Don Cheadle’s best movies and TV shows show an actor who has been in everything from Best Picture winners to superhero event movies and always made an impression. Starting his movie career in the 1980s, Cheadle began making a name for himself in supporting roles in some standout movies in the 1990s, including his breakout movie The Devil in the Blue Dress. This led to him working for some acclaimed filmmakers, like Steven Soderbergh and Paul Thomas Anderson, as well as sharing the screen with the likes of Denzel Washington and George Clooney.
Cheadle began stepping into bigger roles and leading projects in the 2000s, helping him become a household name based on his acclaimed performances. While Cheadle might best be known by MCU fans as War Machine, his career has been extensive and impressive, including an Oscar nomination and some hit TV shows. Though his career is still going strong, he has built an amazing career already that is worth a closer look.
10
No Sudden Move (2021)
As Curt Goynes
No Sudden Move
7/10
- Release Date
-
July 1, 2021
- Runtime
-
115 minutes
- Writers
-
Ed Solomon
Among Don Cheadle’s best movies, director Steven Soderbergh is at the helm of many of them. Their latest collaboration is the most underrated and one of Cheadle’s best movies. No Sudden Move is a 1950s-set crime thriller that stars Cheadle as Curt Goynes, a small-time criminal who is forced to team up with a washed-out monster (played by Benicio Del Toro) as they are hired to take on a job. However, the two men quickly realize that they have been set up for a larger plan.
The movie is the kind of fun, slick, and smart crime thriller that Cheadle and Soderbergh seem to love making together. Cheadle delivers a great performance in the lead role as this overlooked player in the game who has some unexpected moves of his own. He is also joined by an amazing cast that includes David Harbour, Kieran Culkin, Brendan Fraser, and Jon Hamm.
9
House Of Lies (2012-2016)
As Marty Kaan
House of Lies
- Release Date
-
2012 – 2015
- Showrunner
-
Stephen Hopkins
- Directors
-
Stephen Hopkins
While Don Cheadle is best known for his work in movies, House of Lies is a show that represents some of his best work. The series is a satirical comedy-drama that stars Cheadle as Marty Kaan, the head of a brilliant team of management consultants who are the best at what they do largely because they approach the job with no morals at all. While working the powerful and wealthy clients and telling them what they want to hear, Marty lets the audience in on the realities of corporate America.
Cheadle is also joined by a great cast, including Kristen Bell, Ben Schwartz, and Josh Lawson.
Cheadle earned four Emmy nominations and won a Golden Globe for his hilarious and sharp performance as the ultimate player in the business world. The show is smart and witty in its take-down of the corporate world while also having a lot of fun showcasing the high-pressure job. Cheadle is also joined by a great cast, including Kristen Bell, Ben Schwartz, and Josh Lawson.
8
Captain America: Civil War (2016)
As James “Rhodey” Rhodes
Captain America: Civil War
8/10
- Release Date
-
May 6, 2016
- Runtime
-
147 minutes
- Writers
-
Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely
- Producers
-
Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Patricia Whitcher, Stan Lee, Victoria Alonso, Alan Fine
While there are a number of MCU movies Don Cheadle appeared in that could make this list, Captain America: Civil War is not only the best of the movies featuring James “Rhodey” Rhodes, but it also gives him his best storyline. Captain America: Civil War finds the Avengers facing tough questions following the increased collateral damage of their battles. As Steve Rogers and Tony Stark butt heads over the issue, the team is further divided by the return of Bucky Barnes aka The Winter Soldier.
Cheadle gets some nice moments as the Avenger most willing to support government control of their team and he pays a heavy price in the end. The movie is a thrilling and complex look at how this group of superheroes could find themselves falling out with each other. However, it also delivers fun action and big laughs as well as some key new characters, like Tom Holland’s Spider-Man and Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther.
7
The Guard (2011)
As Wendell Everett
The Guard
- Release Date
-
July 7, 2011
- Runtime
-
96 minutes
- Director
-
John Michael McDonagh
- Writers
-
John Michael McDonagh
- Producers
-
Chris Clark, Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe, Martin McDonagh
Cast
-
Brendan Gleeson
Sergeant Gerry Boyle
-
FBI agent Wendell Everett
-
Liam Cunningham
Francis Sheehy
-
Mark Strong
Clive Cornell
Don Cheadle has stolen the show from many great actors, but he is also comfortable lending a supporting straight man role. The Guard is a hilarious Irish crime comedy that stars Brendan Gleeson as an unorthodox police officer. Though he is largely uninterested in putting in too much work and is more concerned about drinking and using recreational drugs, he is reluctantly lured into a case of drug smuggling when an FBI agent (Cheadle) comes to his small community.
Gleeson gives a wonderful performance as the blunt yet lovable cop who makes for one of the most reluctant heroes in movie history. He also has great chemistry with Cheadle as the two form an unlikely partnership. It is a funny and exciting little caper that pokes fun at the crime genre, subverting many of its tropes.
6
Devil In A Blue Dress (1995)
As Mouse Alexander
Devil in a Blue Dress
- Release Date
-
September 29, 1995
- Runtime
-
102 Minutes
- Director
-
Carl Franklin
- Writers
-
Walter Mosley, Carl Franklin
In what served as the breakout role for Don Cheadle, he managed to steal the show from one of the greatest actors of all time. Devil in a Blue Dress stars Denzel Washington as Easy Rawlins, a former soldier living in 1940s Los Angeles who is hired by a shady private detective who helps him find a missing girl in the Black neighborhood of the city. However, the job soon proves to be something entirely different from what it initially seemed.
