At the recent " Iron Man 2" premiere at Hollywood's El Capitan Theatre, the film's stars seemed to be channeling their characters for the over-the-top event, which featured cheerleaders in provocative red and gold uniforms, fireworks and throngs of fans. Robert Downey Jr., who plays billionaire hero Tony Stark, was all ironic charm and sparkling hubris, for instance, while Mickey Rourke, who portrays the sullen villain Ivan Vanko, slowly made his way up the red carpet in sunglasses and a leather-lapel suit that gave him an air of reptilian menace.
And then there was Don Cheadle, who seemed a bit skeptical of the entire affair but dutifully followed the smile-and-wave assignment given to the stars of summer blockbusters. That good-solider attitude fits his character, Air Force Lt. Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes, who spends much of the film torn between his heart and his marching orders. The 45-year-old actor had plenty of conflicted feelings to draw on for the role; "Iron Man 2" was the Oscar-nominated actor's first experience in a big-budget special effects movie, and there was a lot of anxiety amid the explosions.
Cheadle had not seen the film before the premiere and, after the credits rolled, he admitted that he had feared the heavy machinery might have run off the rails. "I didn't know what to expect," he said. "This is the first time I saw it. I'm very happy." He didn't look especially thrilled when giving his review, but then again, that's probably par for the course, as Cheadle has described himself as someone who is rarely satisfied with the finished product.
There are a lot of new faces in this return to "Iron Man" — Rourke, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell and Garry Shandling among them — but Cheadle is set apart from them because he was brought in to take on a role that was played with flair by Terrence Howard in the first film, one of the biggest hits of 2008. Howard was ejected from the franchise in a spat over personality and a proposed pay cut; he was reportedly the first cast member signed for the franchise and, somewhat surprisingly, the movie's highest-paid actor.
Marvel Studios, Paramount and director Jon Favreau all fretted about changing the cast member in such a key role. Rhodey is Stark's best friend and in this new film becomes an armored hero himself — he goes by the indelicate name of War Machine — which was foreshadowed in the first installment. For Cheadle there was also the awkwardness of replacing a friend. Cheadle and Howard were costars in "Crash," the 2004 film that won the Oscar for best picture, and Cheadle was a producer on "Crash" who championed the casting of Howard in that film.
"I didn't actually know the [Howard] situation and I just wanted to kind of stay out of it," Cheadle said a few days before the premiere as he sat watching the NBA playoffs at his Santa Monica offices. "I just wanted to make sure that I was not taking a role away from him. Once they had moved off of him and it was clear he wasn't coming back, they offered it to me. I think they gave me five hours to decide. I was at my kid's birthday party. They were on a tight schedule and needed an answer."
Cheadle didn't have to think too long. He loved Marvel Comics as a kid and gravitated toward that publisher's singular brand of cosmic melodramas with flawed, conflicted heroes. Also after putting together an eclectic résumé — he was Oscar-nominated for "Hotel Rwanda" and made memorable turns in all-star ensemble films such as "Crash," "Boogie Nights" and "Ocean's Eleven" — he was ready for a tour of duty as an action figure.
War Machine is gun-metal and gun-loaded — essentially his armor is a less-sleek version of Iron Man's suit that has been augmented with "a ridiculous amount of firepower," as Favreau puts it — and has been part of the Marvel universe for years. When Cheadle took on the role, the studio shipped over a mountain of reference material tracking the Rhodey character back to his first appearance in 1979, but Cheadle's eyes glazed over after a while. Every few seasons, the writer of the comics would change and so would Rhodey.
"Marvel sent me every iteration of Rhodey that has existed, which is a million different people," Cheadle said with a chuckle. "There's no real mean there other than that fact that he is Tony Stark's friend. That is the paramount relationship in the lives of these two guys. And that friendship is what keeps getting pushed and pulled in the second movie, particularly: How does a friend take care of a friend who's not taking care of himself?"
