We've rounded up the personal life and work of Don Cheadle, who is known for his excellent performances in movies like "Hotel Rwanda", "Crash", "Traffic", and won the admiration for his role in the "Iron Man" series.
His full name is Donald Frank Cheadle, he was born in Kansas City, Missouri. He was born the son of Bettye North Cheadle, whose mother was a teacher, and Donald Frank Cheadle Sr, whose father was a clinical psychologist. He has a sister named Cindy and a brother named Colin. His family traveled from city to city many times during his childhood. Cheadle attended Hartley Elementary School in Lincoln, Nebraska from 1970 to 1974, and graduated from East High School in Denver, Colorado in 1982. Cheadle played the saxophone in a jazz orchestra in high school and sang in choirs. He also took the stage in musicals, plays and pantomimes while taking an active role in the theater department. Continuing his education at the California Institute of the Arts, Cheadle graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in theater in 1986.
Cheadle earned his Screen Actors Guild card when he starred as a hamburger man in the 1985 comedy film "Moving Violations" directed by Neal Israel. In 1987, he appeared in a cameo role in season 7 of the serial cop-style TV series "Hill Street Blues" as a teenager with learning difficulties. This was followed by an appearance in the war movie "Hamburger Hill" directed by John Irvin that same year. Later, Cheadle was cast as Jack in the April 1, 1988 episode of "Jung and the Restless" of the tv sitcom "Night Court". Cheadle, who was 23 at the time, played the character, who was 16 years old.
He then appeared as Rocket in the 1988 police action crime film "Colours" directed by Denis Hopper. The following year, she appeared in the music video for Angela Winbush's number two hit song "It's the Real Thing" as a car wash employee doing dance moves. Then in 1990, he played Ice Tray, Will Smith's friend and Hilary's first love, in the TV sitcom "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" episode "Homeboy, Sweet Homeboy".
Two years later, he played the lead role with Cheech Marin in the television series "The Golden Palace", a spin-off of the sitcom "The Golden Girls". He then played the role of district attorney John Littleton in three seasons of the family drama TV series "Picket Fences."
Cheadle first gained widespread fame for his portrayal of Alexander the Mouse in the 1995 mystery thriller "Devil in a Blue Dress" written and directed by Carl Franklin. His performance earned him Best Supporting Actor awards from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the National Society of Film Critics, as well as nominations for similar awards from the Screen Actors Guild and NAACP Image Awards. He soon went on to become known for his lead role in the HBO television movie "Rebound: The Legend of Earl "The Goat" Manigault" (1996).
The following year, he appeared in the historical drama film "Rosewood" directed by John Singleton and the catastrophic disaster film "Volcano" directed by Mick Jackson. That same year, he starred alongside Mark Wahlberg, Julianne Moore and Burt Reynolds in the period comedy-drama film "Boogie Nights" written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. The movie received a lot of attention after its release. The following year, he appeared in the crime comedy "Out of Sight"(1998) directed by Steven Soderbergh. The film is based on Elmore Leonard's 1996 novel of the same name, and marked the beginning of Cheadle's many collaborations with director Steven Soderbergh.
Cheadle earned a Golden Globe Award and Emmy Award nomination for his portrayal of Sammy Davis Jr. in the 1998 TV drama movie "The Rat Pack." A year later, he played the lead role as Grant Wiggins, a school teacher in the TV drama film "A Lesson Before Dying", based on the novel of the same name by Ernest J. Gaines. The film won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Feature. In 2000, he continued his career as Montel Gordon, a DEA agent in Steven Soderbergh's crime drama film "Traffic." In the movie, Benicio del Toro co-starred alongside Michael Douglas, Dennis Quaid, and Catherine Zeta-Jones. The film, which received great acclaim, was crowned with many awards and was likewise a great commercial success. He was subsequently added to his role as Luke Graham in the sci-fi adventure movie "Mission to Mars" directed by Brian De Palma. In the film, he co-starred with Gary Sinise, Tim Robbins, Connie Nielsen, Jerry O'Connell and Kim Delaney. The film had moderate success.
The following year, he played Basher Tarr in the heist comedy "Ocean's Eleven," a remake of the 1960's Rat Pack original. He joined a large cast in the film, which included George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Andy García, and Julia Roberts. Cheadle guest-starred in the ninth season of the medical drama television series "ER" as Paul Nathan, a medical student suffering from Parkinson's disease. He earned an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his performance.
Cheadle appeared in NFL commercials promoting the "Super Bowl" game from 2002 to 2005. At the time, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Paul Rusesabagina in Terry George's drama "Hotel Rwanda." He also co-produced the 2006 crime drama "Crash," which won the Academy Award for Best Picture. He was nominated for BAFTA and Screen Actors Guild awards for Best Supporting Actor for his performance.
