Actor Don Cheadle tries to show diversity through his roles

[Bennie Covington]

interview courtesy of the KansascityStar.com

When one thinks of diversity, the first thing that may come to mind is race, ethnicity, religion, physical ability, or religious views, however diversity can also mean difference. Difference is a huge part of what Oscar nominated actor, Don Cheadle want to showcase in his acting. Cheadle believes in trying new roles almost every time he steps on the big screen, its part of the reason he acts in the first place.

“I didn’t get into this business to do the same thing over and over,” Say Cheadle,“Being an actor affords me to travel around the world on somebody else’s dime. You’re getting paid to study other people, other disciplines, other religions...What I’ve found is that most human beings, no matter what they believe, want the same things — safety for their kids, protection, a roof, food.”

Don Cheadle acting career has featured him in various roles, each one differing from the other. His newest role in the movie "Traitor" see him in the role of an Islamic terrorist, a role that many actors would not feel comfortable in, but cheadle sees it as an opportunity to tell diverse story about human nature,

“If we characterized one side as all good or all bad, you could write off the film as just another piece of action pabulum,” Cheadle said. “I see it as a movie about truth. We wanted to tell an entertaining story, but also to bring out other issues — issues that usually get ignored.”

What are your Thoughts?

What are other ways of exploring diversity?
How can you use your occupation as a way to explore difference?

[Bennie Covington]

When do you have these classes or sessions? I would like to know, and maybe we could put them in the events section of the network

[Earline Parham]

I use my time away from work by volunteering myself to help education our youth and adults about the role blacks played in the Civil Wars. The organization’s purpose is to educate our youth and the general public on the history of the 9th and 10th Cavalry and 24th and 25th Infantry of United States Buffalo Soldiers, which was establish in August of 1866. Its mission is to research and re-enact the parts of history to encourage the study of history from the end of the American Civil War, to the turn of the century. Also to present the characters of the Old West which got overlooked by or left out of most history books. The organization portrays other people from history as well as “composite” characters. This experience has been and continue to be a great way of exploying diversity.