Don Cheadle's 2-minute Falcon and the Winter Soldier appearance might finally make him an Emmy winner

Derek Lawrence
·2 min read
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Welcome to Don Cheadle season!

The Oscar-nominated actor can currently be seen leading Steven Soderbergh's No Sudden Move on HBO Max, and Friday marks the highly-anticipated release of Space Jam: A New Legacy, in which Cheadle stars as the film's rogue A.I. antagonist. As if all of that wasn't enough (oh yeah, his comedy Black Monday is also currently airing on Showtime), he earned an Emmy nomination on Tuesday morning in the category of Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

To be honest, it's hard to figure out what's more impressive, that this is his 11th Emmy nomination, or that his first Emmy victory could come thanks to only two minutes of screen time in the Disney+ series. Appearing in the Falcon and the Winter Soldier premiere, Cheadle reprised his MCU role of James Rhodes, a.k.a. War Machine, which began in 2010's Iron Man 2 and has continued through seven films. In his two minutes, half of which is spent staring at Sam (Anthony Mackie), Rhodes counsels his fellow Avenger, asking him why he gave up the Captain America shield that Steve (Chris Evans) had bestowed upon him.

According to Cheadle's reaction on social media, he "don't really get it either," but he is glad to see the haters sick!

Marvel Studios

Maybe this Guest Actor Emmy nomination will just be setting the table for Cheadle's Lead Actor Emmy win when he headlines his own upcoming Marvel series, Armor Wars, which is set to focus on Iron Man's longtime sidekick.

"What's amazing is that what's to come is a whole other level," Cheadle recently teased to EW. "This will be an opportunity for the first time to really see who he is and what makes him tick."

Cheadle's past nominations have been for his work on Black Monday, House of Lies, ER, Things Behind the Sun, A Lesson Before Dying, and The Rat Pack.

The other 2021 nominees for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series are Lovecraft Country's Courtney B. Vance, The Crown's Charles Dance, and The Mandalorian's Timothy Olyphant and Carl Weathers.

Read the full list of nominees here.

The 73rd annual Emmy Awards airs Sunday, Sept. 19 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBS and will stream live on Paramount+.

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