| Don Cheadle |
Cheadle in February 2007 |
| Born |
Donald Frank Cheadle
November 29, 1964 (1964-11-29) (age 44)
Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. |
| Occupation |
Actor, producer, philanthropist, author |
| Years active |
1984–present |
| Domestic partner(s) |
Bridgid Coulter (1997-present) |
Donald Frank "Don" Cheadle (born November 29, 1964)1 is an American actor, film producer, philanthropist, and author. Cheadle rose to prominence for his supporting roles in the Steven Soderbergh-directed films Out of Sight, Traffic, and Ocean's Eleven. In 2004, his lead role as Rwandan hotel manager Paul Rusesabagina in the genocide drama film Hotel Rwanda 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.
Early life
Cheadle was born in Kansas City, Missouri, the son of Betty, a bank manager and psychology teacher, and Donald Cheadle, a clinical psychologist.12 He has a sister, Cindy, and a brother, Colin. Cheadle graduated in 1982 from East High School in Denver, Colorado. Cheadle went on to graduate from the California Institute of the Arts.
The school where his sister Cindy works - The Potomac School in McLean, Virginia - is involved with raising awareness in Darfur. He is cousins with American gospel singer, Ron Kenoly
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 "Jack" was supposed to be 16 years old, Cheadle was 24 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 #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 Ice Tray. In 1992, he received a supporting role in The Golden Girls spin-off The Golden Palace. Although the show was highly publicized, it was cancelled after one season. 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. A legend among American street basketball players, Manigault is considered by many to be the best streetball player that never reached the NBA as a professional.
Cheadle's fame spread with a recurring role as the district attorney on the television series Picket Fences. Cheadle's other 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 (2001). 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 Hotel Rwanda. He also starred in, and was one of the producers of Crash, which won the 2005 Academy Award for Best Picture. Cheadle himself was nominated for Best Supporting Actor BAFTA and Screen Actors Guild Awards for his performance in Crash. He also played the main character in the movie Traitor.Cheadle also starred in the movie "Hotel for Dogs" by Dreamworks. 3 In this movie, he played as a social worker who work with problem teens, trying to keep them out of trouble. 4
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…"5
Cheadle has also 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 have fans 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.6
In 2010, Don Cheadle will assume the role of James Rhodes in the film Iron Man 2, replacing Terrence Howard7, his Crash co-star.8 Cheadle and Boondockscreator Aaron McGruder, are working together to launch a comedy show on NBC. 9 The "project revolves around mismatched brothers who reunite to open a private security company." 10 Cheadle will serve as an executive producer, along with McGruder, who will write the script. 11
Although oonsidered by many to be a rather odd and indeed ugly man, editor of the British magazine The Edge of Entertainment, Charlie Edge, says of the Oscar nominated actor, 'Not only is Don Cheadle one of the finest actors to emerge from Hollywood in the past half century, but he is also without doubt the most beautiful man in the world.'
Personal life
Cheadle and his girlfriend, actress Bridgid Coulter, have two daughters: Ayana Tai (born 1995) and Imani (born 1997), they currently reside in Santa Monica, California.
According to Brett Ratner, director of the film After the Sunset, Cheadle is an expert player of the strategic board game Go, and advised Pierce Brosnan and Salma Hayek for a scene in the film in which they play it.
According to the episode of the "National Heads-Up Poker Championship" aired on NBC on April 15, 2007, Cheadle defeated noted poker champion Phil Ivey in the first round of the tournament. The two met in the "Hearts & Diamonds" bracket. Cheadle, as an amateur player, was considered a significant underdog against the professional Ivey, notorious for his stone-cold "poker face". On the episode aired April 29, 2007, in the second round of the tournament, Cheadle was defeated and knocked out of the tournament by Vegas poker pro Scott Fischman. In the same tournament in 2009, he defeated David Pham in the first round only to lose to Paul Wasicka in the round of 32.
At the 2007 World Series of Poker, Cheadle and poker player Annie Duke organized a charity poker tournament, "Ante Up for Africa". Many Hollywood actors were expected to play in the tournament, which had a $5,000 buy-in. Money finishers were encouraged to donate part of their winnings to The International Rescue Committee or the Enough Project.12
In 2007 Don 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. The award was presented by the World Summit of Nobel Laureates, Mikhail Gorbachev, and TheCommunity.com.
In 2008 Cheadle's family history was profiled on the PBS series African American Lives 2. A DNA test shows that he may have ancestry in present day Cameroon.
In early 2009, Cheadle embarked on a new endeavor in automotive retail; He announced that he plans to open Don Cheadle Chevrolet. He will co-manage the dealership, which will specialize in hybrid and alternative energy vehicles, with a childhood friend.
Filmography
As producer
Television series
Theatre
References
External links
![video www.1800Genocide.com Academy Award Nominee Don Cheadle from "Hotel Rwanda" and Genocide Intervention Network activist Adam Sterling talk ... Picture](../viewVideo.html?title=Don Cheadle: "Darfur Now" and 1 800 GENOCIDEYouTube=YouTube&summary=www.1800Genocide.com Academy Award Nominee Don Cheadle from "Hotel Rwanda" and Genocide Intervention Network activist Adam Sterling talk ...&link=http://www.youtube.com/v/urKOYd3cfdU&fs=1&source=uds&autoplay=1&thumb=http://1.gvt0.com/vi/urKOYd3cfdU/default.jpg&celebrity=Don Cheadle&videoType=YouTube)
![video Don Cheadle, who is turning the acclaimed movie "Crash" into a weekly series for Starz, talks about racism in Hollywood. Video by Tele ... Picture](../viewVideo.html?title=Don Cheadle talks about racism in HollywoodYouTube=YouTube&summary=Don Cheadle, who is turning the acclaimed movie "Crash" into a weekly series for Starz, talks about racism in Hollywood. Video by Tele ...&link=http://www.youtube.com/v/jihNHTqE2lw&fs=1&source=uds&autoplay=1&thumb=http://0.gvt0.com/vi/jihNHTqE2lw/default.jpg&celebrity=Don Cheadle&videoType=YouTube)
![video Entertainment reporter Tim Estiloz chats with the director of Don Cheadle's incredible film bio of controversial DJ and social activist Petey ... Picture](../viewVideo.html?title=Don Cheadle: "Talk To Me" Director on DJ Petey Greene BioYouTube=YouTube&summary=Entertainment reporter Tim Estiloz chats with the director of Don Cheadle's incredible film bio of controversial DJ and social activist Petey ...&link=http://www.youtube.com/v/dUFlXgbGVwA&fs=1&source=uds&autoplay=1&thumb=http://0.gvt0.com/vi/dUFlXgbGVwA/default.jpg&celebrity=Don Cheadle&videoType=YouTube)
![Traitor (+ Digital Copy) [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51siQFlFfHL._SL160_.jpg)
