Why Nubian Prince From The Boys Presents: Diabolical Episode 6 Sounds So Familiar
The cast of Amazon Prime Video's "The Boys" has boasted some impressive talent for its first two seasons. Still, it could be argued that "Diabolical" has pulled out all the stops given the cast that appears in this anthology series. Besides OG cast members from the live-action show reprising their roles in animated form, the show even hosts heroes and villains voiced by Christian Slater and Michael Cera, to name a few.
Besides these familiar voices lending their larynx to the unfiltered and unflinching bunch of short stories, "Diabolical" also hosts a star from a much bigger superhero franchise the world adores. In amongst tales of self-sentient turds and cocaine-addicted crimefighters, one particular episode sees a super couple on the rocks that may find love again by way of a supervillain beatdown. "Nubian vs Nubian" is written by "Archer" star Aisha Tyler, who plays one-half of the unhappy couple, Nubia. The short sees her facing off against some fierce competition from across the kitchen counter, though, in the form of her husband Nubian Prince, voiced by a talent that has done everything from play legendary Disney characters, saved the universe, and cleared out a casino — or three. The only issue with the latter was the fairly questionable accent he had while doing so.
Don Cheadle got into some Barney Rubble (trouble) in the Ocean's Trilogy
Marked as one of the best remakes ever, "Ocean's Eleven" had quite the starlit cast. Don Cheadle joined the likes of George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, and Matt Damon, to name a few, for the super-hot heist movie. Directed by Steven Soderbergh in 2001, the film saw Cheadle as London-based explosives expert Basher Tarr. As welcoming as he was as an addition to Danny Ocean's (Clooney) team of thieves, one thing that didn't quite sit right was his handling of a London accent.
Trying to sound like a Londoner is tricky enough, but the added element of the cockney rhyming slang that seems to have only been mastered by the likes of Michael Caine and occasional works of director Guy Ritchie definitely didn't need to be here. Nevertheless, thanks to Cheadle's charisma humming along with everyone else in this top-caliber Hollywood collective, it got a pass both here and in the two sequels that followed. Should you be desperate for a bit of escapism from Cheadle's back catalog, this one should easily steal the top spot.
Don Cheadle helped tell a Duck Tale as Donald Duck
Anyone and their House of Mouse-loving aunt can pull off a Donald Duck impression, but not many people can replicate Don Cheadle voicing the iconic character the way he did. In 2018, Cheadle took on the gig of carrying a different tone to Disney's often-furious feathered character in two episodes of the revamped take of "Duck Tales." Cheadle took over voicing Donald after he was briefly given a voice modulator in the series, changing that iconic, occasionally indecipherable rasp to the other Don we all know and love.
Cheadle himself revealed putting in major prep for the role in a video hyping up his eventual appearance, demonstrating just what lengths he would go to for when switching to duck mode (via YouTube). "You gotta do your homework, you gotta bring your A-game when you're trying to be Donald Duck," he explained before his reveal, proving just how much of a master of the craft he really is. "When you're trying to be any duck, but when you're trying to be Donald Duck, you cannot mess around. You cannot mess around."
He reprised his role as Rhodey in What If...?
Battering bad guys and killing conversations with tank-related anecdotes, Don Cheadle has made a name for himself as a well-suited warrior in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, James "Rhodey" Rhodes. Since his debut in "Iron Man 2," he's been a staple in the franchise until things got a little animated for his character in 2021 when he made a brief appearance in Marvel's excellent anthology series, "What If...?"
Telling familiar tales that took drastic diversions from the ones we know, the series aired on Disney+, with one episode focusing on what if Erik Kilmonger saved Tony Stark. It was a timeline that still saw Rhodey as Stark's best bud, which Cheadle fell into effortlessly — right up until Kilmonger had him killed along with T'Challa. While we may be seeing the return of his character in future Marvel installments, it was sadly the end of the Rhodes for this one.
Cheadle has a story to tell in The Wonder Years reboot
Besides bringing life to armored avengers and birds going ballistic, Cheadle's most recent vocal work has been narrating the life of Dean Williams (Elisha "EJ" Williams) in the 2021 reboot of the beloved sitcom "The Wonder Years." Tackling the same job first handled by Daniel Stern in the original series, the 2021 version of "The Wonder Years" sees Cheadle recall the events of the Williams family in the 1960s.
The show is still making its way through its first season after debuting on ABC in September 2021 and is set for a 22-episode run. While there's no confirmation yet of a second season, the show has been met with a hugely positive response, earning 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. Among the bombardment of reboots, the sitcom that plays to Cheadle's voice was described by The Guardian as a show that has "done something new with the name, rather than coasting on brand recognition."