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Don Cheadle will never direct again

Don Cheadle explained that he doesn’t have the right mentality for such a high-pressured role.

Don Cheadle doesn’t want to direct any more projects.

The Marvel star made his feature directorial debut with 2015’s Miles Ahead, in which he played musician Miles Davis, and has no intention of following it up with another movie.

“I’ll never do it again, I don’t anticipate ever doing it again,” he said on the SmartLess podcast, noting that Miles Ahead and the TV episodes he directed were “enough”.

When the hosts Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett expressed their shock, Cheadle explained that he doesn’t have the right mentality for such a high-pressured role.

“Honestly, it’s the pressure,” he said. “They have to be able to, not necessarily in how they deal with people, but you have to have the ability to have stuff roll off and be thick-skinned and not (let it) penetrate and keep moving and I think I’m more sort of bandied about by the things that happen and the things I wasn’t able to get.

“It’s something that I learned about myself going through that experience. I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m a lot more porous in that regard than I thought I was.'”

Bateman, who has directed multiple projects, understood Cheadle’s position, stating that actors are able to “ignore a lot of drama or problems” on set whereas directors “can’t hide from anything”.

In addition to Miles Ahead, Cheadle has directed episodes of TV shows such as House of Lies and The Big Cigar.

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