Don Cheadle Biography

Donald Frank "Don" Cheadle, Jr. (born November 29, 1964) is an American actor and producer. Cheadle had an early role in Picket Fences and followed it with performances in Devil in a Blue Dress, Rosewood and Boogie Nights. He then started a collaboration with director Steven Soderbergh that resulted in the movies Out of Sight, Traffic and Ocean's Eleven. Other Cheadle films include The Rat Pack, Things Behind the Sun, Academy Award for Best Picture winner Crash, Swordfish, Ocean's Twelve, Ocean's Thirteen, Reign Over Me, Talk to Me, Traitor, Iron Man 2 & Iron Man 3.

In 2004, his lead role as Rwandan hotel manager Paul Rusesabagina in the genocide drama film Hotel Rwanda, which was set during the Rwandan Genocide earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. He also campaigns for the end of genocide in Darfur, Sudan, and co-authored a book concerning the issue titled Not on Our Watch: The Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond. Along with George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, David Pressman, and Jerry Weintraub, Cheadle co-founded the Not on Our Watch Project, an organization focusing global attention and resources to stop and prevent mass atrocities. In 2010, Cheadle was named U.N. Environment Program Goodwill Ambassador. He stars as Marty Kaan on the Showtime sitcom House of Lies, for which he most recently won a Golden Globe Award in 2013.

Early life

Cheadle was born in Kansas City, Missouri, the son of Bettye (née North), a teacher, and Donald Frank Cheadle, Sr., a clinical psychologist. He has a sister, Cindy, and a brother, Colin. His family moved from city to city throughout his childhood. Cheadle graduated in 1982 from East High School in Denver, Colorado. After he graduated from East, Don went on to the California Institute of the Arts, graduating with a B.A in Acting.

Career

Cheadle acted in Hamburger Hill in 1987. He also played the role of Jack in the April 1, 1988 "Jung and the Restless" episode of Night Court. Although his character was supposed to be 16 years old, Cheadle was 23 at the time.

Cheadle then played the role of Rocket in the 1988 movie Colors. In 1989, he appeared in a video for Angela Winbush's No. 2 hit single "It's the Real Thing", performing dance moves in an orange jump suit, working at a car wash. In 1990, he appeared in an episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air titled "Homeboy, Sweet Homeboy", playing Will Smith's friend and Hilary's first love interest, Ice Tray. In 1992, he played a supporting role in The Golden Girls spin-off The Golden Palace. Cheadle subsequently played district attorney John Littleton on two seasons of Picket Fences.

Cheadle first received widespread notice for his portrayal of Mouse Alexander in the film Devil in a Blue Dress, for which he won Best Supporting Actor awards from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the National Society of Film Critics and was nominated for similar awards from the Screen Actors Guild and the NAACP Image Awards. Following soon thereafter was his performance in the title role of the 1996 HBO TV movie Rebound: The Legend of Earl "The Goat" Manigault. He also starred in the 1997 film Volcano, directed by Mick Jackson.

Cheadle's television credits include Emmy-nominated performances in the movies The Rat Pack, A Lesson Before Dying, Things Behind the Sun and in a guest appearance on ER. The last of these spanned four episodes during the show's ninth season, in which he portrayed Paul Nathan, a medical student struggling to cope with Parkinson's disease. He has made appearances in films including Rosewood, The Family Man, Boogie Nights, a cameo appearance in the film Abby Singer, Out of Sight, Traffic, and Ocean's Eleven. These last three were directed by Steven Soderbergh. In 2005, Cheadle was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Paul Rusesabagina in the film Hotel Rwanda. He also starred in, and was one of the producers of Crash, which won the 2005 Academy Award for Best Picture. For his performance in Crash, Cheadle was nominated for BAFTA and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actor. He played the main character in the movie Traitor. Cheadle starred in Hotel for Dogs by DreamWorks.

In 2007 Cheadle published a book, Not on Our Watch: The Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond, co-authored with John Prendergast.

Cheadle was to make his directorial debut with the adaptation of Elmore Leonard's Tishomingo Blues. In a July 2007 interview he stated, "'Tishomingo' is dead..."

