Colman Domingo: The Man Of The Moment

Photo Credit: Juan Veloz 

BY LAURA SCHREFFLER

PHOTOGRAPHY JUAN VELOZ

STYLING JASON REMBERT

FASHION & CREATIVE DIRECTOR ADRIENNE FAUROTE

GROOMING JESSICA SMALLS USING URBAN DECAY COSMETICS

PHOTO ASSISTANT CRISTIAN AGUILAR

STYLING ASSISTANT WILTON WHITE

SHOT ON LOCATION AT THE NED NOMAD, NYC

Colman Domingo is driving down California’s I-5 highway, en route to his Malibu home, seemingly without a care in the world. Even stuck in the ever-present LA gridlock, his smile doesn’t dip; his shoulders stay dropped. He is not only living in the moment, but having one, and wherever he is — even in back-to-back traffic — is the happiest place to be.

“My weekend is going so well,” the 54-year-old star enthuses. “I’ve had such an incredible week. Such an incredible month. I’ve just come back from Paris, Milan, and Sardinia. I went to the BET Awards yesterday; I’m getting some furniture delivered to my new home today. It’s just been a rolling thunder. I’ve been having a good time, doing all the things, eating good food, drinking my healthy red juice, about to start a publicity tour for my new film, but also, making sure that I’m having fun, too. My best friend and his girlfriend came over last night. She picked up some Cuban takeout and we got in the pool, had some laughs. I’m still trying to find that balance of relaxation and work at this time.”

Domingo is definitely in need of relaxation after the monster year he’s had. He was the darling of the 2024 awards season — due in equal parts to his stylish presence on every red carpet; his Oscar, BAFTA, NAACP, SAG, and Golden Globe- nominated turn in Rustin, a biopic about the man who organized Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 March on Washington; and his authenticity as the first openly gay Black man to ever be nominated for a Best Actor Academy Award. His second act: making Time magazine’s TIME100 list of the world’s most influential people. He is certainly having one hell of a moment, and he’s also self-aware enough to revel in it, soak it in, and enjoy it.

“I feel like I’m managing pretty well. I think the busier I get, the more clear, loving boundaries I have to make. I also need certain amounts of fuel — whether that’s being with certain people, making sure that I have time to go for a walk or to the gym — which is just as important as my work output. For a long time, I thought that, as an artist, you had to be attached to the ‘grind,’ but the grind is not healthy. I believe you need to move forward in life, and find those great opportunities and work hard, but it’s just as important to really find time to look out the window and not think about anything for an hour. You need space for that, too, because we have so much noise coming at us in every single way, day in and day out. There’s always something to look at and overstimulate you or get you thinking about something outside of yourself. There’s always something trying to grab my attention,” he admits.

This particular problem (and he agrees it’s a good problem to have) doesn’t appear to be one that’s going away any time soon. In fact, Domingo is about to do it all over again as he prepares to embark on the press tour for his latest effort, Sing Sing. But this time, he’s prepared, and armed with what he refers to as “love energy.”

“I remember people like Emily Blunt would ask me [during awards season] how I was doing it. Was I feeling good? Was I exhausted? And I was like, I feel great. And they were amazed because I was not only attending events, but I was working, too, on the Michael Jackson biopic and a series for Netflix called The Madness. I was flying in and out, but because this is a life practice I’ve been working on and building for a long time, I was present and relaxed. I set my intentions very clearly, and [as a result], I was rejuvenated. I was able to be in the moment. He smiles, knowing that even this requires a secret sauce. “In those situations, I think ‘love energy.’”

Photo Credit: Juan Veloz

Domingo recalls a conversation that a friend relayed back to him, where one particular question was asked. “[My friend said] ‘Is there one person you know who really enjoys this life, and knows how to enjoy life?’ His answer was ‘Colman.’ And everybody said, ‘Absolutely.’”

This warmth, as well as a laser focus, are just part of what makes Domingo such a magnetic presence, both in reality and onscreen — a presence of which will be seen once again on August 2 when Sing Sing is released nationally. In the A24 indie, Domingo plays Divine G, a man imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit, and who finds purpose by acting in a theatre group with other incarcerated men. When a wary outsider joins the group, the men decide to stage their first original comedy, in a true story of resilience, humanity, and the transformative power of art.

