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Donald Glover

Acting

Born September 25, 1983 · Stone Mountain, Georgia, USA

Also known as Childish Gambino · Donald McKinley Glover Jr. · Donald Glover II

Biography

Donald McKinley Glover Jr. (/ˈɡlʌvər/; born September 25, 1983), also known by his musical name Childish Gambino (/ɡæmˈbiːnoʊ/), is an American actor, comedian, musician, and filmmaker. While he studied at New York University and after working in Derrick Comedy, a comedy group, Glover was hired by Tina Fey to write for the NBC sitcom 30 Rock at age 23. He gained fame for portraying college student Troy Barnes on the NBC sitcom Community from 2009 to 2014. From 2016 to 2022, he starred in the FX series Atlanta, which he created and occasionally directed. For his work on Atlanta, he won various accolades, including two Primetime Emmy Awards, as well as two Golden Globe Awards. Glover has appeared in several films, including the supernatural horror The Lazarus Effect (2015), the comedy-drama Magic Mike XXL (2015), and the science fiction film The Martian (2015). He played Aaron Davis in the superhero film Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), as well as Lando Calrissian in the space western Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018). He provided the voice of adult Simba in The Lion King (2019) and produced the short film Guava Island (2019), in which he starred. He co-created the comedy thriller television series Swarm (2023). Glover is also credited as a principal inspiration for the creation of the Marvel Comics superhero Miles Morales/Spider-Man, whom Glover himself briefly voiced in the animated series Ultimate Spider-Man. In 2024, he created and starred in the Prime Video series Mr. & Mrs. Smith. After a number of independently released projects, Glover signed with Glassnote Records in 2011 and released his debut studio album, Camp, in November of that year to critical and commercial success. His second album, Because the Internet (2013), was supported by the single "3005," which became his first Billboard Hot 100 entry. His psychedelic funk-inspired 2016 single, "Redbone," peaked at number 12 on the chart, won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Performance, and preceded the release of his third album, "Awaken, My Love!" (2016), which saw continued success. Glover's 2018 single, "This Is America," debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100 and won in all of the categories for which it was nominated at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Rap/Sung Performance, and Best Music Video; it won a Guinness World Record as the first hip hop song to win in the former two categories. His fourth album, 3.15.20, was released in 2020.[17]In 2024, he released Atavista, a reworking of 3.15.20, and later his fifth album, Bando Stone & the New World. Description above from the Wikipedia article Donald Glover, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Awards & recognition

  • Grammy AwardSong of the Year · 2018
  • Grammy AwardBest Music Video · 2018
  • Grammy AwardBest Melodic Rap Performance · 2018
  • Golden Globe AwardBest Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy · 2017
  • Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series · 2017
Show all 11 awards →
  • Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Directing for a Comedy Series · 2017
  • Grammy AwardBest R&B Song · 2015
  • Grammy AwardBest Traditional R&B Performance · 2015
  • Primetime Emmy Award
  • Writers Guild of America Award
  • Golden Globe AwardBest Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy · 2023 · nominated

Filmography40 titles

Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake

2023as Marshall Lee (voice)

Regular Show

2010as Alpha Dog (voice)

Adventure Time

2010as Marshall Lee (voice)

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

2023as Aaron Davis

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie

2026as Yoshi (voice)

Atlanta

2016as Earnest 'Earn' Marks

Community

2009as Troy Barnes

Talking with Chris Hardwick

as Self

The Eric Andre Show

2012as Self

MTV Video Music Awards

as Self

The Martian

2015as Rich Purnell

Get Out

2017Songs

30 Rock

2006as Gay Kid

Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian

2020as Self - Actor & Musician (archive footage)

Mufasa: The Lion King

2024as Simba (voice)

Spider-Man: Homecoming

2017as Aaron Davis

Conan

2010as Childish Gambino

The Lion King

2019as Simba (voice)

Hot Ones

2015as Self

Shut Up and Play the Hits

2012as Self

China, IL

2008as Transfer Billy (voice)

Comedy Central Presents

1998as Self

Saturday Night Live

1975as Self - Cameo (uncredited)

The Muppets

2011as Junior CDE Executive

Mr. & Mrs. Smith

2024as John Smith

Swarm

2023Creator, Director, Executive Producer, Story

Solo: A Star Wars Story

2018as Lando Calrissian

Harmontown

2014as Self

Girls

2012as Sandy

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

2014as Greg

Common Ground

2023as Self

Magic Mike XXL

2015as Andre

Mystery Team

2009as Jason Rogers

Men in Black: International

2019as Alien on TV Monitor (uncredited)

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

2014as Self

The To-Do List

2013as Derrick

The Lazarus Effect

2015as Niko

Jimmy Kimmel Live!

2003as Self

The Shop

as Self

2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

2025as Self