Finally, the immensely talented and wildly appealing Colman Domingo is getting his due! He was featured in two big movies at the end of 2023 and was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for one of them. He has several high-profile projects coming up, including portraying jazz musician Nat King Cole in a big-screen biopic he’ll direct, inspired by a play he wrote. Domingo rose to prominence on Broadway, earning award nominations for acting and dancing, alongside his many TV and film roles. Like a lot of our MCM and WCW features, you’ve probably seen this actor in small parts all along and then you go, wow, there he is! He’s a goddamn star! That’s Colman Domingo for sure.
Private Harold Green in Lincoln (2012)
Colman Domingo told BlackFilm.com of this role:
“Me and David Oyelowo have some really beautiful moments with the President (played by Daniel Day Lewis). I can’t say much on the film, but it’s a wonderful role and was a beautiful experience working on that project. Working with Spielberg was fantastic. You’re working with the best of the best. He’s the most humble, lighthearted, and generous man and working with Daniel Day Lewis was spectacular. He’s the actor’s actor.”
Lawson Bowman in 42 (2013)
Freddie Fallows in Lee Daniels’ The Butler (2013)
Domingo said on Broadway.com:
“I can honestly say that The Butler, from the very outset, felt like an event: All of us knew it was something special — we were telling a story that hadn’t been told before and that had to be told. Many of these Academy Award-winning actors have one scene, but the point is that everyone wanted to be a part of it. It wasn’t about the size of the role but about the size of the piece.”
Ralph Abernathy in Selma (2014)
Working on Selma gave Domingo another look at the civil rights era, as he described to The Advocate:
“I always looked at these leaders, but I didn’t look at the people who were following these leaders, because you couldn’t have a movement if it weren’t for these so-called ‘extras,’ or people who are being sent out there to constantly be arrested, and these teenagers, people who felt motivated to just do work they thought was right.”
Dr. Russell Daniels in The Knick (2015)
I can’t find much about Domingo’s work on this series, but he does like roles that require research, as he told We Live Entertainment, so I bet this 1900s doctor gave him something to study:
“I’m going to do a lot of work. I’m a nerd. And I like to research everything about a character. I want to know that it’s gonna take me down a rabbit hole, I’m gonna do eight hours of study on it on a Saturday. And I’m just curious about how they live in me, how I will change my body or my voice or you name it. It’s gonna want to give you everything that you’re curious about, and ultimately feel like you’re gonna have a leap of faith with it, you know?”
Hark in The Birth of a Nation (2016)
Colman Domingo said about Birth of a Nation in Interview Magazine:
“I look at the film and there’s a rawness to it. I think it’s a beauty because it’s so stripped down and bare. I look at myself in the film and it doesn’t look like me. I don’t think it’s one of those things where it’s like, “Oh, he’s transformed so much. Look at what makeup and costumes did.” I just don’t feel like myself in that. I’m a happy go lucky person. I’m a bit of a Pollyanna.”
Bass Reeves in “The Murder of Jesse James,” Timeless (2017)
Cutler in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020)
Domingo’s extensive theater background came into use for this TV biopic, as he describes his character to Playbill:
“Cutler is the bandleader. He’s Ma’s proxy when she’s not in the room. He’s also a member of the band. I have always been the leader of any acting company. “Who’s the Equity deputy?” It’s me. So it makes sense that I was cast in this role in this film. He does feel like he’s code-switching and navigating many systems. I think Ma respects that he’s up to the task. Because it’s a very large task. But it has to be done with grace, and with a sense of humor and a sense of compassion. I think I’m able to navigate that with Cutler in this film because he’s the only one who navigates all the different worlds. He’s able to have access and have audience with Ma alone. He’s also the first person the white institutions see. They deal with Cutler.”
Bayard Rustin in Rustin (2023)
In an interview with The Talks, Colman Domingo said he felt that his career had worked up to Rustin:
“It’s not like I just got out of grad school and this role was handed to me. This role required all those years, you know, Rustin was 51 years old when he organized the march in Washington. And I was 51 years old when I shot the film. We had those years between us. We’re creating a film and a piece of art, and we need to have a sense of openness and passion for telling this story so I needed to access that with as much love, ferocity, grace, and intelligence as I could.”
Mister in The Color Purple (2023)
Colman Domingo told Deadline how he created the role of Mister:
“I thought even just taking the fact that he called himself Mister and wanted everyone else to call him Mister, which says a lot about character. His name is Albert, but he’s like, “Call me Mister. I’m demanding my own reverence,” which I thought was fascinating. So, I put that into his body and how he moves through spaces.”
What’s your favorite historical costume movie or TV role by Colman Domingo?
Like so many people, I’ve only recently learned of Colman Domingo. From what I’ve seen of him in interviews he also just seems so gracious and like an all-around amazing person. And he is SO HANDSOME. (The picture from Timeless makes me swoon!) I’m glad he’s having his moment now. I want to see so much of his work. Thank you for this list! Great MCM choice!!!