David Duke

"America First!"

- Duke

David Duke was an antagonist in the 2018 Spike Lee film BlacKkKlansman.

He was portrayed by Topher Grace.

In the 1970s the young David Duke had risen to become the grand wizard, or national director, as he put it, of the Invisible Empire of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.

Over in Colorado, a young African-American undercover cop named Ron Stallworth had made contact with the Klan over the phone. When it cam time for a face to face meeting, fellow cop Flip Zimmerman posed as Stallworth. Stallworth contacted Duke directly after his membership was held up in Louisiana. Duke was impressed with the young man on the other end of the phone, telling Stallworth he spoke like a highly intelligent man instead of how he thought African-Americans talked.

On a trip to Colorado, Duke led the local Klan in watching the racist D.W. Griffith film Birth of a Nation before initiating Zimmerman into the Klan. A Klan member and explosives expert named Walter recognized Zimmerman as the cop who sent him to the big house, and attempted to warn Duke before leaving to carry out a terrorist attack with Felix Kendrickson. However Zimmerman was able to talk his way out of the problem and convince Duke that Flip was nothing more than a nickname.

A short time later, Stallworth, who was acting as Duke's bodyguard was able to talk Duke into having his picture taken with Stallworth. Right before Zimmerman pressed the shutter button, Stallworth put his hand on Duke's shoulder, angering the Klan leader. Stallworth was able to grab the camera before Duke could, and warned Duke that if he touched Stallworth he would be arrested for assault.

Afterwards Duke returned to Louisiana, and Stallworth's investigation into the Klan came to an end. In one last phone call between Duke and Stallworth, Stallworth informed Duke he had been duped by an African American. Stallworth ended the call by telling Duke off and hung up, leaving the Klansman to sit there in stunned silence.

Trivia

 * Topher Grace was very uncomfortable with some of the language the Duke character used in the film, and had to be encouraged to use the racial slurs by director Spike Lee.


 * The real David Duke was concerned that Grace's portrayal of him would make him look like an idiot.


 * The real David Duke would appear at the end of the film in archival news footage of the Charleston riot.