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Issue Date: Dec. 9, 2001
The family man
DON CHEADLE may not be part of the original "Rat Pack" in the 1960 cult film "Ocean's 11" that featured Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr., but he did portray Davis in a 1998 HBO biopic of the group (for which he was nominated for an Emmy). In the just-out "Ocean's 11" remake, Cheadle, 37, joins George Clooney, Matt Damon and Julia Roberts. We spoke with the versatile thespian, whose recent films include "Traffic", "Swordfish" and "The Family Man":
On his idyllic childhood:
"My parents were married students at the University of Nebraska. We lived in the dorms, had free run of the place. There was no question that when we left, we'd be coming home. Now, it's a different world."
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How often are you asked if you play Sammy in this flick?
Every time the movie comes up! It's the assumption that makes sense.
But you're not. Which of the Rat Pack are you most like?
I'm not like any of those cats. They were carousers. I don't carouse. [Laughs.]
You didn't gamble with the guys while filming in Vegas?
[Clooney and Damon] got down. I got, like, 4 grand on a $60 bet. And then I was done. I was with my wife, and we walked away and said, "OK -- that paid for our trip."
What's the wildest thing you've ever done?
You think I'm going to tell you? The statute of limitations isn't up. I tell you, then somebody's at the door and I have to explain to the kids why Daddy has to go to jail for a bit!
Can you relate at all to your character, who helps to pull off the perfect heist?
I'm not going to knock over anything. Maybe some toys on the way to the bathroom, but that's it.
You have two daughters, 5 and 7 years old. Any advice for other dads of girls?
It's going to happen -- they are going to have sex. I can't imagine what it's going to be like when they're 17! Tell them how to see signals for badness and goodness now. Almost all my friends have girls, and we were all bad dudes. So we're scared of the repercussions. [Laughs.]
Contributing: Kathy Balog, Brenda Biondo
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