WATCH: Don Cheadle On His Character And Navigating Racial Tensions In ‘Fight Night’

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The award-winning actor reflects on portraying a Black detective and building dynamic on-screen tension with Kevin Hart.

Transcript

00:00What drew you to the role of J.D.

00:02Hudson?

00:03Money.

00:06No, no.

00:10My name is Oakley Jones with Essence

00:11Dine. How you doing today, brother?

00:13Yo, what's up, man?

00:15Good, man. Thank you for taking this.

00:17I wanted to ask you what drew you

00:19to the role of J.D.

00:20Hudson?

00:20Kevin and Will

00:22and Frank Brewer called me

00:25and were just really passionate

00:27about the story and about the project

00:29and I was the

00:31last person really cast.

00:33So once I heard who else was

00:35involved and I have worked with all

00:37of them, you know, I was really

00:39excited to see

00:41what we would all do together

00:42in this piece over the course

00:44of eight episodes and really have an

00:46opportunity to to sit

00:48with the character for a while and

00:50grow him and be in a collaborative,

00:52you know, a collaborative effort

00:54with other artists who I respect,

00:57except for Kevin Hart.

00:59It's so funny you say that because

01:00that was going to be my next

01:01question. So you and Kevin

01:03have a relationship outside of the

01:05film as well.

01:07How did you go about approaching

01:09developing that tension in the film

01:10between your two characters?

01:12Well, you know, we talked about it a

01:14lot because, you know, we

01:16famously obviously had a big viral

01:18moment happen.

01:20And, you know, Kevin

01:22is known for a certain thing.

01:23I feel like I've kind of maybe

01:25have known for a certain kind of

01:27thing. And that was a part of it.

01:29What we discussed is like

01:31this isn't that, you know, these

01:33what we're trying to do with these

01:34two characters is something entirely

01:36different.

01:37Although there will be aspects of

01:38that, that will obviously bubble

01:40up because they are kind of

01:42an odd couple and they are kind of

01:44contentious.

01:44And there is that undertone.

01:47So that was a lot of what

01:49we discussed is like, how are how

01:51are we going to make sure that Kevin

01:52and Don can disappear into

01:54these two characters and that we're

01:56really doing our job and servicing

01:58this story and not just out here

02:00trying to yuck it up.

02:01And, you know, we

02:03were really sort of slavish to that

02:05idea the whole time.

02:06So I think your character was the

02:08most complex in the series.

02:10He was kind of stuck between

02:12his color and then his career, too.

02:14I wanted to ask you, how

02:16do you think those two dynamics

02:18shaped his actions throughout the

02:19series?

02:20Well, I think you hit it on the head.

02:21I mean, that's who he is.

02:22He's in this institution

02:24that does that does not only

02:25recognize him, but vilifies

02:27him in many ways.

02:29And he's trying to figure out

02:31how can I be in it,

02:33but not of it?

02:34And how can I both

02:36represent my community

02:38and find greater justice

02:40for them? But at the same time,

02:42they're the only community that I can

02:43police. You know, J.D.

02:44was not allowed to arrest

02:46white people, irrespective of their

02:48crimes.

02:49So he's trying

02:51to toe a line and at the same time

02:53push through

02:56institutionalized racism and also

02:59bring, you know,

03:00bring forward other people behind

03:02him to make the

03:04place that he's trying to work, a

03:06more equitable place, a more just

03:08place.

03:09And, you know, yeah, he's between a

03:10rock and a hard place for the for

03:12most of the show.

03:13And I think to one of the most

03:14important characters in this series

03:16was the city of Atlanta.

03:19Can you tell me how do you

03:20feel Atlanta

03:22contributed to the film and why was

03:24it important to telling the story?

03:26Well, it really was central to it.

03:28I mean, I think all of these people

03:29that we see in this story are

03:32trying to move forward

03:34and striving to become something.

03:36And that's, you know, part and

03:38parcel what the city was at that

03:40time. It was going through a big

03:41transition.

03:43Black leadership was just coming

03:44more into the fore.

03:46Black money was coming more

03:48into the fore.

03:50Things were changing on the ground

03:51and all these characters are trying

03:53to find their

03:55place in that story and how they

03:57could also be a part of what new

03:59Atlanta was going to be.

04:00But it was great to be able to go to

04:01a neighborhood and just put down a

04:03tripod and not have to do a lot

04:05and capture it.

04:06Not to say that the production team

04:08didn't have to do a lot.

04:09They saw a lot that was done with

04:10set deck and props and cars

04:13and clothes and hair that really

04:15rounded it out.

04:16But we had the opportunity

04:18to be in some places that

04:20it was a bit of a time capsule for

04:22Atlanta and Atlanta is absolutely

04:24a character in this TV show.

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