From his role as Rocket in Colors to playing a Muslim agent with a crisis of conscience in Traitor (and everything in between—The Meteor Man; Rosewood; Boogie Nights; Devil in a Blue Dress; Traffic; Ocean’s Eleven, Twelve and Thirteen; Crash; Hotel Rwanda; Talk to Me)—there is no question that Don Cheadle is one of the most accomplished actors of a generation.

His next roles showcase his diversity and deliver his first part as an action hero. This month, look for him opposite Wesley Snipes and Ethan Hawke in Brooklyn’s Finest and then in May in Iron Man 2 with Robert Downey Jr.

No matter the size of the role, Cheadle has had a major impact, even if that wasn’t his goal. “I’m never going into a movie thinking that I want to grab the attention,” he has said. “I want to look back at my resume and think, ‘That was a great movie,’ not, ‘Oh, those four movies were sh*t, but I was good in them.’ I want to be a part of great things.”

He is, and not just on screen. His name has become synonymous with the fight against genocide in Darfur and Rwanda, and he, along with fellow actors and friends George Clooney, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt and producer Jerry Weintraub, recently donated $1 million to Haiti to provide medical services for victims of the disaster through Not On Our Watch, the international organization they cofounded. Cheadle is Hollywood’s finest indeed.