There are those who say that entertainment figures should stay out of political and international issues, claiming that such involvement is based on the precept that all publicity is good publicity'. However, despite such criticism, stars such as Don Cheadle have continued to work hard for the causes they espouse.
From his birth in Kansas City, Missouri in 1964, and his schooling in Denver, Colorado, Cheadle went on to graduate from the California Institute of the Arts.
His acting career developed quickly through early roles on TV and in movies, until he was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of a hotel manager in Hotel Rwanda', which describes the horrors of the earlier genocide in that country.
Cheadle believes passionately that those in the public eye such as movie stars can bring about a sea change in the level of public awareness of a problem through the media which loves to report them. In one interview he said: People stick a microphone in front of me. While I'm talking about George Clooney and Brad Pitt, maybe, I figured, I can talk about Darfur, too.'
He was first invited by a Texas congressman to visit Darfur in western Sudan, and returned home a changed man. The plight of more than 2.5 million homeless people in the area moved Cheadle to set up a series of events in 2005 called Live for Darfur', which he described as a raindrop approach' to the need for decisive humanitarian action.
He later co-wrote with John Predergast a book called Not on our Watch' - the mission to end genocide in Darfur and beyond. Prendergast has described Cheadle as an actor known for his integrity,' The book offers ten reasons for not acting to help the situation in Darfur, and then shoots down each in turn.
Director Ted Braun has recently made a documentary called Darfur Now!', which Cheadle appears in and narrates. As reported in an article on BNG-TV, the film captures the celebrity righteous-cause engine at work.'
It has been said that celebrity trumpeting of a cause like this has its limits. Film, TV and music stars rarely have an impact on electoral politics. Furthermore a piece has appeared in Newsweek, which complains that celebrity-backed Darfur gets all the attention.'
However Don Cheadle can see no down side to his campaigning for action in Darfur. BNG-TV reports that he is hoping to talk China, Sudan's biggest trading partner, into pressuring Sudan to back off its policies toward Darfur. And he's hoping people who see Darfur Now!' will be inspired to take personal action.
Cheadle and Clooney are due to be honored for their work by the Summit of Nobel Peace Prize Laureates.'