Domingo, who prefers to pick his parts based on gut feelings as opposed to financial gain, felt a particular pull to his character, a mild-mannered man who has been wronged in the most gut-wrenching of ways, as well as to the project itself. He knew it was a role he was meant to play. His character’s name truly set the tone for the project. “When the  film came along, everything about it felt divine in some way. It feels like I was called on to help tell the story.”

He met with director Greg Kwedar and screenwriter Clint Bentley before they even had a script, noting that they wanted his involvement in every way possible. “They wanted me not only as an actor, but as a producer. They wanted my writing and directing skills. They wanted everything I could bring because they knew that I could help shape the work in a unique way,” he shares, admitting — quite reasonably — that he was flattered enough to accept. “To be invited that way — you don’t just want one part of me, you want all of me — is great. But I was also clear about my time and how much I could offer and actually do. And so, we started to go on this journey of developing and building the script, involving my other partners as well.”

He acted alongside real-life thespians like Paul Raci and Sharon Washington, but also, the men formerly incarcerated in the Rehabilitation Through The Arts (RTA) program, such as Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin (an onscreen treasure), and Sean San José, who had training, but not professionally so, during a rapid 18-day shoot.

“I thought it was exciting, being able to make a hybrid of sorts,” he confides. “I’m constantly looking for opportunities. I feel like I’m drawn to things that I’m a little uncomfortable with, because doing the work of true healing and rehabilitation is so potent and important. But something about this film felt like a particularly exceptional challenge, in a way that, if I could get it done, could be really special. And the program deserves its story to be told, because it works.”

He references his previously imprisoned co-stars here, noting that all were men who, “while they were serving their time, did the work of healing and rehabilitation on themselves. I got to meet them after they had been out in the world, doing such great good. I feel like it was heroic, in a way, for them to put their prison greens back on, come back in, and tell their story — something I’m sure they never would ever think they’d do. Once they walked out of those walls, they never wanted to go back in, but they came back to do this. I think that takes a lot of courage.”

He occasionally glances up, and his gaze is so empathetic and so direct that it isn’t hard to feel everything he’s feeling. Domingo sucks you in, wholly. It’s easy to see why he’s so very good at his job: he doesn’t just act at being the character, but his understanding is deep. He has humility and humanity, and it’s a beautiful thing to witness. What he says next is deeply impactful as a result.

“It was very important to me to examine who these men are now, and not whatever act led them [to prison]. I’ve been able to collaborate with them lovingly, generously, and having a great working relationship with one another. Clarence in particular is such a generous individual; we really share a true brotherhood. And that’s why I think the film is so kinetic: I was able to engage with men who have been through it, and also cast some of my dearest friends as co-stars. I feel like we all struck this beautiful balance together that, at the end of the day, was a wonderful collaboration with a lot of kindness that came completely from my heart.”
He pauses. “Maybe,” he muses, “it has something to do with that love energy that I walk around with.”

It’s not hard to see why Colman Domingo gravitates to larger-than-life characters onscreen, films dramatizing real-life figures, from Rustin’s Bayard Rustin to Selma’s Baptist minister Ralph Abernathy to upcoming turns as Nat King Cole and Jackson family patriarch Joe Jackson in Antoine Fuqua’s Michael: he himself is the same way.

Photo Credit: Juan Veloz

It’s a boiling hot summer day in New York and Domingo is on the rooftop of The Ned NoMad, gamely working it in a full-length fur coat and a slew of diamond-studded Jacob & Co. watches. His height, his stance, his very presence is magnetic; he is someone you cannot take your eyes off of.

And in his opinion, his characters are drawn to him the same way that everyone else is — the man is irresistible. “I don’t know if I seek those stories [these biopics]; I kind of think that those stories are drawn to me,” he confides warmly. “I just seek to be a part of the most interesting, complicated storytelling, and I guess that, with a lot of them, I deal with real people in real situations. I think it’s funny because, for a long time, I was called on to do a lot of history and human rights and civil rights films — meaningful work on television about our humanity. And personally, I think I’m a lighthearted person who likes to have a lot of fun. I like to dance and go to the beach like everybody else. But I’m always drawn to this sort of heavy lifting work. Now, after doing this work for over 33 years, I do realize why. It’s because I’m very curious about people, I’m very in tune with others, and I want to craft work that will hopefully do some good in the world. I would welcome the opportunity to do a Marvel film or something like that, but I also think that I’m being used — and ‘used’ is the right word here — for high vibrational, highly intentional, highly mindful work.”

