Clark Duke (1985–)

Actor, director, writer, and producer Clark Duke was raised in Glenwood (Pike and Montgomery counties). After amassing an extensive list of film and television acting credits, he made his directorial debut with the movie Arkansas (2020). He followed that by writing and directing the film Stranglehold (2024). Notable acting credits include the movie Hot Tub Time Machine (2010) and the television series The Office.

Ronald Clark Duke III, known professionally as Clark Duke, was born in Hot Springs (Garland County) on May 5, 1985, to Angela Duke and Ronald Duke Jr. He was raised in Glenwood with his younger brother, writer Chandler Duke. His acting career began with commercials when he was five years old. His first break came when he appeared alongside Debbie Reynolds in a 1991 television pilot titled Esme’s Little Nap, created by Reynolds’s daughter Carrie Fisher. The pilot did not sell, but Duke was soon featured in more commercials for advertisers including ExxonMobil. At age seven, Duke was cast in the television comedy Hearts Afire (1992–1995), which also co-starred fellow Arkansas native Billy Bob Thornton and was created by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason and Arkansan Harry Thomason. In 1993, for his work on Hearts Afire, Duke was nominated for a Young Artist Award as “Outstanding Actor Under Ten in a Television Series.”

Duke graduated in 2002 from Centerpoint High School in the unincorporated community of Rosboro (Pike County). After high school, he studied film at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. As his 2006 college graduation thesis film, Duke wrote, directed, and produced the mockumentary web series Clark and Michael (2007). In it, he played a fictionalized version of himself along with co-star Michael Cera (Arrested Development, Barbie), who in real life was his neighbor and good friend.

From 2007 to 2011, Clark Duke was a featured actor on Greek, a popular comedy-drama television series that aired on the ABC Family channel, playing Dale Kettlewell. The show revolved around a fictional college fraternity/sorority system. Duke also portrayed characters on television including Clark Green on The Office, Barry Foster on Two and a Half Men, and Ron Shack on I’m Dying Up Here.

Other credits for Duke include Young Rock, Superbad, Inside Job, The Croods: A New Age, Robot Chicken, Veronica Mars, The Last Movie Star, Bad Moms, Workaholics, Hot Tub Time Machine 2, Mom, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and the movie A Thousand Words, in which he had a memorable role as Eddie Murphy’s assistant. Duke was nominated for a 2013 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series for The Office and a Behind the Voice Actors Award in 2014 for Best Vocal Ensemble in a Feature Film for his work on The Croods.

In 2020, Duke directed the film Arkansas, based on a book of the same name written by John Brandon. Its plot revolves around drug runners, betrayal, and murder. He also appeared as an actor in that film, which co-starred Liam Hemsworth and featured Vivica A. Fox, John Malkovich, and Vince Vaughn. While most of Arkansas was filmed in Alabama due to tax incentives, Duke was able to shoot a few scenes in Hot Springs. In interviews, Duke described the experience of filming the movie in Hot Springs as a childhood dream come true. The world premiere of Arkansas was originally scheduled to be held at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas, in 2020. However, the festival was canceled that year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ultimately, Duke’s film Arkansas was released via Premium Video on Demand, Blu-ray, and DVD.

For additional information:
“Clark Duke.” Internet Movie Database. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0241173/ (accessed November 27, 2024).

Grear, Daniel. “Glenwood Native Director Clark Duke Wraps Second Film.” Arkansas Times, July 24, 2024. https://arktimes.com/rock-candy/2024/07/24/glenwood-native-director-clark-duke-wraps-second-film (accessed November 27, 2024).

“Hollywood Actor among Centerpoint Alumni.” Hot Springs Sentinel-Record, May 16, 2017. https://www.hotsr.com/news/2017/may/16/hollywood-actor-among-centerpoint-alumn/ (accessed November 27, 2024).

Lybarger, Dan. “Clark Duke Brings it Home with ‘Arkansas.’” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, May 1, 2020. https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2020/may/01/clark-duke-brings-it-home-with-arkansas/ (accessed November 27, 2024).

Newton, Tanner. “Duke Living ‘Childhood Dream’ by Directing.” Hot Springs Sentinel-Record, November 22, 2018, pp. 1A, 10A. Online at https://www.hotsr.com/news/2018/nov/22/duke-living-childhood-dream-by-directin/?print (accessed November 27, 2024).

Smittle, Stephanie. “Debut Diverted: ‘Arkansas’ Director Clark Duke Talks Timing, Barbecue and the Flaming Lips.” Arkansas Times, June 2020, pp. 9–10. Online at https://arktimes.com/entertainment/2020/05/05/arkansas-director-clark-duke-talks-timing-barbecue-and-the-flaming-lip (accessed November 27, 2024).

Nancy Hendricks
Garland County Historical Society