Winston Duke (born 15 November 1986) is a Trinidadian and Tobagonian actor. Duke was born in Tobago and moved to Brooklyn, New York, United States, at age nine.
Duke began his career with minor roles in theatre productions and recurring roles on the CBS science fiction series Person of Interest (2014–2015) and the ABC sitcom Modern Family (2016). He rose to prominence after playing M'Baku in several films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is one of the highest-grossing media franchises. He has since taken roles in the horror film Us (2019), the fantasy drama film Nine Days (2020), and the action comedy films Spenser Confidential (2020) and The Fall Guy (2024).
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Early life, family and education
Winston Duke was born in the village of Argyle, Tobago in the country of Trinidad and Tobago on 15 November 1986. He was raised by Cora Pantin, a single mother who was a Tobagonian government worker and restaurant owner. He does not have a relationship with his father. He has an older sister, Cindy. His cousin is the Tobagonian politician and Progressive Democratic Patriots leader Watson Duke.
As a child, Duke worked at his mother's restaurant, seating customers at their tables and learned how to "charm" strangers at an early age. When he was nine years old, his mother decided to move her family to the US. She sold the restaurant and their possessions. The three of them settled in a studio apartment in Brooklyn, New York City, where Cindy could attend medical school.
