Actor Don Cheadle had some very big shoes to fill when he was cast in the Sammy Davis, Jr. role in the remake of ‘Ocean’s Eleven’, ‘Twelve’ and ‘Thirteen’. To show his prowess at Texas Hold’Em poker, he held nightly poker games at the hotel in which he and his other ‘Rat Packers’ were staying. The games included Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Michael Douglas, Casey Affleck, and the movie’s director, Steven Soderbergh. When he returned to the United States after the filming of ‘Twelve’, he was invited to play in the World Poker Tour Invitational.
Cheadle is known for his wide variety of roles over the years after his critically acclaimed performance on the television show ‘Picket Fences’. He has also been on ‘Fame’, ‘L.A. Law’, ‘Hill Street Blues’, ‘Night Court’, ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’, ‘Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper’, ‘The Simpsons’, ‘Bernie Mac Show’, and ‘ER’. His movie credits go back to a small role in ‘Hamburger Hill’ from 1986 and include such titles as ‘Colors’, ‘Things To Do In Denver When You’re Dead’, ‘Rosewood’, ‘Volcano’, ‘Swordfish’, and ‘Hotel Rwanda’ in which he picker up an Academy Award nomination. He also has a Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, Satellite, and Image Awards for his work and has been nominated for the Oscar, Emmy, BET Comedy, and MTV Movie Awards.
Cheadle played in the April 15, 2007 ‘National Heads-Up Poker Championship’ on NBC. He defeated poker professional and champion Phil Ivey that night but was defeated himself on the next episode by poker pro Scott Fischman. With the help of poker player Annie Duke, Cheadle organized at $5,000 Texas Hold’Em game for charity during the 2007 World Series of Poker. All of the proceeds went to The International Rescue Committee and the ENOUGH Project in support of ending genocide in Darfur, a cause close to Cheadle’s heart.
