Mike Colter

American actor. He is best known for his role as the superhero Luke Cage in the Netflix television series Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and The Defenders.

Colter was born in Columbia, South Carolina, but grew up in St. Matthews, South Carolina. He is a graduate of Calhoun County High School. In his senior year, his classmates voted Mike as the "most ambitious" graduate. Colter spent a year at Benedict College before transferring to the University of South Carolina, where he earned a bachelor's degree in theater in 1999. He earned a master's degree from the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University.