That work has earned him Oscar, BAFTA, Tony, Critics Choice Awards, Independent Spirit, Lawrence Olivier, Drama Desk, and Drama League nominations, as well as an Emmy Award for HBO’s Euphoria. He has appeared in projects such as the 2023 adaptation of The Color Purple, as well as Zola, If Beale Street Could Talk, Selma, and Candyman, among others. He and his husband, Raúl Domingo, have produced a myriad of work under their Edith Productions banner. He has also co-produced the Pulitzer Prize-winning and Tony-nominated play Fat Ham and both produced and starred in the Academy Award-shortlisted animated short film New Moon as well as the award-winning short North Star. He is a force — and one that operates from a place of love (or love energy, as it were).

He chalks this up to how he was brought up, citing his family as his reason for everything. He was the third of four children born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to mother Edith Bowles, who raised him alongside his stepfather, Clarence, in a working-class household, one that was rich in support and understanding. “I grew up with a lot of love, so I think that’s what I pour into the world. That’s my whole operating system,” he confides now, before sharing, “There have been times when I think I’ve been challenged, because not everyone leads that way. But we all have a choice, and I choose to continue to believe that people can be better than they are. That’s the only way I can exist, and I think we need that — we need that sort of radical love right now. And that is also why I gravitate towards characters that are complicated, or interesting.”

He then references Bayard Rustin, Albert ‘Mister’ Johnson of The Color Purple, and Zola villain X, confessing, “I was terrified before doing any of those projects. Completely terrified. Because I know that all of those characters can fall into a trope in some way, and it’s my job to humanize them, to find what makes them tick. I think that’s my task as an artist. Even with projects like Euphoria, I feel like I have the possibility of changing lives being a healer, which is also a terrifying task. You want to get it right.

Also,I’m attracted to both heroes and villains; I want to find humanity in both. If I feel like it’s an easy path, I don’t want it. I want the more complicated, but deliberate and intentional, road.”

Photo Credit: Juan Veloz

It hasn’t always served him as it should — Domingo has been acting for over 30 years, and it is only now that he’s having his well-deserved moment, but he’s endlessly optimistic and entirely pragmatic about his career path. Every choice, every film, has led him right here, exactly where he needs to and was meant to be.

“I have always followed my gut and made decisions based on what I was curious about. That has always been my North Star; it has never failed me,” he declares, noting that this is, too, the reason why he has zero regrets. “Sometimes, yes, it can bring up some challenges, but maybe that’s why I see things the way that I do. If something didn’t work out well, what did I learn from it? How am I going to move forward? Even recently, I have turned some things down where I thought, oh, that could have been some good money, but was that aligned with my spirit? Or, did I feel like that would sell me out in some way? I go with that sort of faith, and I think that’s what’s led me here at 54 years old, feeling like I have a lot of access and agency and goodwill around.”

If that statement alone doesn’t showcase to all why he deserves to be on Time’s most influential list, well, I’d be surprised. What’s unsurprising: this isn’t an accolade he takes lightly. “When you get that moniker, you’re thinking, now, I have something to live up to. Now, the work begins. If I’m one of the 100 most influential people in the world today, I have eyes on me, and they want to see how I operate, move, lead, and how I am an influence. I have to step into it with every ounce of intelligence, grace, and humanity. I don’t know — maybe a seed was planted as soon as I got the news, because I was like, well, I’ve got some work to do. I can’t let people down.”

He’s really leaned into the recognition but is adamant that every role he’s taken has helped him get there in some way. Playing civil rights leader Rustin  ignited a fire in him to be a leader, though, admittedly, he had already been doing so since joining the faculty of the USC School of Dramatic Arts in 2021 as a guest lecturer; he has been transforming young actors ever since. But Rustin gets the lion’s share of the credit here. “I took on a lot of those qualities, and I feel like they’ve stayed with me. I also think there’s a strange alchemy that does happen between crafting work and what it does for your life. I always tell my students to trust that the art they’re seeking is also seeking you, and that it’s meant for you at the time that you need it. So apparently, I believe I needed those leadership skills from Rustin to become a leader in the industry; I needed The Color Purple and Sing Sing to get there — and I do feel unabashedly and without ego that I have emerged as a leader in our industry.”

He references a recent press line for Sing Sing that took place in Brooklyn in late June, where he took control authoritatively and calmly, assembling the cast in a way that he thought represented the film most effectively. And when he looked around, what he saw was that he had, without consciously being asked, taken control. “I realized I was the only person who could do it, because I am the leader of this company,” he confides.

