Don Cheadle Talks the 'Huge Undertaking' of Peacock's Muhammad Ali Limited Series 'Fight Night' (Exclusive)

Don Cheadle is taking on one of Atlanta's most infamous moments in Peacock's upcoming limited series, Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist. The Oscar-nominated actor opened up to PopCulture.com about filming the "huge undertaking," which also stars Kevin Hart, Taraji P. Henson, Samuel L. Jackson and Terrence Howard, and how the star-studded cast has felt like a "return to home base" for him. 

Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist is set in 1970, and tells the "infamous story of how an armed robbery during the night of Muhammad Ali's historic 1970 comeback fight changed not only one man's life, but an entire city's destiny." The Marvel star portrays J.D. Hudson, one of Atlanta's first Black detectives assigned to Ali's security detail as well as the robbery, in the ongoing production. 

"We're in the middle of it now. We just are kind of finishing the first block of it," Cheadle told PopCulture. "And it is a huge undertaking. We just shot a fight scene [with] 300 extras." The actor continued of Craig Brewer, who worked on Hustle & Flow and Empire with Howard and Henson before executive producing and directing Fight Night, "He's had a big job on his hands, but we are pushing through it and coming up with some really beautiful and fun, interesting stuff."

The Golden Globe Award-winning actor continued, "I'm looking forward to [the series] as well. You never know what it's going to be when you do it. We all kind of hold our breath and wait for that first night when they show us, so I'm having my fingers crossed as well."

The story behind Fight Night was "completely new" to Cheadle, who initially was drawn to the project out of the desire to work with Hart for the first time as well as the prospect of reuniting with Jackson and Henson. "It was kind of like an old home return for all of us. Not old home like going to the old home, but a return to home base," he joked. "So it's really fun."

"It's surprising that so few people do know about this event, Muhammad Ali being one of the most famous people in the world," he continued, "but it's a real cool story and a lot of history and stuff to explore. So it's been a lot of fun and it's been great to be in the city of Atlanta."

With all his time lately spent in the 1970s, Cheadle had a great time taking things back in time and working with PopCorners on the snack company's newest 1920s-era speakeasy advertisement. Cheadle worked with the creatives behind the commercial when it came to adding his own flair as the host, which he called a "fun, collaborative experience," adding of the partnership, "I also happened to eat PopCorners, and so it was kind of a no-brainer and worked out."

When it came to filming the ad, Cheadle said he particularly enjoyed being around the band, as he started out playing music in the industry. "But also, just the concept I thought was really clever," he added. "That it's a snack so good that it has to be hidden, has to be moved in this way."