Don Cheadle almost walked out on the Funny Or Die parody once he realized he’d be made up to look so “ridiculous” as the Earth-loving superhero.
Funny Or Die
Those Funny Or Die sketches starring Don Cheadle as a Homelander-like version of Captain Planet might be highly entertaining for millions of fans, but the actor himself was not very keen on taking on the bizarre role. With the original video debuting on YouTube in 2011, the “Don Cheadle is Captain Planet” sketches see Cheadle’s Captain Planet spoofing the character, complete with the bizarre appearance and plant-based puns. The major difference is that this Captain Planet is much more homicidal, extinguishing human life with his special abilities to make the planet more “green.”
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In a new video interview with GQ breaking down some of his most notable career roles, Cheadle touched on the Funny Or Die sketches. It came to be by happenstance, as Cheadle teamed up with the comedy group to work on an entirely different sketch about a “ball spa” for men. While on set, Cheadle was asked about appearing in another sketch where he’d play Captain Planet, a character whom he was totally unfamiliar with. Reflecting on the videos, Cheadle says that he initially agreed as he thought the idea sounded funny enough when reading about it on paper.
“They said, ‘Okay, well while you guys are doing this stupid one, we have this thing called Captain Planet, which we wanted to do, would you like to do it?’ I didn’t know what Captain Planet was. He is like, ‘Captain Planet’s animated, he’s gonna save the earth, and you did all this stuff for the environment. You’re the goodwill ambassador for the environment program. We think this is a great fit.’ So, I read the thing, it made me laugh, so I was like, ‘Yeah, let’s do it.'”
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Don Cheadle Regretted That Decision
Funny Or Die
When Cheadle agreed to do the sketches, he hadn’t realized that playing Captain Planet would require him to wear blue face paint. He was literally in the makeup chair before he realized this would be a factor, and once he got an actual look at the superhero, Cheadle began to question his decision. Feeling very apprehensive about putting on such a “ridiculous” outfit for this role, the actor says he came very close to exiting the project right then. Ultimately, he acquiesced and filmed the sketches, but admits he instantly regretted it. However, all was well in the end, as Cheadle found the finished product to be quite entertaining, happy so many others do as well.
“So, I’m sitting down in the makeup chair, and they start to come up with this blue face paint. I was like, ‘What’s that?’ They’re like, ‘Well, it’s Captain Planet.’ I’m like, ‘I don’t want to do that.’ And they’re like, ‘Well, this is how Captain Planet looks.’ and they showed me the picture of him. I was like, ‘That’s ridiculous. I don’t wanna do it.’ I almost left, and I don’t know how they talked me into doing it. Somebody talked me into doing it. So, I did it and immediately regretted it after I did it. But, then I saw it, and it made me laugh, so I thought it was pretty funny, and now, it’s ridiculous how many people talk about that character.”
You can watch the “Don Cheadle is Captain Planet” videos below.
You can view the original article HERE.