Cheadle appeared in NFL commercials promoting the Super Bowl from 2002 to 2005. He so regularly appeared for the NFL in its Super Bowl advertising that in 2006, in a drive to get fans to submit their own advertising ideas, the NFL sought his permission to reference his previous commercials to portray themselves as having no new ideas: "he quickly signed off on the idea and found it funny." Abe Sutton (along with Etan Bednarsh), one of the finalists in this NFL contest, played on this commercial by proposing an ad where an entire team of football players are Don Cheadle.

Cheadle and Boondocks creator Aaron McGruder are working together to launch a comedy show on NBC. The "project revolves around mismatched brothers who reunite to open a private security company." Cheadle will serve as an executive producer, along with McGruder, who will write the script.

In 2009, Cheadle performed in The People Speak, a documentary feature film that uses dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries, and speeches of everyday Americans, based on historian Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States.

In 2010, Cheadle assumed the role of James Rhodes in the film Iron Man 2, replacing Terrence Howard.

In 2010, Cheadle was appointed, "U.N. Environment Program Goodwill Ambassador." He and Prendergast published their second book, The Enough Moment: Fighting to End Africa's Worst Human Rights Crimes, in 2010.

He also appeared in Derek Water's "Drunk History" video as Frederick Douglass. As of the show's January 8, 2012 premiere, Cheadle stars in the Showtime TV series House of Lies.

In 2013, Cheadle won the Golden Globe as Best Actor in a Comedy Series for his role in the "House of Lies".

Personal life

At the 2007 World Series of Poker, Cheadle and poker player Annie Duke organized an annual charity poker tournament, Ante Up for Africa.

In 2007, Cheadle was awarded the BET Humanitarian award of the year for his numerous humanitarian services he rendered for the cause of the people of Darfur and Rwanda.

On December 13, 2007, Cheadle and fellow actor George Clooney were presented with the Summit Peace Award by the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates in Rome for their work to stop the genocide and relieve the suffering of the people of Darfur.

In 2008, Cheadle's family history was profiled on the PBS series African American Lives 2.

Filmography

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1984	3 Days	Angel
1985	Moving Violations	Juicy Burgers Worker
1986	Punk
1987	Hamburger Hill	Pvt. Washburn
1988	Colors	Rocket
1992	Roadside Prophets	Happy Days Manager
1993	'	Goldilocks
	Lush Life	Jack	(TV movie)
1995	Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead	Rooster
	Devil in a Blue Dress	Mouse Alexander	Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated"?Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated"?NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture Nominated"?Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
1996	Rebound: The Legend of Earl "The Goat" Manigault	Earl "The Goat" Manigault	(TV movie) Nominated"?NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
1997	Volcano	Emmit Reese
	Rosewood	Sylvester Carrier	Nominated"?NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
	Boogie Nights	Buck Swope	Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Cast Nominated"?Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
1998	Out of Sight	Maurice Miller
	'	Sammy Davis Jr.	Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor " Series, Miniseries or Television Film Nominated"?NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special Nominated"?Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie
	Bulworth	L.D.	Nominated"?NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
1999	'	Grant Wiggins	(TV movie) Black Reel Award for Network/Cable " Best Actor Nominated"?NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special Nominated"?Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie Nominated"?Satellite Award for Best Actor " Miniseries or Television Film
2000	Traffic	Montel Gordon	Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actor Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
	Mission to Mars	Luke Graham
	Fail Safe	Lt. Jimmy Pierce	(TV movie)
	'	Cash
2001	Rush Hour 2	Kenny	Uncredited
	Things Behind the Sun	Chuck	Nominated"?Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male Nominated"?Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie
	Manic	Dr. David Monroe
	Swordfish	Agent J.T. Roberts
	Ticker	Passenger
	Ocean's Eleven	Basher Tarr
2003	Abby Singer	Himself
	The United States of Leland	Pearl Madison
2004	Ocean's Twelve	Basher Tarr	Nominated"?BET Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Theatrical Film Nominated"?Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast Nominated"?NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
	After the Sunset	Henri Mooré
	'	Bonny Simmons
	"Unchained Memories" " Readings From The Slave Narratives		Film received two Emmy nominations and won the Christopher Award
	Hotel Rwanda	Paul Rusesabagina	Satellite Award for Best Actor " Motion Picture Drama Nominated"?Academy Award for Best Actor Nominated"?Black Reel Award for Best Ensemble Nominated"?Black Reel Award for Best Actor Nominated"?Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Nominated"?Golden Globe Award for Best Actor " Motion Picture Drama Nominated"?London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor also for Crash Nominated"?NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture Nominated"?Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor Nominated"?Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated"?Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
2005	Crash	Det. Graham Waters	Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated"?BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role Nominated"?Black Movie Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role Nominated"?Black Reel Award for Best Actor Nominated"?Gotham Award for Best Ensemble Cast Nominated"?London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor also for Hotel Rwanda Nominated"?NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture Nominated"?Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
2006	'	Dr. Nourmand
	King Leopold's Ghost	Narrator
2007	Reign Over Me	Alan Johnson
	Talk to Me	Petey Greene	African-American Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Gotham Award for Best Ensemble Cast Nominated"?Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead Nominated"?NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture Nominated"?Satellite Award for Best Actor " Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
	Ocean's Thirteen	Basher Tarr
	Darfur Now	Himself
2008	Traitor	Samir Horn	Nominated"?Black Reel Award for Best Actor Nominated"?NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
2009	Hotel for Dogs	Bernie
		Himself	Documentary
2010	Brooklyn's Finest	Clarence 'Tango' Butler
	Iron Man 2	Lt Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes/War Machine	(replaced Terrence Howard)
2011	'	FBI Agent Wendell Everett
2012	Flight	Hugh Lang	Nominated"?NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
2013	Iron Man 3	Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes/War Machine/ Iron Patriot

