Michael Clarke Duncan Goes the Extra Mile for Animals

Perhaps best known for his Oscar-nominated role as John Coffey in the movie “The Green Mile,” actor and muscle man Michael Clarke Duncan is now taking on a new role: animal advocate.

In a new video released by PETA (embedded below), Duncan talks about why he decided to become a vegetarian three years ago, when he turned 51, and how his meat-free diet has changed his life.

Influenced by the video “Meat Your Meat” and the books Skinny Bitch and Skinny Bastard, Duncan says after learning about the process animals go through before ending up on our plates and how eating meat can harm our bodies, he “cleaned out his fridge” and decided to “try something new and exciting and different.”

In the video he says, “The best thing about being a vegetarian for me, number one is I know I’m not harming any animals. The number two thing is increased strength. I’m a lot stronger than I was when I was eating meat.”

After explaining that he feels healthier since he stopped eating meat and how plant-based foods offer all the protein that our bodies need, he ends the video by talking about his companion animals at home — his six cats and two dogs — and concludes: “I’m a big animal lover so I don’t think I could ever eat meat again in my entire life.”