In March 2007, Cheadle co-starred with comedian Adam Sandler in "Reign Over Me," a fellow comedy-drama film written and directed by Mike Binder about a man who moves away from reality. The film was a box office failure, grossing only $22.2 million domestically. The following year, he appeared as the main character in the spy thriller "The Villain," written and directed by Jeffrey Nachmanoff. The film, which received generally positive reviews, was a healthy commercial success.
Cheadle later starred in the 2009 DreamWorks Pictures family comedy "Hotel for Dogs" alongside Jake T. Austin, Emma Roberts, Kyla Pratt, Lisa Kudrow and Kevin Dillon, which was a box office success. Cheadle would subsequently make his directorial debut with Elmore Leonard's adaptation of Tishomingo Blues, but in July 2007 Cheadle described the project as 'dead'.
In 2009, Cheadle and Aaron McGruder began working on a potential comedy show on NBC. The project revolved around misfit brothers who reunited to open a private security company. McGruder was expected to write the script, with the duo slated to serve as executive producers. Also that year, he starred in a feature-length documentary film, "The People Speak," based on historian Howard Zinn's book "A People's History of the United States" and the accompanying volume Voices. Dramatic and musical performances of letters, diaries and speeches of ordinary Americans were used in the film.
The following year, Cheadle appeared in the superhero movie "Iron Man 2" (2010) as James "Rhodey" Rhodes/War Machine, alongside Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson, Mickey Rourke, and Samuel L. Jackson. The film became the seventh highest-grossing film of 2010 with its gross. Then, in the continuation of the series "Iron Man 3"(2013), "Avengers: Age of Ultron"(2015), "Captain America: Civil War"(2016), "Avengers: Infinity War"(2018), "Captain Marvel"(2019) ) and "Avengers: Endgame"(2019) reprized this role. The same reenactment has been used in the Disney+ TV series "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" (2021) and "What If...?" (2021), as well as the upcoming Disney+ series "Secret Invasion" (2023) and the feature film "Armor Wars" (TBA) will also be revived.
Cheadle appeared in the Showtime comedy-drama TV series "House of Lies," which began in 2012. He won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series in 2013 for his role in the series. Cheadle appeared for five seasons in the series, which ran until 2016. After the series, he wrote and produced the biographical-drama "Miles Ahead"(2016), based on the life of jazz musician Miles Davis. He also took part in the directing and leading roles of the film.
Two years later, he provided Donald Duck's new voice box while making a guest appearance in the first season finale of the TV series "DuckTales". Later, he made a guest appearance again in the third season of the series in 2020. The following year, he co-starred with Benicio del Toro in the period crime thriller "No Sudden Move," in which he portrayed Curt Goynes, a gangster in 1950s Detroit. Film and actor performances were appreciated. That same year, Cheadle landed the role of the villain and main antagonist Al-G Rhythm in the live-action animated sports comedy "Space Jam: A New Legacy." Although the film was a box office failure, it was able to meet the production budget with the proceeds.
In 2022, he co-starred with Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig in the absurd comedy-drama "White House" based on the 1985 novel of the same name written and directed by Noah Baumbach. While the film received generally positive reviews, it divided some critics with its script, actors, and changing tones. It also failed to meet the production budget at the box office.
Personal life
Cheadle started a relationship with actress Bridgid Coulter. The long-time couple got married in early 2020. The couple, who have been together for over 28 years, have two children, Imani Cheadle and Ayana Tai Cheadle. In 2008, Cheadle's family history was featured in the PBS tv mini-series "African American Lives 2". A DNA test revealed that Cheadle was of Cameroonian descent.
Cheadle continued the campaign to end the genocide in Darfur, Sudan. At the same time, Cheadle and John Prendergast have written a book on this topic, entitled "Not On Our Watch: The Mission to End Soyocide in Darfur and Beyond." Along with George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, David Pressman and Jerry Weintraub, Cheadle founded the charity Not On Our Watch Project, which focuses global attention and resources to stop and prevent mass atrocities. Cheadle was crowned with the BET Humanitarian of the Year award in 2007 for his humanitarian work. Also that year, Cheadle and actor George Clooney were awarded the Summit Peace Prize by the Nobel Peace Laureates in Rome for their work to stop the genocide and alleviate the suffering of the people.
Cheadle and Harrison Ford created a documentary TV series of events called "Dangerous Life Years," which provides first-hand reports on those affected by climate change and those seeking solutions to climate change. He is also on the advisory board of the "Citizens' Climate Lobby".
Cheadle, who was selected as the Goodwill Ambassador of the UN Environment Program in 2010, published their second book, "The Enough Moment: Fighting to End Africa's Worst Human Rights Crimes" with Prendergast in the same year. With his philanthropy and philanthropy, Cheadle has been seen and supported in many institutions, organizations, aid funds, petitions or similar works. He is one of the richest supporting players in the industry.