Don Cheadle

“We're trying to do what Miles Davis would have wanted us to do, which is approach it as artists with his life as the canvas.”

“I think we should all be more concerned about the environment and the effects of global warming. It will be pointless to talk about all the issues that divide us when it's 300 degrees outside.”

“I've never been a part of a film before that offers such a platform into real issues, that raises social awareness and has the potential to change things.”

“If people in this country think of Africa as a place with kids and flies swarming around their heads, then they won't understand that these people are you and you are them.”

“I understand what's it like to work all week and on Friday night just want to go and leave your brain at the door, buy some popcorn and be thrilled by something.”

“I used to record but just in my own studio or in my friend's back when I toyed with the idea of being a rapper.”

“I want to be a part of great things.”

“No, it's not comfortable; I hate watching myself. You don't like when you hear your voice on your voicemail; imagine having to see yourself 30 feet wide and 30 feet big.”

“I also believe that you are what you have to defend, and if you're a black man that's always going to be the bar against which you are judged, whether you want to align yourself with those themes or not. You can think of yourself as a colourless person, but nobody else is gonna.”

“I imagine it was much different in the 1970s. That was the Renaissance for black actors, albeit in blaxploitation movies. There was a much greater preponderance of work then than there is now.”

“For me, it's always just been about finding material that I think is creative and interesting and fun and something that can expand me and that I can hopefully do something with.”

“I was about to write that in the future I would chose my words more carefully but I'm sure I won't.”

“But most scripts are terrible. Most projects are bad, that's just kind of the way it is. And I'm not really attracted to those.”

“I hate it when, by page 30, I know what the lead's going to do and then what the bad guy's gonna do. Mostly it's just scripts by the numbers where nothing's surprising, nothing's interesting.”

“People have always been obsessed by celebrities. There are just more outlets and opportunities to make a living exploiting that obsession nowadays.”

“So often when Black men have to play roles on TV, we're either the noble savage or we're completely a savage, and there's no nuance.”

“The fun for me is to mix it all up. I would actually like to do something as far away from what I've just done, just for my own personal joy and growth, for what I want to do.”

“I prefer film to TV because of the amount of time film affords you that TV doesn't (though theater is probably my favorite and the scariest place of all).”

“We're always trailing, as far as the amount of roles that are written for us and the films that are being made that have black characters in them. I don't know if that's going to change.”

“Now is a good time, 10 years ago would have been a good time, and 10 years from now it will still be a good time to see a dynamic, entertaining movie that's wall-to-wall Miles Davis where the music will hopefully spark some desire to know more about the man.”