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 where he played saxophone in the jazz band, sang in the choirs and was active in the theatre department, performing in musicals, plays, and several mime shows all under the direction of Catherine Davis. After he graduated from East, Don went on to California Institute of the Arts, graduating with a BFA in Acting.

Career

Cheadle first became eligible for his Screen Actors Guild (SAG) card when he appeared as a burger joint employee in the 1985 comedy Moving Violations. He then appeared in Hamburger Hill in 1987, and 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 co-produced Crash, which won the 2005 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 his wife and three daughters died. After playing for 38 days, the film became a box office flop earning a domestic gross of only 22.2 million. Cheadle later starred in the 2009 DreamWorks Pictures film Hotel for Dogs.

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 one of Derek Waters' Drunk History videos as Frederick Douglass. Since January 8, 2012, he has 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 had a role in the 2015 film Avengers: Age of Ultron, reprising his character Col. James Rhodes.

Cheadle spent ten years, writing and producing the film Miles Ahead, based on the life of jazz musician Miles Davis, which Cheadle also directed and starred in. Locations for the movie were found in Cincinnati. The film was released in 2016.

In September 2015, Cheadle appeared (also as a red bird version of himself) in the promo ad for the Champions for Earth tournament in Angry Birds Friends.

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.

Cheadle has two children with his longterm partner, actress and Rosewood co-star, Bridgid Coulter.

Cheadle works with the United Nations on climate change concerns. He and Harrison Ford worked together on a documentary event series Years of Living Dangerously, which provides first-hand reports on those affected by, and seeking solutions to climate change. He is also on the Advisory Board of Citizens Climate Lobby.

Filmography

Film

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	Meteor Man, TheThe Meteor Man	Goldilocks
1995	Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead	Rooster
1995	Devil in a Blue Dress	Mouse Alexander
1997	Volcano	Emmit Reese
1997	Rosewood	Sylvester Carrier
1997	Boogie Nights	Buck Swope
1998	Out of Sight	Maurice Miller
1998	Rat Pack, TheThe Rat Pack	Sammy Davis Jr.
1998	Bulworth	L.D.
2000	Traffic	Montel Gordon
2000	Mission to Mars	Luke Graham
2000	Family Man, TheThe Family Man	Cash
2001	Rush Hour 2	Kenny	Uncredited
2001	Things Behind the Sun	Chuck
2001	Manic	Dr. David Monroe
2001	Swordfish	Agent J.T. Roberts
2001	Ticker	Passenger
2001	Ocean's Eleven	Basher Tarr
2003	Abby Singer	Himself
2003	The United States of Leland	Pearl Madison
2004	Ocean's Twelve	Basher Tarr
2004	After the Sunset	Henri Mooré
2004	Assassination of Richard Nixon, TheThe Assassination of Richard Nixon	Bonny Simmons
2004	Unchained Memories: Readings From The Slave Narratives
2004	Hotel Rwanda	Paul Rusesabagina
2005	Crash	Det. Graham Waters
2006	Dog Problem, TheThe Dog Problem	Dr. Nourmand
2006	King Leopold's Ghost	Narrator
2007	Reign Over Me	Alan Johnson
2007	Talk to Me	Petey Greene
2007	Ocean's Thirteen	Basher Tarr
2007	Darfur Now	Himself
2008	Traitor	Samir Horn
2009	Hotel for Dogs	Bernie
2009	People Speak, TheThe People Speak	Himself	Documentary
2010	Brooklyn's Finest	Clarence 'Tango' Butler
2010	Iron Man 2	Lt Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes / War Machine	Replacing Terrence Howard
2011	Guard, TheThe Guard	FBI Agent Wendell Everett
2012	Flight	Hugh Lang
2013	Iron Man 3	Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes / Iron Patriot
2015	Avengers: Age of Ultron	Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes / War Machine
2015	Miles Ahead	Miles Davis	Also director, writer and producer
2016	Captain America: Civil War	Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes / War Machine

Television

Television

Year	Series	Role	Notes
1982	Fame	Henry Lee	2 episodes
1986	L.A. Law	Julian Tatoon	Episode: "Gibbon Take"
1986	Sidekicks	Gang Leader	Episode: "The Last Electric Knight"
1987	Hill Street Blues	Darius Milton	Episode: "Days of Swine and Roses"
1987	Bronx Zoo, TheThe Bronx Zoo	Carver	Episode: "Small Victories"
1988	Night Court	Jack	Episode: "Jung and the Restless"
1988	Hooperman	Himself	Episode: "High Noon"
1989	Booker	Himself	Episode: "The Pump"
1990	China Beach	Angel	Episode: "Warriors"
1990	Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, TheThe Fresh Prince of Bel-Air	Ice Tray	Episode: "Homeboy, Sweet Homeboy"
1992-1993	Hangin' with Mr. Cooper	Bennie	2 episodes
1992-1993	Golden Palace, TheThe Golden Palace	Roland Wilson	24 episodes
1993	Lush Life	Jack	TV movie
1993-1995	Picket Fences	D.A. John Littleton	38 episodes
1996	Rebound: The Legend of Earl "The Goat" Manigault	Earl "The Goat" Manigault	TV movie
1999	Lesson Before Dying, AA Lesson Before Dying	Grant Wiggins	TV movie
2000	Simpsons, TheThe Simpsons	Brother Faith	Episode: "Faith Off"
2000	Fail Safe	Lt. Jimmy Pierce	TV movie
2002	Bernie Mac Show, TheThe Bernie Mac Show	Cousin D	2 episodes
2002	ER	Paul Nathan	4 episodes
2003	MADtv	Perry
2011-present	House of Lies	Marty Kaan	Lead role
2012	30 Rock	Himself	Episode: "Unwindulax"
2014	Years of Living Dangerously	Himself	Episode: "Dry Season"
2014-present	Thursday Night Football	Narrator	Intro only

As producer

Producer

Year	Film	Role	Notes
2004	Crash	Producer
2007	Talk to Me	Executive producer
2007	Darfur Now	Producer
2008	Traitor	Producer
2007	Crash	Producer	2 episodes
2014	St. Vincent	Executive Producer
2015	Miles Ahead	Producer

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

Awards and nominations

Year	Nominated work	Award	Result
1995	Devil in a Blue Dress	Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role	Nominated
	Picket Fences	Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Nominated
1996			Nominated
1997	Boogie Nights	Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture	Nominated
1998	The Rat Pack	Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries or Television Film	Won
		Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie	Nominated
1999	A Lesson Before Dying	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie	Nominated
		Satellite Award for Best Actor - Miniseries or Television Film	Won
2000	Traffic	Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture	Won
2001	Things Behind the Sun	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie	Nominated
2002	ER	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series	Nominated
2004	Hotel Rwanda	Satellite Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama	Won
		Academy Award for Best Actor	Nominated
		Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama	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	Nominated
	Crash	Academy Award for Best Picture	Won
		BAFTA Award for Best Film	Nominated
2005		Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture	Won
		BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role	Nominated
		Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role	Nominated
2007	Talk to Me	Satellite Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy	Nominated
2012	House of Lies	Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Television Series Musical or Comedy	Won
		Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series	Nominated
2013			Nominated
		Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Television Series Musical or Comedy	Nominated
2014		Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series	Nominated
		Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Television Series Musical or Comedy	Nominated
2015		Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series	Nominated

Charities

Don Cheadle supports the following charitable cause: Civil Rights.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]