Don Cheadle: 5 Awesome Performances & 5 That Sucked

2. James Rhodes - Iron Man 2

There's no denying the fact that Cheadle's casting in the wake of the Terrence Howard debacle was a smart idea - he was an interesting character actor with a strong track record after all - but the film he debuted in was not the right fit.

Rather than the buddy cop bromance he shared with Robert Downey Jr in the follow up, the Iron Man 2 version of Rhodey is more like the egotistical, unlikable douche-bag who appears in Avengers: Age Of Ultron. He's an undercooked, distracting element in a film already chock full of them and quite why anyone thought that restrained, charming Don Cheadle was the right fit for a slightly obnoxious fly boy is beyond baffling.

His performance - like the film's threat - feels fatally inauthentic, like we're watching a video game with no real stakes, and the film could have ploughed on without him, or any of the villains, or indeed much of the plot. All play second fiddle to Tony's issues, and none are anywhere near as rewarding.