Issue Date: March 18, 2007
The not-so-serious side of Don Cheadle
Moviegoers equate this actor with intensity. But here's what he's like off the set.
By Jeffrey Ressner
It's a shocking thought: Don Cheadle as a funnyman?
"For the longest time, people said they didn't know I was funny."
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Sure, we respect the solid rep he has in Hollywood as the go-to guy when a heavy drama calls for a lead with earnest integrity ("Hotel Rwanda," "Crash").
That the Oscar-nominated actor aspires to less lofty parts might surprise serious critics and fans. The truth is, Cheadle, 42, has a keen sense of comic timing. He can pull off a Stooge-worthy double take, and he can ad-lib with the best of them.
"Yeah, I gotta get some comedy jobs, man," he says, laughing. "I've mixed it up a bit with things like 'Ocean's Eleven' ... but for the longest time, people said they didn't know if I was funny." His newest movie, "Reign Over Me," is an unlikely buddy picture co-starring Adam Sandler that opens Friday -- and no, it's not a comedy, either.
"There are only three black comedians the studios want to talk to," Cheadle says. "If your name isn't Eddie or Chris, you're not getting that shot."
Bopping around a local hodgepodge of L.A. shops known as the Brentwood Country Mart, Cheadle is downright jovial. Wearing baggy skateboard shorts,a teal shirt and matching Timberlands, he sits at a remote table and scopes the joint. Offering wry observations about the parade of beautiful kids and trophy wives, he's a celebrity enjoying a rare, anonymous moment of people-watching.
Soon, he's on a roll, wisecracking on subjects that other actors neatly deflect during interviews, including arguments with directors.
"I wanted to kill him," Cheadle flat-out says of "Reign" director Mike Binder, playfully miming a strangling motion. "We fought a lot over the script." In the movie, Cheadle plays an old college friend of grief-stricken Sandler, who lost his family on 9/11. Among other things, Cheadle questioned whether the 9/11 angle was really necessary. Acknowledges Binder: "It wasn't easy. Every day, in every scene, he wanted to talk about his part. And I did many rewrites for him."
After stressful days on the film set, Cheadle returns to a relatively relaxed home life. He has two young daughters, Ayana Tai and Imani, with longtime partner Bridgid Coulter, whom he often calls his "wife," although they have never tied the knot. "When you are with someone for 14 years, what's the difference?" he asks. "I have nothing against marriage -- it's just another production that we haven't gone into yet."
In his spare time, Cheadle, like his buddy (and "Ocean's" co-star) George Clooney, has been a dedicated activist, seeking to end the genocide in Darfur (see story, below). Ask for his thoughts about how celebrities like Madonna or Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are adopting African babies, and Cheadle doesn't miss a beat: "My wife and I wanted to adopt a white kid from an affluent family that's bored with it."
Whoa, he can't be serious -- and he's not. He cracks a small smile, then busts out laughing. Memo to Hollywood: Get this actor's actor a great comedy script, pronto.
Jeffrey Ressner lives in Los Angeles and has covered the entertainment industry for magazines such as "Time," "Rolling Stone" and "US".
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How Don Cheadle makes a difference
George Clooney isn't the only Hollywood "actor-vist" fighting to stop the Darfur catastrophe. Don Cheadle has huddled with top African officials, spent time in refugee camps and testified before a Senate subcommittee on human rights and the law. Passionate about the subject, Cheadle bitingly told senators last month that if the now-500,000 dead wasn't enough to warrant immediate action, "maybe a million is more like the target number" for alarms to go off.
"For obvious reasons, the U.S. can't act unilaterally and be the nation to dictate what happens in Darfur," Cheadle says. "But we can use sticks and carrots more strenuously." He's planning "Ante Up for Africa" in July, a Las Vegas poker fundraiser, and before the games begin, he'll also be out with a new book. "Not on Our Watch: The Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond" hits stores in May to raise awareness and encourage people to lobby the government for change. -- J.R.
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