Don Cheadle's nerves

Photo: BANG Showbiz - BANG Showbiz. All rights reserved.

Don Cheadle's nerves

Don Cheadle was a ''nervous neurotic wreck'' filming 'Miles Ahead'.

The 51-year-old actor stars as the late musician Miles Davis in the biographical film and admits he didn't think he would ''survive'' filming.

He said: ''Making it, I was a nervous neurotic wreck. Such a state that I thought I'll never get through it. Daily, I was scared. A mess. Thinking I'll never survive.

''It screened last year and took this long to come out. It's taken even longer to get made ... Believing it'll never happen, we went to all sources. A question of cobbling money together. Could we make it for our small budget. Then Ewan McGregor came as co-star. Without an international white name to give us a profile, we hadn't the element to play it overseas.

''The idea was mine so I pitched it. Opening my mouth, it then all fell to me. Filming was harrowing.''

And Don has been sworn off doing another movie like this by his wife because of how much it took out of him.

He added to the New York Post's Page Six column: ''See, my parents knew Miles. Since I was young I've listened to him. I never knew him personally, but I played sax in school. And when I started this production, his family gave me access to his music, pictures, stories, people he worked with - a treasure trove of material.

''But it was so tough and took so much out of me that my wife said I mustn't do anything like this ever ever again.''