Keith David is one of our most inimitable character actors, a performer who can steal a scene whether he’s got one line, a two-page monologue, or a fight scene that goes on about five minutes longer than it should. His career began in earnest as one of The Thing’s unfortunate research scientists, but you may also know him from his work in Platoon, There’s Something About Mary, Requiem For A Dream, or the Saints Row series of games, where he plays both himself and the vice president of the United States. We even snagged him for our Random Roles feature back in 2014.
To know Keith David is to know his laugh, a deep, mellifluous rumble that can oscillate between looney and menacing with a simple shift in pitch or cadence. That’s why it was wise for No Small Parts, a YouTube documentary series centering around character actors, to build the trailer for its forthcoming Keith David episode around it.
In two minutes, David laughs with everyone from Gene Hackman and Ice Cube to Paul Rudd and Frankie Muniz, that cackle serving as the only proof one needs of his range. We eagerly anticipate the full episode, which is set to drop on the No Small Parts YouTube channel soon.