Learn all about the newest Black superhero to join the Marvel Universe. While it’s been rumored for a while that Mike Colter would play Luke Cage, Marvel finally confirmed it. Colter isn’t an actor who draws a lot of attention, but everything he does makes an impact.
Luke Cage will guest star in Marvel’s A.K.A. Jessica Jones, starring Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones. It’s about a woman who has “a tragic ending to her short-lived superhero stint” and is “rebuilding her personal life and career as a detective who gets pulled into cases involving people with extraordinary abilities in New York City. During the course of an investigation in New York City, private investigator Jessica Jones encounters the enigmatic Luke Cage – a man whose past has secrets that will dramatically alter Jessica in ways she could never have imagined.”
Marvel‘s official statement quotes Executive Producer/Showrunner Melissa Rosenberg who says, “Mike embodies the strength, edge and depth of Luke Cage. We’re excited to have him bring this iconic Marvel character to life.”
“Fans have longed to see Luke Cage and in Mike we’ve found the perfect actor,” said Jeph Loeb, Executive Producer/Marvel’s Head of Television. “Viewers will get to meet Luke Cage in ‘Marvel’s A.K.A. Jessica Jones,’ and experience why he is such an important superhero in the Marvel mythos.” He’ll guest star in several episodes before getting his
own Netflix series.
Luke Cage is also known as “Power Man” and has superhuman strength and bulletproof skin. Here are some things you probably didn’t know about Mike Colter.
1. Colter Grew Up in a Small Town
Mike Colter was born on August 26, 1976, and raised in a small town in South Carolina. St. Matthews is a town in Calhoun County, South Carolina, United States. It’s less than 2 square miles and had a population of less than 2,000 in 2010. He was voted “most ambitious” by his senior class at Calhoun County High School and definitely overcame his small-town roots.
2. He’s Sexy But Doesn’t Know It
His role as the powerful drug lord Lemond Bishop on The Good Wife got a lot of attention for his acting and his sex appeal. He appreciates it but finds it baffling. Colter told the New York Post, “We’ve never played that up, but I appreciate that people find him
attractive and sexy. Maybe women like a sense of mystery in their men, a little bit of danger.” He added, “Women do odd things. I mean… look at Marilyn Manson: He had flocks of women. Did that make any sense? No. It’s insane.”
3. Facial Hair is Important to Him
Colter is well-known for his bald head and goatee, which is also a signature look of Luke Cage. He explained his facial hair to Huffington Post, saying, “I think I decided it was a
good look after graduate school. I always shave it myself and trim my own beard. I change the look depending on the role. For Million Dollar Baby, I had no facial hair.
“For Men in Black 3, I had no facial hair but did wear a wig….In life, though it gives me something to groom since I am bald-headed.” In Men in Black 3, he wore a $6,000 wig.
4. He’s a Classically Trained Thespian
Mike Colter went to Benedict College in Columbia before transferring to the University of South Carolina, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in theater. Colter then earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from Rutgers University before studying at the Mason Gross School of the Arts.
While he’s played many roles, he always looks for intelligent characters. “I like for my characters to have a certain amount of intelligence,” Colter told Heed Magazine,
“A natural ability to think, be a leader, and pull their own weight. A smart character. He can have any financial background. He can have any upbringing. The only thing that I like to require of my characters is mental acuity.
5. Can Bulk Up But Doesn’t Want to Be Typecast
One of his best-known roles is as heavyweight contender “Big Willie” Little in Clint Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby. He said, “I remember going to some auditions – I am a 6’3″, African American, baldheaded guy, I mean automatically if I am a certain size, people are going to look at me a certain way. I understood that there are a lot of people who can do this kind of thing.
“So my little interpretation of this is that if I really try to navigate my career in a different way, perhaps I can find unique success. I knew that was an issue, so I decided to stay away from the weight room. I like to work out, but I knew that if I looked 225 lbs., well, you know, visually it would put me in a certain category. I couldn’t see myself doing those kinds of roles.”
After he did Million Dollar Baby, he worked hard to avoid getting typecast. His agent got offers for him to play athletic roles, but he turned them down, saying, “I didn’t want to do anything that was like that again. I just wanted to make sure that was who I was going to be defined as.”
6. His Brother is a Secret Service Agent
His brother, Eddie L. Colter Jr., is a Secret Service agent and helped him learn how to keep secrets. Considering how tight-lipped Marvel is about their movies and shows, this should come in handy. Colter also did a training video for the White House.
7. Colter Has a Tattoo But Wouldn’t Get Another One
Mike Colter has one tattoo on his right arm.” I got it on a whim when I was 18 in Cocoa Beach, FL.” Colter told Heed, “I was a bit intoxicated, but not extremely so, I was aware. I never got another because as I got older, I realized it wasn’t for me. I’m glad I stopped there, but I do like them.”
8. He Returned to the MCU as Luke Cage in 2026
The rumors turned out to be true: Mike Colter is officially back as Marvel’s Power Man. Colter made his MCU return as Luke Cage in the season 2 finale of Daredevil: Born Again, reuniting onscreen with Krysten Ritter’s Jessica Jones — and the daughter their characters share, Danielle — for the first time since the Netflix Marvel era ended years earlier.
According to Ritter, the reunion almost didn’t happen the way fans saw it. She told Entertainment Weekly that the idea started as “just a whisper” while filming, and she personally called Colter to convince him to do it once she and Marvel executive producer Sana Amanat started talking it through. Marvel Studios ultimately coordinated the cast’s schedules to make the scene work, delivering a moment that Netflix-era Marvel fans had been waiting years to see.
The timing lines up with a busy stretch for Colter, who’s also set to star in the CBS legal drama Cupertino from the creators of Evil, premiering in the 2026–2027 season, and the romantic drama The Very Thought of You opposite JoJo Levesque.
What do you think of Mike Colter’s casting as Luke Cage?
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<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="33826 ">4 Comments
Sounds like Mike Colter has made a smart move, all he has to do now is grab peoples hearts and minds.
I hadn't really heard of him until now.
It's a very smart move Spacerguy and the time is right.
He's flown under a lot of radars Pat. His Wikipedia page is barely a few paragraphs.