Winston Duke

Duke was born in Argyle, Saint Paul, Tobago, Trinidad and Tobago,[1][2] and moved to the United States with his mother, Cora Pantin,[3] and sister when he was nine years old. He graduated from Brighton High School in Rochester, New York in 2004.[4] He attended University at Buffalo, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in theatre. He then moved on to Yale School of Drama where he received a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in acting and graduated in 2013.[5] His cousin is the Tobagonian politician and Progressive Democratic Patriots leader Watson Duke.

Duke started acting in theater productions for Portland Stage Company and Yale Repertory Theatre before being cast in Person of Interest.[7] While at Yale, he befriended fellow actor Lupita Nyong’o, with whom he later starred in Black Panther and Us.[8] In 2012 Duke returned to his native Trinidad and Tobago to appear in the theatre production of An Echo in the Bone starring alongside actress Taromi Lourdes Joseph and directed by fellow Yale alumna Timmia Hearn Feldman.