Don Cheadle may not be one of the original six Avengers, but he’s been a mainstay of the Marvel Cinematic Universe for 12 years. Cheadle made his debut in 2010’s “Iron Man 2” as James “Rhodey” Rhodes/War his machine, succeeding Terrence Howard. In a new retrospective interview with GQ magazine, Cheadle only gave Marvel two hours to decide if he wanted to join ‘Iron Man 2’ and sign a six-movie deal with the studio. .
“I was at a kid’s laser tag birthday party,” Cheadle said. “They call me and say, ‘This is what’s going on and we’ll make you an offer. If you don’t say yes, we’ll go to the next person. This happens very quickly.’ Why don’t you take your time and decide if you want to do it? It was a six-movie deal! You have to decide in an hour?”
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Cheadle asked Marvel what the additional five films would be, and Marvel replied, “It will be these Avengers.” .
Marvel extended the timeline to two hours only when Cheadle explained that he was attending a child’s birthday party. I thought about it, talked to my agent, and tried to get as much information as possible.”
Cheadle accepted the role, which catapulted him into the world of CGI and green screen filmmaking. The actor said Marvel isn’t far from its more dramatic fare at its core, explaining: If he can believe what he is doing, so can the audience. “
After 12 years as a supporting actor in the MCU, Cheadle is gearing up to star in the upcoming Armor Wars movie. Cheadle said of the project: But we haven’t explored who he is yet, and haven’t dug too deep into it yet. “
Check out Cheadle’s GQ video interview below.
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