Michael Clarke Duncan dies at 54

Actor Michael Clarke Duncan arrives at the 2010 BET Awards in Los Angeles in this June 27, 2010 file photo. [Photo/Agencies]

LOS ANGELES - Michael Clarke Duncan, a prolific actor who was nominated for an Academy Award for starring in "Green Mile," died in Los Angeles, the US state of California, on Monday. He was 54.

Duncan had suffered from a myocardial infarction and had been hospitalized at the city's Cedars-Sinai Medical Center since July 13, according to the Hollywood Reporter, which cited the actor's longtime manager Dan Spilo as saying.

Duncan, who was 6 feet four inches (1.95 meters) tall, was a former bodyguard for Will Smith and a couple of other Hollywood actors. He later turned to acting, beginning with minor roles in films and television series including "Bulworth" and "A Night at the Roxbury."

As his popularity soared, Duncan, at the recommendation of Bruce Willis, played John Coffey, a death row inmate opposite Tom Hanks as a correction officer at a 1930s prison in "Green Mile," a Stephen King novel adaptation. The drama won four nods for Academy Awards, including best actor for Duncan in a supporting role.

A prolific actor who appeared in several movies a year, Duncan also starred in films such as "Armageddon," "Planet of the Apes."