It felt strange, but powerful, to take charge like this, especially after being someone who, for so long, had done his job well, but more so in the supporting space. Now, he is the leading man he always knew he could be. “It’s so funny. As you can probably tell by my resume, I’m someone who has kept his head down and worked consistently for years. It’s so beautiful when people finally see the work I’ve put in for years, and that I’ve been an influence to people. It makes my heart melt when people want to hold my hands and they say, ‘thank you,’ telling me they’ve been watching. When you thought you weren’t been seen, hearing that you have been all along is beautiful.”

It’s outstanding to hear that even someone as seemingly confident, calm, collected, and cool as Colman has felt less than, though life is rarely as we expect it. He explains this feeling, saying, “I felt that for a long time, I was showing up and doing the work, but it wasn’t being amplified — and I was standing right there. You start to question yourself, like, do I have any value or am I just a tool to help support everyone else? I’ve never personally doubted my value, what I can bring, or what I can do. But even so, I felt that somehow, it was by design in the industry that there could only be one — whether it was someone who looks like me, who has a similar background to me from theater, film, and TV — but I did feel like the choice was always to shine a light on someone else. But still, I kept working. I thought, people may not see it, but I’m there and I’m going to keep working and building the way I do. I think I’ve still taken that on stage — I still work as if no one’s watching. I think that’s why I can be slippery and sly and slide into very different genres.”

He references his upcoming Netflix project, Four Seasons, a comedic turn alongside Tina Fey and Steve Carrell about three married couples who take vacations together each season, one of which brings chaos when one of the husbands leaves his wife and brings a younger woman on holiday instead. After all his serious biopics, no one expected Domingo to do comedy — which is not in any way to say that he could not do it. He’s just testing himself to prove that he can. “I still feel like I need to create as if no one’s looking… although everyone’s looking,” he says with a smile.

And by everyone, he does mean everyone — from the top producers and directors in Hollywood to a fan at his local Target (which is closer to his second home, located in Southeast LA). “Coming back home after Oscar season, I wasn’t as invisible,” he admits. “Before, I could go to Ralph’s [supermarket] and nobody would care. And now I have attention all the time. That’s the reason I bought in Malibu: I had to literally find a place where I could continue to be a person, because I like my autonomy; it’s important to me.”

On the flip side, he’s taking better meetings, and now, he’s the one in charge. “The things that I have access to have changed. Now there’s more generosity when I go to those meetings. But I don’t want to change as a person — I want to lead with grace and humility. But I also won’t say that it hasn’t been challenging — it’s strange to think that the way people are perceiving me is changing. I remember just finishing this whole long, epic Oscar run, and I was driving my car up the 101 [freeway], and I just felt very vulnerable; I felt more exposed than usual. And not only as an actor, but as a person. I guess I have to readjust and find ways to protect the things that I care about and the way I move through the world. I feel like I have to find a new veneer to maintain that stuff.”

Regardless of what is happening, the fact remains that it is happening, and that it was likely always going to. Destiny is real — he’s certain of it. “I do believe in fate, but I think fate is connected to magic. I like to use the word ‘magic’ because it’s something you can’t put your finger on — you just have to believe that it exists. And I’ve always been a very open individual when it comes to chance, meeting people, and saying ‘yes.’”

To drive this statement home, he shows me a tattoo on his arm (no mean feat whilst driving, mind) that showcases how very much he means it. ‘Yes,’ his arm declares, yes. “I believe yeses are very magical,” he notes. “You have to say yes. Sometimes, people don’t even know why I’m saying yes, but I do it anyway. I’ll be there, I say. I’ll show up. But it’s always because I have a feeling; there’s an impulse, something that’s driving me there, something I feel. I don’t know exactly what it is, but I feel that a connection is supposed to be made or I’m supposed to learn this lesson, but I think ‘yes’ is fate. ‘Yes’ is divine. ‘Yes’ is magic.”
And so, at the end of the day, is life itself, at this moment in time, for Colman Domingo.

“Life is absolutely one billion percent magical,” he declares. “I find that there’s magic everywhere I look. I know that I lead with magic, so magic comes to me. The energy that you put out and speak into the world comes back to you, and so I believe that this life is magic. I know that I’m seeing magic every single day. I see it in the smile of my husband; I see it when he waves to me as I’m leaving and getting in my car. It’s magic in all these small moments, these snapshots I take with my mind. This is a dazzling time in my life, and when I’m old and grey, I want to remember all of it.” 

Photo Credit: Juan Veloz