Don Cheadle portrays J.D. Hudson in Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist. New episodes of the series are released Thursdays through October 10, only on Peacock.

Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist, based on the acclaimed iHeart true-crime podcast, follows the infamous story of how an armed robbery on the night of Muhammad Ali’s historic 1970 comeback fight changed not only one man’s life but ultimately transformed Atlanta into the “Black Mecca.” When a hustler named Chicken Man (Kevin Hart) hosts an afterparty to celebrate the fight with a guest list of the country’s wealthiest, the night ends with the most brazen criminal underworld heist in Atlanta’s history. Suspected of masterminding the crime, Chicken Man is hellbent on clearing his name but must convince his old adversary, J.D. Hudson (Don Cheadle), one of the first Black detectives in the city’s desegregated police force, who is tasked with bringing those responsible to justice.

“J.D. is a real guy and it was great to have the opportunity to look him up, and to see interviews with him, and to read statements about him and other people that knew him. That’s always fun to do when you’re playing a character to go to the source and the source is this real guy,” the actor explained. “That was a big job we all had but me, as playing the character, really trying to make sure we kept that and we were as true to that as we could be inside the construct of the series that we were making.”

We discussed his character’s sense of morality, how he prepared for the project, the production design elements for a period piece, and more.

Watch my interview below: