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There’s no escaping the charismatic smile of Donald Glover at the moment, if you don’t know him, you soon will, as this really seems to be his time to shine.
He’s in new Star Wars movie Solo, he broke the internet this month with his video for This Is America and hosted SNL (taking down Kanye in formidable fashion over his Trump TMZ madness).
Donald McKinley Glover Jr, better known by his stage names Donald Glover and Childish Gambino is an American actor, comedian, writer, director, record producer, singer, songwriter, rapper and DJ who has recently produced his own hit show, now airing on the BBC – Atlanta.
He’s everywhere you look. The 34 year old polymath appears to have no end to his list of talents and no fear of putting himself out there. But here’s 7 things you probably didn’t know about him.
1.) His rap name was created using a name generator
When he decided to embark on a rap career, he created his rap name by using a social media Wu-Tang Name Generator. The generator gave him the name Childish Gambino and the rest is history!
2.) Tina Fey helped launch his career
It has been reported that whilst performing stand up at NYU, Tina fey was introduced to his talent, later hiring Glover as a writer for her show 30 Rock. This ultimately helped further his career, as he now had more exposure in the spotlight.
3.) He was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness
Glover grew up in a Jehovah’s Witness family, and he doesn’t necessarily look back on the religion with fondness. He wasn’t allowed to watch television or celebrate his birthday, and he didn’t get any presents on Christmas.
4.) He inspired the creation of a black Spider-Man comic book series
In 2010, Glover was involved in an internet campaign started by fans and embraced by him, to get him an audition for the next Spider-Man. A white Spider-Man was cast, but now there’s a black Spider-Man comic book series that was inspired by Glover.
5.) He was rejected by Saturday Night Live…Twice
Glover tried out for the sketch comedy show twice and was turned down both times! He later went on to host the show and perform as a musical guest in May 2018.
6.) He will be the voice of Simba in The Lion King
Glover will be playing the voice of Simba in Jon Favreau’s live-action adaptation of the Lion King. Due to be released in July 2019, this take on an iconic classic will be one not to miss.
7.) He will be part of 2 huge movie Universes
Glover is part of the Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In the prequel story Solo, he plays a young Lando Calrissian, one of the most interesting characters in the Star Wars canon. At the end of the Spider-man: Homecoming, he appears as Miles Morales’ uncle – Aaron Davis. Morales’ eventually becomes Spider-man in the comics. However this character, an African-American Spiderman, was inspired directly by Glover himself.