On October 21, the Star Wars franchise announced that Donald Glover had been cast to play young Lando Calrissian in an upcoming Star Wars movie. A lot of Star Wars fans asked the same thing: Who is Donald Glover? While Donald Glover may not be a household name yet, he has a very strong group of followers. Donald Glover is a comedian, actor, writer, rapper, and disc jockey but this announcement created a huge boost in his popularity. But who is this Donald Glover? And is he qualified to play a role as iconic as Lando Calrissian?
Contrary to major speculation, Donald Glover is not in any way related to the actor Danny Glover. Donald Glover was raised in Georgia. Neither one of his parents was tied to the entertainment industry but at an early age Glover had the love and talent to be a writer. In high school Glover was voted “Most Likely to Write for The Simpsons.” After high school he attended New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, one of the most prestigious art schools in the United States. He graduated in 2006 with a degree in dramatic writing.
Famous female comedian Tina Fey discovered Glover’s talent and he was hired to write for the NBC television series 30 Rock when he was 21. He received 3 awards from the Writers Guild of America for writing for 30 Rock. Around the same time that he began writing for 30 Rock he started his YouTube channel Derrick Comedy with some of his best friends. The channel was so successful that the sketch comedy group wrote and stared in the feature-length film Mystery Team that was released in theatres in 2009.
Also in 2009, Glover started rapping under the name “Childish Gambino,” a name that he says he received from the Wu-Tang Clan’s name generator. He released three albums between 2005-2010, but he has recently disowned them saying he felt like he had to hide behind label gimmicks and that his ramblings that were featuring were not sincere or real. In his more recent works he has rapped about very personal matters.
In 2009, Glover was cast in NBC’s hit sitcom Community. He was on all six seasons of the television show before it ended its run in 2015. This is where Glover really started to get a following. In 2010, Glover’s stand-up comedy special aired on Comedy Central. He then received the Rising Comedy Star at the “Just For Laughs” festival in 2010. The “Just for Laughs” festival is hosted in Montreal, Canada and is the biggest comedy festival in the world.
In 2011, Glover performed at the hit music festival Bonnaroo as Childish Gambino. Glover released his first album under Childish Gambino that he approves of titled Camp later that year. He then was offered a record deal with Glassnote Records, which he accepted. From 2011-2012, Glover’s main focus was his rap career. He went on his first national tour under that record company where he made 24 stops in 34 days. Childish Gambino became more separate from Donald Glover and is now considered to be Glover’s alter ego by a majority of major rappers and critics.
In 2013, Glover signed writing and acting deal with the television station FX. He would star, write and produce a show titled Atlanta. While many different television stations were interested in picking up his show, he ultimately decided to go with FX because their willingness to work around his tour schedule.
Childish Gambino came out with his second album in 2013 titled Because the Internet. In 2014 the Recording Industry Association of America certified the song Heartbeat off this album Gold. This would be his first certification. Later that year Gambino received his second certification for the single 3005. Gambino’s success skyrocketed when he was nominated for two Grammy Awards: Best Rap Album and Best Rap Performance. Gambino’s most recent album was released in 2016, titled "Awaken, My Love!"
On September 6, 2016, the highly anticipated show Atlanta premiered on FX. The show is a half-hour dark comedy about the rap scene in Atlanta, Georgia. The first episode had 1.08 million US viewers and the popular review website Rotten Tomatoes gives the first season a 100% approval rating, making it a huge hit with universal critical acclaim. The show has already been signed for a second season even though not all episodes of the current season have been aired.
Returning to the original question: Is Donald Glover qualified to play Lando Calrissian in the new Star Wars film? Glover is known mainly as being a comedian but through Atlanta he has been able to show a more serious side, indicating that he does have acting diversity. As Childish Gambino he has rapped about serious subjects like suicidal thoughts and alcoholism, showing that he has also had struggles in his life. Producers and fans who know Glover’s work all agree that yes, he is qualified to play Lando Calrissian. Lando is one of the lighter and more comedic Star Wars characters, playing right to Glover’s strengths. Glover knows how big of a deal this role is stating that it is “an honor” to play Lando on the Ellen DeGeneres show. It will be very exciting to see how Glover portrays this role in the movie in 2018.
