From Devil in a Blue Dress to the MCU, and beyond.
It’s been a long time since the prolificDon Cheadlewas out of sight.
And that’s more true than ever in July 2021. inSpace Jam: A New Legacy.
Don Cheadle and Denzel Washington in ‘Devil in a Blue Dress’.Everett Collection
“Don Cheadle is amazing,“New LegacydirectorMalcolm D. Leetells EW.
“He’s such a chameleon, he’s such a great character actor.
And the two of us go off and just chopped it up.
Don Cheadle in ‘Boogie Nights’.G. Lefkowitz/New Line
My agent called me that night and said I had an audition.”
The director told him to come back in costume to fully get into character.
It is then when Washington already an Oscar winner was brought in to read opposite Cheadle.
A scene from ‘Out of Sight’.Everett Collection
“Denzel and I hit it off immediately,” Cheadle says.
“Denzel looks at Carl and goes, ‘This is Mouse, what are you guys doing?
Cast him.'”
Jackie Chan, Don Cheadle, and Chris Tucker in ‘Rush Hour 2’.Everett Collection
Carl asked what I thought and I said, ‘This dude’s a banana bird.'”
“It was nuts,” Cheadle recalls of filming.
“But Paul was firmly in control of his movie.
A scene from ‘Ocean’s Eleven’.Bob Marshak/Warner Bros.
He knew exactly what he wanted and how to get it.”
Cheadle says of the “very underrated” Elmore Leonard adaptation.
“He was a bit of a cipher at first,” Cheadle admits.
Don Cheadle in ‘Hotel Rwanda’.Frank Connor/Lionsgate
You always feel like you were part of the process.”
Cheadle and Soderbergh have now worked together six times, most recently onNo Sudden Move.
But even Cheadle is still amazed at how productive Soderbergh can be.
Don Cheadle in ‘Crash’.Everett Collection
“Steven sent me two scripts that he wrote during COVID,” he says.
“He’s like, ‘Hey, man, don’t give me downtime.’
Cheadle adds ofNo Sudden Move: “He literally had a cut by the time we wrapped.
Robert Downey Jr. and Don Cheadle in ‘Iron Man 2’.Industrial Light & Magic/Marvel
He was like, ‘You want to see it?’
And I was like, ‘You’re done?!'”
His counter: “I will fight Jackie Chan to a draw.”
Kristen Bell, Ben Schwartz, Josh Lawson, and Don Cheadle in ‘House of Lies’.Jordin Althaus/SHOWTIME
We fight fast,'” Cheadle recalls of training for hisone scene in theRush Hoursequel.
“And he started goingsohard.
I was like, ‘Yo, this is a movie, bro.’
Don Cheadle in ‘Black Monday’.Nicole Wilder/SHOWTIME
I’m glad I didn’t get my jaw broken.”
“Kendrick was performing at Coachella and said he had a surprise for me,” Cheadle says.
“He hasthis filmat the beginning where he’s doing martial arts.
Don Cheadle in ‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’.Warner Bros.
“We should have just changed it!”
I’m thinking about it.’
And it didn’t go much further than that.
But I don’t know; I don’t know who all would be in it.
I imagine the main group of us would be in.
It would be interesting to see.”
“Paul is in prison under very questionable circumstances,” he says.
“Trying to marshal attention and get him out on humanitarian considerations has been very difficult.
It’s just really sad to have it come to this.”
Crash, 2005
In addition to casting Cheadle as Det.
“We heard 100 nos,” Cheadle recalls of seeking financing.
(Cheadle wasn’t present for the ceremony, having not qualified for the producing Oscar.)
“It was polarizing to begin with,” Cheadle says of the film, which beat frontrunnerBrokeback Mountain.
I think the movie was always a fable and more an allegory than supposed to be taken specifically.
But that’s not really what I look for movies to do for me.
War Machine, which had been originated in the first film by hisCrashcostar Terrence Howard.
)The Falcon and the Winter Soldierguest spot.
“They said, ‘You have an hour to make a decision.’
And I said, ‘I’m at my daughter’s birthday party playing laser tag right now.’
They’re like, ‘Okay, take two hours.’
We’ve always been platform-agnostic, and just go where the good thing is.
It was a no-brainer.”
“This season has been even more supercharged.
Space Jam: New Legacyarrives Friday in theaters and on HBO Max.
