Darius King

Darius King is a major character who appears in the 2022 Disney+ original film Sneakerella. He is Liv and Kira King's father.
==Background==
A former basketball star, Darius serves as the tycoon of the King6 sneaker company, which is named after his family's name, living with his daughters Kira and Liv as well as his wife Denise. In addition to serving as a tycoon, he is also shown to participate in events often happening at King6 such as during a Gala, often showing integrity most of the time, such as telling the attendees about his company being founded by his daughter Liv. Additionally, he is shown to have a dislike on people who lie to him about sneakers such as the case of El's bad reputation with him and his daughter, thanks to Zelly and Stacy who put him in this situation, causing El to be in trouble. However, El was able to convince him that he is a sneaker designer about his good intentions, his talent, and feelings for his daughter Kira, despite his reputation, which Darius accepts about what El is trying to explain. This, however, resulted in Darius declaring El his new designer.
==Role in the film==
Darius is first seen approaching his daughter who arrives home and when his daughter recaps to them, Kira recaps that she was in line to get a pair of shoes at a shoe store, which her father replies that she could have called the office to give herself a pair of shoes. Darius' other daughter, Liv, tells her father that Sneakercon is only a couple months away, telling him that they need to get their numbers up from last year, planning to find something big just as Darius continues discussing with Liv privately. Kira tells her family about the Sleeks, planning to find someone fresh and that her opinion should count on something, which Darius denies, telling Kira that she cannot run a business on her opinions alone with only talent and passion. He then recaps that his team had experience, doing all the research that says the Sleek is what his family should do now, telling her daughter that a lot of jobs rely on the decisions, which he allows Kira to give her a try, making her happy so that she can get ready for the gala.
During a gala at the King6 headquarters, Darius hosts the event where he tells the crowd that he and his wife Denise would thank them for attending the gala. Just as he talks in front of the people, he recaps that his store King6 started under the direction of his older daughter Liv. However, as Darius continues talking, the clock begins to strike midnight, as El escapes the building with Sami, which Darius and his wife began to notice El escaping.
The next day, Kira tells her father that the designer he met is an artist, showing him the sneaker that El left last night, reminding her father of home at Queens, where her father recaps that her mother took him when they first started dating. Kira tells her father that El worked with many major tier brands, telling him that he trusts him, as well as telling her father to trust her while Liv comments that El's efforts show good work, albeit the unknown factor making it very risky. Darius suggests to his daughter that if everything she says goes out well, he will try to showcase the shoe at Sneakercon. He later appears during the musical number "Shut It Down" where Zelly and Stacy approach him so he could find proof about El while keeping his sneaker design talents a secret.
The next day when El meets him, he tells Darius that the two people who he saw earlier were his stepbrothers, telling him not to trust his stepbrothers. Darius accuses him of lying for being a designer, thanks to El's stepbrothers who put him in trouble, much to Darius who is warning him that Sneakercon is going to occur in a couple of weeks, telling him not to talk to his daughter again. After Darius finishes his rap number during Sneakercon, El approaches him and convinces him to trust him, despite troubles his stepbrothers put him in the situation, impressing Darius and his family, just as he clears out El's bad reputation, much to the other fans who are not happy that El's rapping doesn't remind them of 90s music. He later approaches El's stepfather Trey convincing him about the mix-up between his sons and his stepson just before tossing one of El's sneakers to Trey, his stepfather. Darius later declares El as his sneaker designer.
==Trivia==
*John Salley, the actor who played Darius, is also a basketball player in real life, just like his character.
*Darius King's name's named after King Darius the major character of the Bible story, Daniel and the Lions' Den.
Category:Sneakerella characters
Category:African American characters
Category:Disney characters
Category:Males
Category:Live-action characters
Category:Adults
Category:Spouses
Category:Parents