NICE BOY OF THE WEEK: WINSTON DUKE

Today’s Nice Boy is making quite a name for himself playing a very *not* nice boy! Winston Duke currently stars as Dominic, a hyper-intellectual and extremely ruthless criminal kingpin who, much to his dismay, finds himself in near constant conflict with Team Machine on Person of Interest.

I was lucky enough to get to chat with Winston by phone recently, and other than his obvious intelligence, I can confirm that he has little in common with his alter-ego Dominic. Winston is the kind of genuine, warm, and interesting guy that ten minutes into a conversation seems like someone that you’ve always known, rather than someone with whom you’ve never before spoken.

Definitely Nice Boy material. However, just to be official, I asked Winston a few questions to confirm his Nice Boy status. (Actually, I asked Winston *lots* of questions – stay tuned for the rest of the interview which I will post separately!)

What’s your character’s nicest quality?

[We both laugh!]
WD: Maybe his smile, because he keeps it under wraps. I treasure his ambition and his intellect. He is always having to explain *everything* to *everybody*. I also love his voice [laughs]

What words of wisdom do you live by?

WD: My words of wisdom change frequently, as I’m always trying to make myself better. I’d say that recently I’ve realized that sometimes confrontation is the most necessary thing for progress. That progress can be personal, political, etc. So often confrontation has a negative connotation, but it doesn’t have to – it can mean standing up for what you think is right, advocating for yourself, challenging the status quo. It’s been something that I’ve been thinking about a lot. 

Dominic actually does this a lot…he’s confronting life, his position in society, how other people see him in society. He’s making moves to become a legitimate business man with a security business…[in the medical marijuana trade, ironically].

Favorite charity?

WD: I’m currently working with Tobago News Children’s Fund [Duke is a native of the Caribbean country of Tobago], which assists needy children on the island with education expenses.  It’s really important to me to make a difference in the world – I’ve been given so much, I want to share it, give back, so I’m always looking for good avenues to do so, to donate my time.

What’s the nicest thing a fan has ever done for you?

WD: Recently, POI Team Europe fans came on set and brought lots of gifts, including one for my mother. I was so surprised – I didn’t expect anything like that! They took time out of their lives to travel across the world to see us work and bring us gifts.

Fans have made Team Dominic posters, t-shirts. I’m honored to have it. A fan from Japan sent me “Team Dominic” pens with my face on them. Too funny! I’ve been amazed by the stuff that fans will make and send or deliver!

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We have a feeling that we’ll all be seeing a lot of Duke in the upcoming years and we’re looking forward to it!

Stay tuned for the rest of my interview and watch Winston on upcoming episodes of Person of Interest on Tuesday nights at 10/9c on CBS, and on The CW’s The Messengers, premiering April 17th!