Duane Davis is an American

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

who has been in

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

s such as ''

Under Siege ''Under Siege'' is a 1992 action thriller film directed by Andrew Davis and written by J. F. Lawton. It stars Steven Seagal (who also produced the film), Tommy Lee Jones, Gary Busey, and Erika Eleniak. Seagal plays Casey Ryback, a former ...

'', '' The Program'', ''

Ghosts of Mars ''Ghosts of Mars'' (titled onscreen as ''John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars'') is a 2001 American action horror film written, directed and scored by John Carpenter. It was produced by Screen Gems and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. It sta ...

'', and ''

Paparazzi Paparazzi (singular form paparazzo) are independent photographers who take pictures of high-profile people, such as actors, musicians, athletes, politicians, and other celebrities who go about their daily life routines. Paparazzi are known f ...

''.

Early life

Davis was born in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, and is the son of

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

Hall of Fame

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

Willie Davis and Ann Davis. At the age of two he moved to Wisconsin. Davis played college football at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

but suffered a knee injury in his sophomore and senior year.

Acting career

He has made something of a career of playing athletes—famous or otherwise. Davis played an athlete in the 1988 film, '' A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master''. In 1991, Davis starred as Texas State wide receiver Featherstone in '' Necessary Roughness'', and he said he did not have to act much as a wide receiver who could not catch passes. Davis pulled his hamstring during filming of the movie but said it was one of his most enjoyable roles. He was in the 1992 Stephen Seagal film, ''

''. Davis's most celebrated role is as ESU football star Alvin Mack in the 1993 film, '' The Program''. During filming, he broke the metacarpal in his hand and refused to do a scene in which his character broke his leg, as it was too close to his own college experience. He claims that fans still come up to him and repeat his lines. In 1994 he appeared in the

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

original movie, ''

Past Tense The past tense is a grammatical tense whose function is to place an action or situation in the past. Examples of verbs in the past tense include the English verbs ''sang'', ''went'' and ''washed''. Most languages have a past tense, with some hav ...

'', and the following year he played

Buster Douglas James "Buster" Douglas (born April 7, 1960) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1981 and 1999. He reigned as undisputed world heavyweight champion in 1990 after knocking out Mike Tyson. He also defeated other heavyweigh ...

in the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

original movie, '' Tyson''. Davis starred as

Bo Kimble Gregory Kevin "Bo" Kimble (born April 9, 1966) is an American basketball coach and former professional player. He played college basketball for the Loyola Marymount Lions. As a senior in the 1989–90 season, Kimble was named a consensus second-t ...

in '' Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story''. He played

Joe Louis Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed "the Brown Bomber", Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He r ...

in the 1999 made-for-TV movie about ''

Rocky Marciano Rocco Francis Marchegiano (September 1, 1923 – August 31, 1969; ), better known as Rocky Marciano (, ), was an American professional boxer who competed from 1947 to 1955. He held the world heavyweight championship from 1952 to 1956, and re ...

''. In 2001 he played the part of Uno in ''

'', and in 2004 he appeared in ''

'' as Reggie. Davis played Duke DePalma, a former boxer-turned-crime fighter, in ''

Team Knight Rider ''Team Knight Rider'' (''TKR'') is an American action science fiction crime drama television series that was adapted from the ''Knight Rider'' franchise and ran in syndication between 1997 and 1998. ''TKR'' was created by writer/producers Rick ...

'', a short-lived

spin-off Spin-off, Spin Off, Spin-Off, or Spinoff may refer to: Entertainment and media *Spinoff (media), a media work derived from an existing work *''The Spinoff'', a New Zealand current affairs magazine * ''Spin Off'' (Canadian game show), a 2013 Canad ...

series of the original ''

Knight Rider ''Knight Rider'' is an American media franchise, entertainment franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The core of ''Knight Rider'' is its three-television series: the original ''Knight Rider (1982 TV series), Knight Rider'' (1982–1986) and sequ ...

'' TV series. He played a

recurring character A recurring character is a fictional character, usually in a prime time TV series, who frequently appears from time to time during the series' run. Recurring characters often play major roles in more than one episode, sometimes being the main f ...

in ''

Sisters A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to r ...

'', and has been in other TV shows such as '' M.A.N.T.I.S.'', ''

L.A. Law ''L.A. Law'' is an American legal drama television series created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher for NBC. It ran for eight seasons and List of L.A. Law episodes, 172 episodes from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. The series cente ...

'', ''

A Different World ''A Different World'' is an American sitcom television series and a spin-off of '' The Cosby Show''. It aired for six seasons on NBC from September 24, 1987, to July 9, 1993. The series originally centered on Denise Huxtable ( Lisa Bonet) an ...

'', '' What's Happening Now'', ''

Head of the Class ''Head of the Class'' is an American sitcom television series that ran from 1986 to 1991 on the ABC television network. The series follows a group of gifted students in the Individualized Honors Program (IHP) at the fictional Millard Fillm ...

'', and ''

Little Big League ''Little Big League'' is a 1994 American family sports film about a 12-year-old who suddenly becomes the owner and then manager of the Minnesota Twins baseball team. It stars Luke Edwards, Timothy Busfield, and Ashley Crow. The film is dir ...

''. He played a boxer in the movie, '' Diggstown'', and also had a small role in Carl Reiner's 1987 comedy film, ''

Summer School Summer school (or summer university) is a school, or a program generally sponsored by a school or a school district, or provided by a private company, that provides lessons and activities during the summer vacation. Participation in summer school ...

.''

Personal life

Davis lives in California. His youngest son,

Wyatt Davis Wyatt Davis (born February 17, 1999) is an American professional football guard. He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, and was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the third round of the 2021 NFL draft. He has also played for ...

, played college football at

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

and was selected in the 3rd round of the

2021 NFL draft The 2021 NFL draft was the 86th National Football League draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland, Ohio from April 29 to May ...

by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

. His oldest son, David Davis played collegiate football as well.

Selected Filmography

* ''

'' (1987) as Jerome Watkins (Bathroom Guy)

References

External links

*
Sports Reference profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Duane Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American male film actors American male television actors Male actors from Cleveland Missouri Tigers football players American football wide receivers Players of American football from Ohio 21st-century African-American male actors 21st-century American male actors