Mike Colter

Mike Colter
Colter at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con
Born	(1976-08-26) August 26, 1976 (age 49)
Education	Benedict College University of South Carolina, Columbia (BA) Rutgers University, New Brunswick (MFA)
Years active	2002–present
Spouse	Iva Colter ​ (m. 2002)​
Children	2
Relatives	Viola Davis (second cousin)

Mike Colter (born August 26, 1976)^[1] is an American actor best known for his role as Luke Cage in the Marvel Cinematic Universe 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), Agent J's father in Men in Black 3 (2012), Jameson Locke in the Halo franchise (2014–2015), and David Acosta, a former journalist studying to be a Catholic priest in the CBS/Paramount+ series Evil (2019–2024).

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."^[2] 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.^[3][4]

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 television films. He starred in the series Ringer.^[5]

In 2012, Colter appeared in Men in Black 3 as Agent J's father.

In 2014, Colter began portraying the role of Agent Jameson Locke in the Halo franchise.^[6] Colter starred in the series Halo: Nightfall and provided the motion capture for Locke in Halo 5: Guardians, with Ike Amadi voicing the character. He also co-starred as Luke Cage / Carl Lucas in Jessica Jones on Netflix. The first season was released online on November 20, 2015.^[7] This was followed by a solo series, Luke Cage, with the first season being released on September 30, 2016. The second season release followed on June 22, 2018.^[8] In between the two seasons, Colter also appeared as Cage in The Defenders. He also starred in the 2018 alien invasion film Extinction.^[9]

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.^[10]

In 2020, Colter starred in the Netflix anthology series Social Distance.^[11]

In 2023, Colter and Gerard Butler starred in the film Plane by Lionsgate Play.^[12][13]

Colter met his future wife, Iva, at Rutgers University in New Jersey, where they were both graduate students. The couple married in 2002.^[14][15] They have two daughters.^[16] Colter is a second cousin of actress Viola Davis.^[17][18] 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.^[19]

• Mike Colter at IMDb
• Mike Colter on Instagram