# Mike Colter

Mike Colter (born August 26, 1976) is an American actor best known for his role as Luke Cage / Carl Lucas in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing in the streaming television series Luke Cage (2016–2018), The Defenders (2017), and Jessica Jones (2015; 2019). He has also appeared as Lemond Bishop in the television series The Good Wife (2010–2015) and The Good Fight (2018–2019), Malcolm Ward in Ringer (2011–2012), Jameson Locke in the Halo franchise (2014–2015), Agent J's father in Men in Black 3, and David Acosta, a former journalist studying to be a Catholic priest in the CBS/Paramount+ series Evil (2019–2024).

## Early 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.

## Career

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 and Order: Criminal Intent, The Good Wife, ER, and The Parkers as well as several TV movies. He starred in the series Ringer.
In 2012, he was featured in the final act of the film Men in Black 3, playing agent J's father in the year 1969.
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 Agent Locke in Halo 5: Guardians, and the voice acting is performed by Ike Amadi. He also 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 the character's own series, Luke Cage, and the first season was released on September 30, 2016. The second season release followed on June 22, 2018. In between the two seasons, Colter also played Luke in The Defenders. He also starred in the 2018 alien invasion movie 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 movie Plane by Lionsgate Play.

## Personal 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.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role |
| 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 |
| 2012 | Zero Dark Thirty | DEVGRU Operative Mike |
| 2017 | Girls Trip | Stewart Pierce |
| 2018 | Extinction | David |
| 2018 | Skin | Daryle Lamont Jenkins |
| 2019 | Before You Know It | Charles |
| 2019 | Breakthrough | Tommy Shine |
| 2019 | Black and Blue | Darius Tureau |
| 2020 | Fatale | Rafe Grimes |
| 2021 | South of Heaven | Whit Price |
| 2022 | I'm Charlie Walker | Charlie Walker |
| 2022 | Carter | Smith |
| 2023 | Plane | Louis Gaspare |
| 2023 | Murder City | Neil |
| 2024 | The Union | Nick Faraday |
| 2025 | Alarum | Orlin |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2002 | ER | Watts | Episode: "Hindsight" |
| 2002 | The Parkers | Lamar | Episode: "Lights, Camera, Action" |
| 2005 | Law & Order: Trial by Jury | Officer Billy Tolbert | Episode: "Blue Wall" |
| 2005 | Silver Bells | Bill | TV movie |
| 2007 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Dave Oldren | Episode: "Albatross" |
| 2009 | Taking Chance | Master Gunnery Sgt. Demetry | TV movie |
| 2009 | Solving Charlie | Jack Dash | TV movie |
| 2009 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Joseph Serumaga | Episode: "Hell" |
| 2010 | Royal Pains | Officer Tanner | Episode: "Lovesick" |
| 2010–15 | 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" |
| 2011–12 | Ringer | Malcolm Ward | Main cast; 16 episodes |
| 2013 | Criminal Minds | Colin Bramwell | Episode: "Final Shot" |
| 2013 | The Surgeon General | Dr. McCallan | TV movie |
| 2013–14 | American Horror Story: Coven | David | Recurring cast; 3 episodes |
| 2013–15 | 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 |
| 2015–19 | Jessica Jones | Luke Cage | Main cast (season 1) Guest cast (season 3); 8 episodes |
| 2016 | Comedy Bang! Bang! | Himself | Episode: "Mike Colter Wears a Pink Button Up and Black Boots" |
| 2016–18 | Luke Cage | Luke Cage / Carl Lucas | Lead role; 26 episodes |
| 2017 | Hollywood Game Night | Himself/Celebrity Player | Episode: "Playing Hardwick to Get" |
| 2017 | Breakthrough | Himself/Narrator (voice) | Episode: "Addiction: A Psychedelic Cure?" |
| 2017 | The Defenders | Luke Cage | Main cast; 8 episodes |
| 2018 | Comic Book Men | Himself | Episode: "Power Man vs. Counter Man" |
| 2018 | American Dad! | Guerrilla Soldier (voice) | Episode: "(You Gotta) Strike for Your Right" |
| 2018–19 | The Good Fight | Lemond Bishop | Episode: "Day 471" & "The One with the Celebrity Divorce" |
| 2019 | Drop the Mic | Himself | Episode: "Mike Colter vs. Ne-Yo and Christina Milian vs. Ashlee Simpson" |
| 2019 | Hollywood Game Night | Himself/Celebrity Player | Episode: "Kiss Me in Lamorne-ing" |
| 2019 | Seis Manos | Brister (voice) | Main cast 8 episodes |
| 2019–24 | Evil | David Acosta | Main cast 50 episodes |
| 2020 | Tiny Creatures | Narrator (voice) | Main cast 8 episodes |
| 2020 | Monsterland | Brian Cooke | Episode: "Newark, New Jersey" |
| 2020 | Social Distance | Ike | Episode: "Delete All Future Events" |
| 2021 | Match Game | Himself/Celebrity Panelist | Episode #6.2 |
| 2021 | City Confidential | Himself/Narrator (voice) | Main narrator (season 12) |
| 2024 | Accused | John | Episode: "Megan's Story" |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Voice role | Notes |
| 2014 | Halo: The Master Chief Collection | Spartan Jameson Locke | |
| 2015 | Halo 5: Guardians | Spartan Jameson Locke | Also likeness Motion-capture only |

## Awards 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 |
| 2017 | Luke Cage | MTV Movie & TV Awards | MTV Movie Award for Best Hero | Nominated |
| 2017 | Luke Cage | NAACP Image Awards | NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series | Nominated |
| 2017 | Luke Cage | 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 | Evil | Critics' Choice Super Awards | Critics' Choice Super Award for Best Actor in a Horror Series | Nominated |
| 2021 | Evil | Saturn Awards | Saturn Award for Best Actor on Television | Nominated |