Donald Glover

Donald Glover is a writer, actor, comedian, producer, director and musician who performs under the stage name Childish Gambino. Born on September 25, 1983 at Edwards Air Force Base in California, he was raised principally in the community of Stone Mountain, about 20 miles northeast of Atlanta. According to him, his family was the only African-American family in the area.

His interests in acting and music started when he was still in high school. It prompted him to attend New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. While at Tisch, he self-produced a mixtape called "The Younger I Get" which was disowned by Glover for being "too-raw ramblings." He also began disc jockeying and producing electronic music under the moniker mcDJ. He graduated from the university in 2006 with a degree in Dramatic Writing.

After graduation, Glover began his career in entertainment industry when he secured a job as a writer and made cameo appearances on hit series "30 Rock". Thanks to his hard work on the show, he was presented with Writers of Guild Awards for Best Comedy Series in 2009. Prior to that, he released his first mixtape titled "Sick Boi" in 2008.

He also produced comedy videos with former classmates who formed a troupe called Derrick Comedy. The group eventually wrote and starred in a feature-length film "Mystery Team" which was released in August 2009 in United States. It marked his debut on the big screen.

Glover started gaining fame after he starred on NBC’s 2009 sitcom "Community", playing a highschool soccer player who tried to embrace his nerdy side. He left the show after five seasons. In 2010, his first stand-up comedy special aired on Comedy Central.

Even though Glover might seem busy with his acting career, he didn’t stop working on music. Glover released his debut solo album "Camp" in August 2011. The effort arrived at No. 11 on Billboard 200 and received positive reviews from music critics. He also released several mixtapes, including "Royalty" and "Culdesac".

His second studio album, "Because the Internet", was released in December 2013. The effort was as successful as his debut album as it launched at No. 7 on Billboard 200 in addition to being certified gold. In support of the album, he premiered a short movie entitled "Clapping for the Reason", which was written by him. Thanks to the success of his second album, Glover managed to get his first Grammy nominations. He was nominated for Best Rap Album and Best Rap Performance in 2015.

That year also saw Glover starring in a few films like "Magic Mike XXL", “The Lazarus Effect” and "The Martian". One of his major works, "Atlanta", started airing in 2016. For his work on the series, which was written by him, Glover received a slew of awards, including Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy and Best Actor - Television Series Musical or Comedy at Golden Globe Awards. He also made history by becoming the first black person to win Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series at Emmy Awards.

In September 2016, Glover debuted three songs off his third studio album "Awaken, My Love!" at "Pharos Experience" show in Joshua Tree, California. The album was released in December and debuted at No. 5 on Billboard 200. In addition to being certified gold by RCAA, it was nominated in several categories at the 2018 Grammy Awards such as Album of the Year and Best Urban Contemporary Album. He ultimately won Best Traditional R&B Performance for single "Redbone" off the effort.

After playing Aaron Davis in "Spider-Man: Homecoming" and being named one of the most influential people by TIME in 2017, Glover announced that his next album would be his last time performing under the moniker Childish Gambino. In the following year, he released "This Is America" while hosting and performing on "Saturday Night Live". The song debuted atop Billboard Hot 100, becoming his first No. 1 as well as top ten single on the chart.

As for his acting career, Glover will be next seen in "Solo: A Star Wars Story", in which he plays Lando Calrissian. He also voices Simba in "The Lion King", which is due out on July 19, 2019 in the United States.