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Don Cheadle

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Donald Frank "Don" Cheadle (born November 29, 1964) is an Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe Award-winning American actor, film producer, philanthropist, and author. Cheadle rose to prominence after playing supporting roles in films such as Out of Sight, Traffic, and the Ocean's Eleven series of films. In 2004, Cheadle's portrayal of Rwandan hotel manager Paul Rusesabagina in the film Hotel Rwanda, gained him a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a leading role. Cheadle 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.

Biography

Early life

Don Cheadle was born in Kansas City, Missouri, the son of Betty, a bank manager and psychology teacher, and Donald Cheadle, a clinical psychologist. 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.

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 already 24 at the time.

Cheadle then got his film breakthrough playing 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. He also starred in an episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, playing Will's friend Ice Tray. In 1992, he received a supporting role in The Golden Girls spin-off The Golden Palace. Though the show was highly publicized it ended after one season.

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. His fame spread with a recurring role as the district attorney on the television series Picket Fences. Since then he has appeared 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 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 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.

Although he loves acting, Cheadle struggles with balancing his career with his family life. Ideally he would want a less time-consuming career, such as writing or producing, until after his children turn 18.

Personal life

Cheadle and his longtime girlfriend, actress Bridgid Coulter, have two daughters: Ayana Tai (born 1995) and Imani (born 1997).

According to Brett Ratner, director of the film After the Sunset, Cheadle is an expert player of the game of 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 15 April 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.

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 are expected to play in the tournament, which will have a $5,000 buy-in. Money finishers are encouraged to donate part of their winnings to The International Rescue Committee or The ENOUGH Project.

In 2007 Don Cheadle was awarded the BET Humanitarian award of the year for his numerous hamanitarian services he rendered for the cause of the people of Darfur and Rwanda

In 2008 Cheadle's family history was profiled on the PBS series African American Lives 2. A DNA test shows that he has Cameroonian ancestry.

On July 14th, 2008, a brigade of activists named their operation "Operation: Don Cheadle". These men were dedicated to committing outrageous destruction to one's property, specifically backpacks.