by Caroline Atkins

Created on: April 16, 2008   Last Updated: May 01, 2008

You probably know DON CHEADLE from Oceans Eleven, Crash, Reign Over Me, or Hotel Rwanda. However, many people are not aware that Cheadle, born November 29, 1964 in Kansas City, Missouri, is more than a popular Academy Award nominated actor. He is a philanthropist, author, and global humanitarian.

Cheadle drives a Toyota Prius and lives in Los Angeles, CA. He is romantically linked to Bridgid Coulter, and has two daughters, Imani and Ayani. He started acting in 1984.

One of Cheadle's biggest passions is raising awareness of genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan. In 2004, Cheadle filmed Hotel Rwanda on location in Rwanda and South Africa about the horrific Rwandan genocide of 1994. He played Paul Rusesabagina, the manager of the finest hotel in Rwanda's capital city, Kigali. For his performance, some movie reviewers compared him to an African Schindler. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in Hotel Rwanda.

In January 2005, Cheadle traveled to Sudan to see conditions in refugee camps and meet with survivors of the tragic genocide. He was accompanied by Paul Rusesabagina, the man he portrayed in Hotel Rwanda, and five members of congress. The fact finding mission opened Cheadle's eyes and had a lasting effect on him. After he returned to the United States, Cheadle reported on his trip to ABC Nightline News.

Cheadle partnered with American human rights activist John Prendergast to write Not On Our Watch: The Mission To End Genocide In Darfur And Beyond. The book was a New York Times best-seller, with a foreword by Holocaust survivor and author Eli Wiesel and an introduction by senators Barack Obama and Sam Brownback. A portion of the Proceeds of Not On Our Watch are donated to ENOUGH, a joint project of the International Crisis Group and the Center for American Progress to end genocide and other mass atrocities.

Don Cheadle inspires others and is committed to an important cause. He has embraced a group approach to involving others to raise awareness of conditions in Darfur.

Cheadle, who played Texas Hold Em in Ocean's Twelve, enjoys playing poker. In 20007, at the World Poker Tournament, he organized a Las Vegas fundraising poker tournament with celebrity poker player Annie Duke. The tournament, Ante Up for Africa, is designed to raise money and awareness for the people living in refugee camps in Chad and Sudan.

In 2007, Cheadle produced the feature length documentary, Darfur Now, directed by Ted Braun. The film explores the reflections of six people responding to the tragedy in Darfur, one being Don Cheadle.

Moved by the situation in Rwanda, Cheadle has taken positive steps to make a difference. He is a person of courage.

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