Producer

Year	Film	Role	Notes
2004	Crash	Producer	Academy Award for Best Picture Black Movie Award for Outstanding Motion Picture Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature Nominated"?BAFTA Award for Best Film
2007	Talk to Me	Executive producer
	Darfur Now	Producer
2008	Traitor	Producer
	Crash	Producer	2 Episodes (2008)

Television

Year	Series	Role	Notes
1982	Fame	Henry Lee	2 episodes
1986	L.A. Law	Julian Tatoon	Episode "Gibbon Take"
	Sidekicks	Gang Leader	Episode "The Last Electric Knight"
1987	Hill Street Blues	Darius Milton	Episode "Days of Swine and Roses"
	'	Carver	Episode "Small Victories"
1988	Night Court	Jack	Episode "Jung and the Restless"
	Hooperman	Himself	Episode "High Noon"
1989	Booker	Himself	Episode "The Pump"
1990	China Beach	Angel	Episode "Warriors"
	'	Ice Tray	(Episode 5, "Homeboy, Sweet Homeboy")
1992"1993	Hangin' with Mr. Cooper	Bennie	(2 episodes)
	'	Roland Wilson	(23 episodes)
1993"1995	Picket Fences	D.A. John Littleton	(38 episodes) Nominated"?Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (1995, 1996)
2000	'	Brother Faith	Episode: "Faith Off"
2002	'	Cousin D	(2 episodes) " "Sweet Home Chicago: Parts 1 & 2"
	ER	Paul Nathan	(4 episodes) Nominated"?Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series
2003	MADtv	Perry	Episode #9.3 Greys Anatomy
2011"	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Lloyd Prescott
	House of Lies	Marty Kaan	Golden Globe Award for Best Actor " Television Series Musical or Comedy (2012) Nominated "? Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series (2012"13) Nominated "? Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (2012) Nominated "? NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series (2013) Nominated "? Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (2013)

Video games

• Iron Man 2 video game (2010), Col. James 'Rhodey' Rhodes/War Machine

Theatre

• Topdog/Underdog off-Broadway performances (2001)

Internet

• Drunk History Volume 5 (Frederick Douglass)
• Don Cheadle is Captain Planet