35 Facts About Don Cheadle

1.

Don Cheadle has earned nominations for an Academy Award, two British Academy Film Awards and 11 Primetime Emmy Awards.

2.

Don Cheadle was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Rwandan hotel manager Paul Rusesabagina in the historical drama film Hotel Rwanda.

3.

Don Cheadle was the co-producer of Crash, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2005.

4.

From 2019 to 2021, Don Cheadle starred in the series Black Monday, earning two Emmy Award nominations.

5.

Don Cheadle has a sister, Cindy, and a brother, Colin.

6.

Don Cheadle's family moved from city to city throughout his childhood.

7.

Don Cheadle attended Hartley Elementary School in Lincoln, Nebraska from 1970 to 1974.

8.

Don Cheadle graduated in 1982 from East High School in Denver, Colorado.

9.

Don Cheadle went on to attend the California Institute of the Arts, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in theater in 1986.

10.

Don Cheadle became eligible for his Screen Actors Guild card when he appeared as a burger joint employee in the 1985 comedy Moving Violations.

11.

Don 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, Don Cheadle was 23 at the time.

12.

Don Cheadle then played the role of Rocket in the 1988 movie Colors.

13.

Don Cheadle subsequently played district attorney John Littleton on three seasons of Picket Fences.

14.

Don Cheadle first received widespread notice for his portrayal of Mouse Alexander in the 1995 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 earned nominations for similar awards from the Screen Actors Guild and the NAACP Image Awards.

15.

Don Cheadle joined an ensemble cast including George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, and Julia Roberts.

16.

Don Cheadle appeared in NFL commercials promoting the Super Bowl from 2002 to 2005.

17.

In 2005, Don Cheadle was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Paul Rusesabagina in the film Hotel Rwanda.

18.

Don Cheadle starred in and co-produced Crash, which won the 2006 Academy Award for Best Picture.

19.

Don Cheadle played the main character in the movie Traitor.

20.

Don Cheadle later starred in the 2009 DreamWorks Pictures film Hotel for Dogs.

21.

Don 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.

22.

Also in 2009, Don 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 and its companion volume Voices of a People's History of the United States.

23.

Don Cheadle reprised this role in the films Iron Man 3 as the Iron Patriot, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, Captain Marvel, and Avengers: Endgame, as well as the Disney+ TV series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and What If.

24.

From 2012 to 2016, Don Cheadle starred in the Showtime TV series House of Lies.

25.

Don Cheadle was in the show for five seasons until it ended in 2016.

26.

Don Cheadle spent 10 years writing and producing the film Miles Ahead based on the life of jazz musician Miles Davis.

27.

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

28.

Don Cheadle later guest-starred again in 2020 during season three after a wish Donald made to Gene the Genie had altered reality.

29.

In 2021, Don Cheadle starred in the period crime thriller No Sudden Move, in which he played Curt Goynes, a gangster in 1950s Detroit.

30.

Around that same year, Don Cheadle played a villain role in Space Jam: A New Legacy, providing the role of the main antagonist Al-G Rhythm.

31.

Don Cheadle has campaigned to end the genocide in Darfur, Sudan.

32.

Don Cheadle was awarded the BET Humanitarian award of the year in 2007 for his humanitarian work for the people of Darfur and Rwanda.

33.

Don Cheadle has worked with the United Nations on climate change concerns.

34.

Don Cheadle is on the advisory board of Citizens' Climate Lobby.

35.

Don Cheadle married his long-time partner, actress and Rosewood co-star Bridgid Coulter, in early 2020.