Don Cheadle

**Donald Frank Cheadle Jr.** (/ˈtʃiːdəl/; born November 29, 1964) is an American actor, author, director, producer and writer. Following early roles in _Hamburger Hill_ (1987), and as the gangster "Rocket" in the film _Colors_ (1988), Cheadle built his career in the 1990s with roles in _Devil in a Blue Dress_ (1995), _Rosewood_ (1997) and _Boogie Nights_ (1997). His collaboration with director Steven Soderbergh resulted in the films _Out of Sight_ (1998), _Traffic_ (2000) and _The Ocean's Trilogy_ (2001–2007).

Cheadle was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his lead role as Rwandan hotel manager Paul Rusesabagina in the historical genocide drama film _Hotel Rwanda_ (2004). From 2012 to 2016, he starred as Marty Kaan on the Showtime comedy series _House of Lies_; he won a Golden Globe Award in 2013 for the role.

Cheadle extended his global recognition with his role as the superhero War Machine in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, replacing Terrence Howard. He currently appeared in _Iron Man 2_ (2010), _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) and will appear in the upcoming Disney+ series Iron Heart.

## Film and television work

Cheadle became eligible for his Screen Actors Guild (SAG) card when he appeared as a burger joint employee in the 1985 comedy _Moving Violations_. In 1987 he received a small role in episode 19, season 7 of _Hill Street Blues_ where he played a teenager with learning difficulties. Followed by an appearance in _Hamburger Hill_ the same year; Cheadle secured the role of Jack in the April 1, 1988, "Jung and the Restless" episode of _Night Court_. Although his character was 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 jumpsuit, 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 three 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.Don Cheadle also starred in Rush Hour 2 (2001), with Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker..

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_, _Out of Sight_, _Traffic_, and _Ocean's Eleven_. These last three were directed by Steven Soderbergh. He made a cameo appearance in the film _Abby Singer_. 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 co-produced _Crash_, which won the 2006 Academy Award for Best Picture. For his performance in _Crash_, Cheadle was nominated for the BAFTA and Screen Actors Guild Awards for Best Supporting Actor. He played the main character in the movie _Traitor_.

In March 2007, Cheadle starred with comedian Adam Sandler in Mike Binder's _Reign Over Me_, a comedy-drama about a man who has slipped away from reality after the death of his wife and three daughters in 9/11. The film was a box office flop, earning a domestic gross of $22.2 million. Cheadle later starred in the 2009 DreamWorks Pictures film _Hotel for Dogs_. Cheadle was to make his directorial debut with the adaptation of Elmore Leonard's _Tishomingo Blues_, but in July 2007 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 every player on a football team is Don Cheadle.

In 2009, Cheadle and _Boondocks_ creator Aaron McGruder worked on a potential comedy show on NBC. The "project revolve[d] around mismatched brothers who reunite to open a private security company." Cheadle and McGruder were slated to serve as executive producers, while McGruder was expected to write the script.

Also 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 War Machine / James Rhodes in _Iron Man 2_ (2010), replacing Terrence Howard. Cheadle currently reprised this role in _Iron Man 3_ (2013), _Avengers: Age of Ultron_ (2015), _Captain America: Civil War_ (2016), _Avengers: Infinity War_ (2018), _Avengers: Endgame_ (2019) and will reprise it in the Disney+ series Iron Heart.

From 2012 to 2016, Cheadle starred in the Showtime TV series _House of Lies_. In 2013, he won the Golden Globe as Best Actor in a Comedy Series for his role on the show.

Cheadle spent ten years writing and producing the film _Miles Ahead_ (2016) based on the life of jazz musician Miles Davis. Cheadle also directed and starred in the film. Locations for the movie were found in Cincinnati.

In 2018, Cheadle guest-starred in the first-season finale of _DuckTales_, providing Donald Duck's new voice box.

Some of the movies he was in are:
- _Boogie Nights_
- _Mission to Mars_
- _Hotel Rwanda_
- _Ocean's Eleven_
- _Ocean's Twelve_
- _Ocean's Thirteen_
- _Space Jam: A New Legacy_

## Infobox (person)

- **image**: Don Cheadle at his Brooklyn's Finest Interview.jpg
- **caption**: Cheadle at a _Brooklyn's Finest_ interview, February 27, 2010
- **birth name**: Donald Frank Cheadle, Jr.
- **birth place**: Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
- **years active**: 1984–present
- **occupation**: Actor, producer, author
- **partner**: Bridgid Coulter (1992–present; 2 children)