BURBANK, CA — Actor and producer Don Cheadle is always about community involvement and recently appeared at the 15th Annual George Lopez Foundation Golf Tournament to support his friend George Lopez’s efforts in the L.A. community. Cheadle, who is an avid golfer, spoke about a variety of topics from the upcoming MCU, to his acting preparation for various roles, to the importance of Black media in our society.
“It’s ongoing Armor Wars is happening soon, (and) The Rhode Show, Secret Invasion, Nick Fury Show (played by actor Samuel L. Jackson),” Cheadle said.
“So we have been doing it for a minute and it’s going to keep going. You will see, I can’t say too much, you understand.“
Cheadle is most known for the character of War Machine in the Marvel Universe, however, Cheadle has played some of the most important roles in film including starring along side Award winning actor Denzel Washington in “Devil In A Blue Dress” and “Flight“. His range has been incredible over the years from films such as Talk To Me and Hotel Rwanda, to television roles that have included Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, “The Golden Palace,” and Showtime’s Black Sunday. His preparation is based upon a main attribute in order for him to bring characters to life on screen.
“It starts with the script, if it’s not on the page it’s not on the stage,” Cheadle explained. “If you don’t have the right words and the right group of people to make the thing happen, then nothing is going to happen. I came out of school wanting to play many different things, so I just wanted to do and be versatile and have fun embodying a lot of different characters. It also helps I think with the empathy factor.“
Cheadle, recently teamed up with Adam Scott to produce a voter suppression television drama called ‘Quitman 10+2‘.
With all that continues to go on in our world, Cheadle has always believed that it is important to ensure we have a voice in our community.
“I think now it’s more important than ever specifically Black media, (but) you need to be able to read all of the media and look at all of the media,” he said. “I think they’re a lot of things driving narratives today that are not about what’s really happening and not necessarily about the betterment of anything. It’s just about getting eyes to the station, the network, the website… I think you have to be more circumspect than we’ve ever been about what it is we’re taking in. Absolutely, Black news is the focus and perspective for us is going to be different and should also be valued.“
