Quick Facts
- FULL NAME: Mike Randal Colter
- BIRTHDATE: 26 August, 1976
- BIRTHPLACE: Columbia, South Carolina, USA
- BIRTH SIGN: Virgo — The Virgin
- CULTURAL BACKGROUND: African-American Southern
- HEIGHT: 6’3″
- HAIR: Black
- EYES: Dark Brown
- SPOUSE: Iva Colter (b: 25 April, 1975 in New Jersey, USA) (Married in 2016) (2 Children)
- FATHER: Eddie Lee Colter, Sr
- MOTHER: Freddie Marion (née Mitchell) Colter
- SIBLINGS: Youngest of Five
- EDUCATION: Calhoun County High School, Benedict College, University of South Carolina, Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts
- FORMER JOBS: N/A
- FAVOURITE AUTHORS: N/A
- FAVOURITE SINGERS: N/A
- FAVOURITE THINGS: N/A
MISCELLANEOUS FACTOIDS:
- Received his M.F.A. from Rutgers University in 2001 with classmate Andrea Anders.
- Trained at Trinity Boxing Gym with Martin Snow.
- His brother is a secret service agent.
- Performed voice-over work on Ken Burns documentary The War (2007) but his work was cut the final edit.
- Graduated from Calhoun County High School where he was voted most ambitious in his Senior Class.
- Close friend of actor Assaf Cohen.
- Gained 15 pounds of muscle before filming began for Million Dollar Baby (2004).
- Briefly studied Chekhov technique with Lenard Petit while at Rutgers.
- New York, N.Y. USA. Filming Men in Black 3. Due for release in 2012. [April 2011]
- Working on a the film Taking Chance. Starring Kevin Bacon, directed by Ross Katz due for release in 2008. [August 2007]
- Offered a role in Hot Pursuit (2015) but had to pass because of scheduling conflicts.
- Gained 30lbs by the time Marvel’s Luke Cage began filming.
- Counts Game of Thrones (2011) as one of his favorite TV shows.
- Is second cousins with actress Viola Davis.
QUOTES
- As an actor, you’re trying to capture the nuances of real life, but voice work is almost over-acting.
- As an actor, you just want to continue to work on things that you like. You can be in this business a long time and consistently working and just be totally artistically unfulfilled.
- As artists, we are so not in control most of the time of the content or the narrative of our characters, and sometimes writing takes a turn and it’s not something we necessarily have control over. It’s just a lot of random dumb luck, so when things click, you’ve just got to enjoy it.
- Ridley Scott was part of the production team on ‘The Good Wife.’ I auditioned on my iPhone, and it moved very quickly after that, as they thought I was right for the role, and pretty soon I was filming in Iceland for two months.
- I’m always game for creating a new character, and I liked the idea of putting something new into the ‘Halo’ universe.
- The big budget films have money to do things that are not necessarily essential but sure are comforting. The catering is usually much better. And you have way more of anything you could possibly need. You definitely get a trailer. My shirt and suit for ‘Million Dollar Baby’ were tailor made.
- The big budget films have money to do things that are not necessarily essential but sure are comforting. The catering is usually much better. And you have way more of anything you could possibly need. You definitely get a trailer. My shirt and suit for ‘Million Dollar Baby’ were tailor made.
- I’ve always wanted to be on a show that’s well respected and had critical acclaim and that people like to watch, and at the same time find something that, for me, as an actor, is interesting and challenging.
- Marvel does a fantastic job about bringing human stories – because you’re telling big stories with a heart at the center of it – and that’s what connects all of the characters to our audience members.
- When you’re acting, it’s all about you and the person in front of you, and I think in life we forget to apply the same technique, and we get caught up in the panic of what we’re trying to do – how overwhelmingly daunting the task of trying to become an actor is.
- Having worked on ‘Halo: Nightfall’ and gotten a taste for what ‘Halo’ has to offer, it definitely has me interested in picking up the games and getting familiarized more with the ‘Halo’ universe.
- I’m one of those people who is color blind to a certain degree. And that doesn’t mean I’m not acutely aware of race in our country and abroad and in the world. I know what’s going on, and I’m very aware of it.
- As for facial hair, I think I decided it was a good look after graduate school. I always shave it myself and trim my own beard. I change the look depending on the role. For ‘Million Dollar Baby,’ I had no facial hair. For ‘Men in Black 3,’ I had no facial hair but did wear a wig.
- I hate the gym, so I try to diversify my workouts with swimming and basketball. Indoors, it’s less boring than running. I do find that diet is key. I eat lots of lean protein, no soda, no fast food or fried foods, and a lot of water. But I love food and often cook.
- I have a wonderful wife I met at Rutgers while we were both there. She was in the Ph.D. program. She is not an actress. She definitely brings balance to my life. We actors can tend to bore anyone with shop talk.