Don Cheadle has finally visited "Hotel Rwanda."

The 40-year-old actor toured the Hotel des Milles Collines in Rwanda's capital Kigali last month, speaking with several of the more than 1,000 people who were sheltered there during the country's 1994 genocide by manager Paul Rusesabagina, the character portrayed by Cheadle in the film.

"All of their experiences were the stuff of epic films — things they had to go through in those 100 days," Cheadle told The Associated Press in an interview this week. "It was amazing."

Cheadle, who earned an Oscar nomination for "Hotel Rwanda," had never seen the hotel because last year's film was shot primarily in South Africa. Through the movie, however, he developed a new passion for the vast continent. "I felt drawn to that area, and felt drawn in any way I can to bringing attention to the place, and any way that I can," he said.

During his 2 1/2-week visit in late July, he met with Rwandan President Paul Kagame, attended the premiere of "Hotel Rwanda" in Uganda and toured displaced-person camps in the country's northern provinces. More than 1.5 million Ugandans have fled their homes to avoid a campaign of murder, rape and abduction waged by rebel group Lord's Resistance Army. Cheadle met with young girls who said they were taken as wives by rebel soldiers.

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