American actor Don Cheadle has a $40 million net worth. The movies “Boogie Nights,” “Traffic,” “Crash,” and the “Ocean’s” trilogy are where Don Cheadle is best known for his acting. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his part in “Hotel Rwanda” in 2004. Later, he became known all over the world for playing James Rhodes in several Marvel superhero movies. On TV, Cheadle has been praised for his roles in the “House of Lies” and “Black Monday” shows on Showtime.
Early life and the start of a career
Don Cheadle was born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1964. His parents were a clinical psychologist named Donald Sr. and a teacher named Bettye. Colin and Cindy are his brother and sister. During Cheadle’s childhood, his family moved around a lot. He went to Hartley Elementary School in Lincoln, Nebraska.
After that, he went to East High School in Denver, Colorado. He played the saxophone in the jazz band, sang in the choir, and acted in plays and musicals at the last school. Cheadle went to college at the California Institute of the Arts and got a Bachelor of Fine Arts in theatre in 1986.
View this post on Instagram
After he was in the comedy movie “Moving Violations” in the mid-1980s, Cheadle was able to get a Screen Actors Guild card. In the years that followed, he acted in the war movie “Hamburger Hill” and the crime movie “Colors.” He also made appearances on TV shows like “Fame,” “L.A. Law,” “Sidekicks,” “Hill Street Blues,” and “Night Court.”
Personal life and doing good things
Cheadle has two children with actress Bridgid Coulter, who he has been with for a long time.
Cheadle is very involved in activism. He has worked to stop the genocide in Darfur, Sudan, and co-founded the Not On Our Watch Project to help people in need. He has also worked with the United Nations on issues related to climate change and is on the Advisory Board of Citizens’ Climate Lobby. In 2010, he was named a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Environment Program.
Career in Television
In the early 1990s, Cheadle appeared on TV in episodes of “China Beach,” “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” and “Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper.” He played a supporting role on the “Golden Girls” spinoff “The Golden Palace” and was the main character on “Picket Fences” for three seasons, playing D.A. John Littleton.
In 1996, he was in “Rebound: The Legend of Earl “The Goat” Manigault,” which was shown on HBO. After this, Cheadle’s performances in “The Rat Pack” and “A Lesson Before Dying” earned him nominations for Emmy Awards. Over the next 10 years, Cheadle was nominated for more Emmys for the Showtime movie “Things Behind the Sun” and the medical show “ER,” where he had a guest role.
In 2012, Cheadle started playing one of his most well-known roles on the comedy show “House of Lies.” This role earned him a Golden Globe Award and nominations for four straight Emmys. Later, in 2019, he got more praise for being the main character in the series “Black Monday,” which was about what happened before the 1987 stock market crash. In 2021, it was announced that Cheadle would be a part of “The Wonder Years” remake on ABC.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe and My Future in Film
In 2010, “Iron Man 2” was Cheadle’s first movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He played James Rhodes, who is also known as “War Machine.” He played the role again in “Iron Man 3,” “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” “Captain America: Civil War,” “Avengers: Infinity War,” and “Avengers: Endgame” over the rest of the decade.
View this post on Instagram
During the same decade, he also starred in movies like “Brooklyn’s Finest,” with Richard Gere and Ethan Hawke, “The Guard,” with Brendan Gleeson, “Flight,” with Denzel Washington, and “Miles Ahead,” in which he played the musician Miles Davis.
Career in Film
After starring in “Roadside Prophets,” “The Meteor Man,” and “Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead,” Cheadle became well-known for his role as Mouse Alexander in the 1995 thriller “Devil in a Blue Dress.” The National Society of Film Critics and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association both gave him awards for Best Supporting Actor for his work.
In 1997, Cheadle starred in the disaster movie “Volcano,” the historical drama “Rosewood,” and the period movie “Boogie Nights” by Paul Thomas Anderson.
The next year, he got bigger parts, like in “Bulworth,” a political satire by Warren Beatty, and “Out of Sight,” a crime comedy by Steven Soderbergh. In 2000, Soderbergh and Cheadle worked together again on the Oscar-winning crime drama “Traffic.” They then worked together again on the remake of “Ocean’s Eleven” in 2001 and its two sequels.
Cheadle also worked on “Mission to Mars,” “The Family Man,” “Rush Hour 2,” “Manic,” “Swordfish,” and “The United States of Leland” during this time. 2004 was one of Cheadle’s best years in movies. In addition to “After the Sunset” and “The Assassination of Richard Nixon,” he played Paul Rusesabagina, a real-life politician and humanitarian who took in refugees during the Rwandan genocide, in the critically acclaimed “Hotel Rwanda.”
Cheadle was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor because of how he played the role. In 2005, Cheadle won more awards when he was part of the cast of “Crash,” which won the Oscar for Best Picture. After “The Dog Problem,” he worked on “Reign Over Me,” a drama with Adam Sandler; “Talk to Me,” a biopic with Chiwetel Ejiofor and Taraji P. Henson; “Darfur Now,” a documentary; “Traitor,” a spy thriller; and “Hotel for Dogs,” a family movie.
How Does Don Cheadle Spend His Money?
Don Cheadle puts some of his money into real estate and giving back to the community.
The House of Don Cheadle
Cheadle has a lovely house in Santa Monica. It has four rooms to sleep in and six bathrooms.
Don Cheadle’s work for good causes
After-School All-Stars, Aid Still Required, Ante Up for Africa, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Children Mending Hearts, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, EasterSeals, ENOUGH Project, Golden Hat Foundation, H.O.M.E., International Rescue Committee, Jewish World Watch, and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
What Made Him So Successful?
Even though he’s usually in movies with serious themes like drug trafficking, the porn industry, and biopics about genocides and massacres, Cheadle’s performance in War Machine was a lot more fun than Terrence Howard’s.
“The process is a little different for each role. There are, of course, different things you have to do. You’re not going as deep with Basher Tarr as I did with Paul Rusesabagina, but at the end of the day, it’s all just a story, and you’re still trying to make these characters seem as real as possible.” Don Cheadle is an actor.
Cheadle is much better suited to the MCU because he is funnier and has much better chemistry than Robert Downey Jr. This is a big reason why War Machine, who was once a minor character, has become so important in recent movies.
Cheadle hasn’t had many lead roles, but he’s a great supporting actor. A lot of his success is because he chooses to be in movies with a large cast.
“I think that if you looked at my resume as a whole, you would see a lot of different things.” Don Cheadle is an actor.
Most of his movies, like The Ocean’s movies, Traffic, Swordfish, Boogie Nights, and Crash, have a large cast. Cheadle’s success comes from his ability to work well on-screen with so many different actors at once and to build chemistry with any actor working in Hollywood today.
Cheadle’s success is also due to the professional relationships he has. The actor and the director Steven Soderbergh get along very well. Soderbergh hired Cheadle for four more movies, including the Ocean’s movies, after being impressed by him on the set of Out of Sight. Cheadle also has a great working relationship with Denzel Washington. The two acted together in Devil in a Blue Dress and Flight, which were both great movies.