Cheadle plays Mouse Alexander, Easy’s friend who he recruits to help him. Mouse is a loyal yet unpredictable man with Cheadle adding a spark to the movie as soon as he appears. The film is a captivating thriller throwback to the noir genre of movies from the 1930s and 1940s. Washington is excellent in the lead role and it was a shame that this film didn’t lead to a series of “Easy” Rawlings movies based on the novels by Walter Mosley.
5
Ocean’s Eleven (2001)
As Basher Tarr
Ocean’s Eleven
8/10
- Release Date
-
December 7, 2001
- Runtime
-
116 minutes
- Writers
-
Ted Griffin
Don Cheadle is no stranger to appearing in star-studded ensembles but it is hard to beat this one. Ocean’s Eleven stars George Clooney as Danny Ocean, a career criminal who was just released from prison. He immediately goes about assembling a large crew of other skilled thieves in order to pull off his latest heist – robbing three Las Vegas casinos simultaneously. Cheadle plays Basher Tarr, the explosives expert on the team.
Cheadle’s British accent used in the movie has become somewhat infamous and it’s hard to deny that it’s distracting. However, it does nothing to diminish the fun of this caper movie that is filled with stars like Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, and Julia Roberts. While the Ocean’s movie series has been fun from beginning to end, there has been no beating the ultra-cool, funny, and clever original movie.
4
Boogie Nights (1997)
As Buck Swope
Boogie Nights
10/10
- Release Date
-
October 7, 1997
- Runtime
-
155 minutes
Don Cheadle stepped into the massive ensemble of what might be Paul Thomas Anderson’s masterpiece. Boogie Nights takes the audience back to the 1970s with this exploration of the porn industry in Los Angeles. Mark Wahlberg stars as a young man with a troubled home life who is taken in by a charming pornographer (Burt Reynolds) and finds himself being adopted into this pseudo-family of porn actors. Cheadle plays Buck Swope, a young actor who is looking for his identity in the world.
It is funny, heartbreaking, thrilling, and wild with a great cast that includes Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Boogie Nights is an epic and engrossing ride through this vivid world with Anderson showcasing everything from the dizzying excitement of the beginning to the dark and depressing reality of the end. It is funny, heartbreaking, thrilling, and wild with a great cast that includes Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
3
Traffic (2000)
As Montel Gordon
Traffic
- Release Date
-
December 27, 2000
- Runtime
-
147 Minutes
- Writers
-
Simon Moore, Stephen Gaghan
Don Cheadle teamed with Steven Soderbergh again for this Best Picture winner. Traffic is a complex and powerful look at the war on drugs through the eyes of several characters who experience it from different walks of life. There are the politicians fighting to keep drugs off the streets, the addicts losing their lives to the drugs, the police in Mexico making do with their broken system, and the drug lords profiting. Cheadle plays Montel Gordon, a DEA agent who is working on a big case to bring down one of the biggest drug lords in America.
Traffic is a gripping and honest look at the complications and hardships of this seemingly unwinnable war. It is a conflict with few obvious heroes and even fewer victories. The movie makes for an emotional and riveting insight into this truth with a strong cast that includes Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Benicio Del Toro in an Oscar-winning role.
2
Hotel Rwanda (2005)
As Paul Rusesabagina
Hotel Rwanda
- Release Date
-
February 4, 2005
- Runtime
-
121 Minutes
- Director
-
Terry George
- Writers
-
Keir Pearson, Terry George
Don Cheadle earned his only Oscar nomination to date for his powerful performance in the drama Hotel Rwanda. Based on a true story, Cheadle stars in Hotel Rwanda as Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager living in Rwanda with his family when the genocide of the Tutsi people begins. Unable to stand by while the world does nothing, Paul decides to open his hotel to the refugees in order to keep them protected, putting himself in danger.
Cheadle commands the movie with his grounded and emotional performance as an ordinary man who finds it in himself to be extraordinarily brave in the face of such atrocities. The film is also a powerful look at the inaction of the rest of the world during one of the darkest periods in modern history. It is not an easy movie to watch but an important one.
1
Out Of Sight (1998)
As Maurice Miller
Out of Sight
- Release Date
-
June 26, 1998
- Runtime
-
123 minutes
- Writers
-
Elmore Leonard, Scott Frank
Don Cheadle’s first collaboration with Steven Soderbergh remains their best and one of the best crime movies ever made. Out of Sight is based on the novel by Elmore Leonard and stars George Clooney as Jack Foley, a career bank robber who escapes from prison only to meet US Marshal Karen Sisco (Jennifer Lopez), quickly forming a connection. As she hunts him down, Karen and Jack attempt to deal with the complicated relationship they have found themselves in.
Cheadle delivers one of the most entertaining villain performances as Maurice “Snoopy” Miller, a criminal who has a run-in with Foley. Cheadle is threatening but also hilarious as this small-time thug who sees himself as a criminal mastermind. The movie is slick, funny, and cool with an incredible cast. Clooney and Lopez also have terrific chemistry, adding a sexy romance aspect to the story.