Keith David Williams (born
June 4,
1956), better known by the
stage name Keith David, is an
Emmy Award-winning
American film,
television, and
voice actor. He is perhaps most known for his live action roles as Childs in John Carpenter's
The Thing and King in
Oliver Stone's
Platoon. David is also well known for his voice work, including
Goliath on the
Disney series
Gargoyles and the
Arbiter in
Halo 2 and
Halo 3.
Biography
Early life
David was born in
Harlem,
New York City, the son of Delores (
née Dickenson) and Lester Williams.
[Keith David Biography (1956?-)] He first knew he was going to become an actor after playing the
Cowardly Lion in a school production of
The Wizard of Oz and went on to study at Manhattan's
School of Performing Arts.
Film and television acting
In 1980–81, David honed his craft touring the country with
John Houseman's
The Acting Company in productions of
A Midsummer Night's Dream and
Samuel Beckett's
Waiting For Godot. Less than two years later he went on to star as Childs, opposite
Kurt Russell in
John Carpenter's
The Thing, and his lengthy on-screen career had begun. In the '80s run of
Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, he portrayed Keith the Southwood Carpenter in the
Neighborhood of Make-Believe segments. He also played Keith, the game coin collector in an episode where Rogers and a small child learn to play the
arcade game Donkey Kong.
