280px-Dragon_Con_2025_-_Daredevil_Panel_05.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Mike Colter](https://film.one/media/person/95632/gallery-4536e43bc7f3.jpg) Mike Colter — Image via TMDB
- ![Mike Colter](https://film.one/media/person/95632/gallery-5e1fb8e4aa3a.jpg) Mike Colter — Image via TMDB
- ![Mike Colter](https://film.one/media/person/95632/gallery-a74ed89ea744.jpg) Mike Colter — Image via TMDB

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/mike-colter