Cheadle's television credits include Emmy-nominated performances in the movies "The Rat Pack", "A Lesson Before Dying", "Things Behind the Sun" and in a guest appearance on "ER". The last of these spanned four episodes during the show's ninth season, in which he portrayed Paul Nathan, a medical student struggling to cope with Parkinson's disease. He has made appearances in films including "Rosewood", "The Family Man", "Boogie Nights", "Out of Sight", "Traffic", and "Ocean's Eleven". These last three were directed by Steven Soderbergh. He made a cameo appearance in the film "Abby Singer". In 2005, Cheadle was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Paul Rusesabagina in the film "Hotel Rwanda". He also starred in and co-produced "Crash", which won the 2006 Academy Award for Best Picture. For his performance in "Crash", Cheadle was nominated for the BAFTA and Screen Actors Guild Awards for Best Supporting Actor. He played the main character in the movie "Traitor".