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.
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Biography from TMDB.
- September 25, 1983 (43)
- Stone Mountain, Georgia, USA
- Actor, writer, producer and director, also composer
- 28 on MovieCove · 41 credits in all
What are Donald Glover's films like?
Across their 15 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 1 · Wry 0 · Earnest 8
Light 6 · Serious 4 · Dark 0
Grounded 0 · Stylized 7 · Heightened 3
Gentle 2 · Charged 6 · Intense 2
Steady 4 · Shifting 4 · Whiplash 2
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 3 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 4
Slow burn 4 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 1
Casual 6 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 7 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 1
Resolved 9 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0
Roles they play
Usually the Hero: 4 of 5 analyzed roles.
- Heroas Jason in Mystery Team (2009)
- Allyas Troy Barnes in Community: Webisodes (2009)
- Heroas Earnest 'Earn' Marks in Atlanta (2016)
- Heroas Deni Maroon in Guava Island (2019)
- Heroas John Smith in Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2024)
Moods and endings
- Happy4
- Bittersweet6
- Ambiguous4
- Cyclical1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Donald Glover's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 24 of their 28 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Disney+ (9).
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) · actor
- The Martian (2015) · actor
- Get Out (2017) · songs
- Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) · actor
- The Muppets (2011) · actor
- The Lion King (2019) · actor
- Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) · actor
- Mufasa: The Lion King (2024) · actor
- Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (2014) · actor
Subscription and free streaming for Donald Glover's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
41 credits, 28 with a MovieCove page; 25 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films
Mufasa: The Lion King(2024)
Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films
Mr. & Mrs. Smith(2024)
Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all shows
The Heart (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films
Swarm(2023)
Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all shows
Community Table Read (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)
The Lion King(2019)
Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 19th percentile of all films
The Lion King: Can You Feel The Love Tonight with Robin Roberts (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)
Guava Island(2019)
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films
Solo: A Star Wars Story(2018)
Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films
Spider-Man: Homecoming(2017)
Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films
Get Out(2017)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
Atlanta(2016)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows
The Martian(2015)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films
Magic Mike XXL(2015)
Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all films
China, Il The Musical (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)
The Lazarus Effect(2015)
Midcredits score: 12th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all filmsChicken and Futility (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)
Clapping for the Wrong Reasons (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
The To-Do List(2013)
Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films
Girls(2012)
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all shows
Donald Glover: Weirdo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
The Muppets(2011)
Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films
China, IL(2008)
Midcredits score: 43rd percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films
Regular Show(2010)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows
Adventure Time(2010)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows
Donald Glover: Comedy Central Presents (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)
Community(2009)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all shows
Mystery Team(2009)
Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all filmsMystery Team Adventures: The Case of the Haunted Hotel (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)
Community: Webisodes(2009)
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all shows
Bronx World Travelers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
30 Rock(2006)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all showsBando Stone & The New World (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Lando (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Untitled Community Movie (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
Star power in the 99th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 40 titles, 37 of them dated from 2006 to 2026; peak year 2018.
Biggest box office
The Lion King (2019)
Highest rated
Atlanta (2016)
Most popular right now
Community (2009)
Film career
Peak 2018 · fewer prominent film roles lately. Top draw in 3 MovieCove titles. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.
- 2009Screen debut· Mystery Team
- 2009First top-billed film· Mystery Team
- 2016Career best· Atlanta
- 2016Primetime Emmy win· Atlanta
- 2019Career best· Guava Island
Billing
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30; the columns are the share of top-billed roles in each era, 5-year spans from the year on the label, merged until each holds at least 5 roles.
Awards
2 Primetime Emmys, a Golden Globe and 11 other major awards from 49 major nominations, 2007–2025.
- Golden Globe, nominated · Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Series - Drama
+2 other major bodies · 5 nominations
- Writers Guild Award, nominated · Drama Series
- Writers Guild Award, nominated · Episodic Drama
- Writers Guild Award, nominated · New Series
- Grammy Award, nominated · Best Dance/Electronic Recording
- Grammy Award, nominated · Best Progressive R&B Album
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Drama Series
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
- Golden Globe, nominated · Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
- Golden Globe, nominated · Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy
- Screen Actors Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
+5 other major bodies · 4 wins and 5 nominations
- Directors Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series
- Writers Guild Award, nominated · Comedy Series
- Producers Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy
- Grammy Award, won · Best Music Video
- Grammy Award, won · Best Rap/Sung Performance
- Grammy Award, won · Record of the Year
- Grammy Award, won · Song of the Year
- Grammy Award, nominated · Best R&B Song
- Critics Choice Award, nominated · Best Actor in a Comedy Series
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Comedy Series
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series
+1 other major body · 1 win and 4 nominations
- Grammy Award, won · Best Traditional R&B Performance
- Grammy Award, nominated · Album of the Year
- Grammy Award, nominated · Best R&B Song
- Grammy Award, nominated · Best Urban Contemporary Album
- Grammy Award, nominated · Record of the Year
- Primetime Emmy, won · Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series
- Primetime Emmy, won · Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Comedy Series
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series
- Golden Globe, won · Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy
+3 other major bodies · 3 wins and 1 nomination
- Directors Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series
- Writers Guild Award, won · Comedy Series
- Writers Guild Award, won · New Series
- Producers Guild Award, won · Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy
- Grammy Award, nominated · Best Rap Album
- Grammy Award, nominated · Best Rap Performance
Show 4 earlier yearsShow fewer
- Writers Guild Award, won · Comedy Series
- Writers Guild Award, won · Comedy Series
- Writers Guild Award, won · Comedy Series
- Writers Guild Award, nominated · Comedy Series
- Writers Guild Award, nominated · New Series
Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.
How do Donald Glover's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 68th percentile, the median of all 17; across their 10 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 63rd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up12
- 50th to 74th8
- 25th to 49th6
- Below 25th2
Shape of the crowd
10 of their 28 titles are Universally Loved.
- Universally Loved10
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser9
- Broadly Agreed4
- Mixed4
Reviewers score the acting 66/100 in their films, across 9 reviewed titles; fans 74, detractors 38. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Donald Glover's work okay for kids?
Across up to 12 MovieCove titles with content scores, sex & nudity, profanity and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Donald Glover work with?
People who share at least 2 of Donald Glover's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Jon Favreau shares the most, 3.
Writers
- Ibra AkeShared titles: Swarm (2023), Guava Island (2019)See all 2 shared titles with Ibra Ake
- Jamal OloriShared titles: Swarm (2023), Guava Island (2019)See all 2 shared titles with Jamal Olori
- Stephen GloverShared titles: Swarm (2023), Guava Island (2019)See all 2 shared titles with Stephen Glover
Actors
- Jon FavreauShared titles: The Lion King (2019), Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)See all 3 shared titles with Jon Favreau
- Woody HarrelsonShared titles: Common Ground (2023), Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)See all 2 shared titles with Woody Harrelson
- Aubrey PlazaShared titles: The To-Do List (2013), Mystery Team (2009)See all 2 shared titles with Aubrey Plaza
- Alison BrieShared titles: Community (2009), Community: Webisodes (2009)See all 2 shared titles with Alison Brie
