Michael Clarke Duncan: Tom Hanks and Other Celebrities, Friends Remember Actor

Sept. 4, 2012 — -- intro: As news of the death of Michael Clarke Duncan spread across the web, colleagues and friends of the Oscar-nominated actor shared their grief and memories of Hollywood's "gentle giant."

Duncan, who suffered a heart attack on July 13, "never fully recovered" from the episode, a representative for the actor told ABC News. On Monday the star of "The Green Mile" died at the age of 54, according to a representative for reality-TV personality Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth, Duncan's fiancée.

PHOTOS: Michael Clarke Duncan Dies at 54

Friends of colleagues of Duncan, who was catapulted to fame after his role as an accused child killer opposite Tom Hanks in the "The Green Mile" appeared in a number of Hollywood blockbusters throughout his career, including "Armageddon," "Planet of the Apes," "Sin City," and "The Whole Nine Yards," among others.

quicklist: 1title: Tom Hankstext: Duncan starred alongside Tom Hanks in the 1999 adaptation of Stephen King's serialized novel. In the role, Duncan portrayed John Coffey, convicted of child murder and rape, yet who has a mysterious gift. In a statement released shortly after Duncan's death, Hanks praised his co-star and said his death left him "stunned."

"I am terribly saddened at the loss of Big Mike," Hanks said. "He was the treasure we all discovered on the set of 'The Green Mile.' He was magic. He was a big love of man and his passing leaves us stunned."media: 17147239

quicklist: 2title: Frank Darabonttext: Frank Darabont followed up his breakthrough feature directorial debut "The Shawshank Redemption" with another Stephen King adaptation, 1999's "The Green Mile." The acclaimed film not only won a Oscar nomination for Duncan, but two for Darabont, who received nominations for writing and best picture.

"I'm devastated at the loss of Michael Clarke Duncan, one of the finest people I've ever had the privilege to work with or know. Michael was the gentlest of souls—an exemplar of decency, integrity, and kindness," said Darabont. "Our experience making 'The Green Mile' together was immersive and incredible, a once-in-a-lifetime journey. What sticks most in my mind was his devotion to his craft and the strides he made as an artist during that time, which was beyond inspiring to those of us who took the journey with him.

"Michael has left us far, far too soon. We lost a great man and a great spirit today. My thoughts and condolences go out to his fiancée Omarosa [Manigault-Stallworth] and to his family.media: 17147294

quicklist: 3title: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson text: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson took to Twitter to express his feelings of loss. Duncan starred alongside Johnson in "The Scorpion King," the spinoff from "The Mummy" films. In the 2002 film Duncan played a Nubian King alongside Johnson's mercenary character.

"'When something happens, we always say it happens for a reason' ~ Michael Clarke Duncan 12/10/57 - 9/3/12 I'll miss you my brother..," he wrote.

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quicklist: 4category: title: Olivia Munnurl: text: Olivia Munn, who first gained fame as a host on the G4 network's "Attack of the Show!" and now on Aaron Sorkin's HBO's series "The Newsroom" expressed her sadness over the death of Duncan, who she had interviewed on the pop culture and technology show. "Michael Clarke Duncan always had a smile on his face & a big bear hug ready for you. My thoughts & prayers are with his family&friends. RIP," she wrote on her Twitter feed.

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quicklist: 5title: Frankie Muniztext: "Malcolm in the Middle" star Frankie Muniz tweeted about the death of Duncan, who he became friends with and worked with on the 2005 comedy "Racing Stripes.""So sad to hear about Michael Clarke Duncan. A great friend, and a GREAT guy! He always had the best stories... RIP," he wrote.

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quicklist: 6category: title: Robert Rodrigueztext: Director Robert Rodriguez worked with Duncan on the 2005 hit "Sin City." In the film Duncan portrayed the hard-to-kill Manute. Rodriguez said that actor will be missed.

"Was fortunate to work with Michael Clarke Duncan on Sin City. A very kind and generous actor. He'll be greatly missed," he tweeted.