Colman Domingo is pictured attending the world premiere of “The Color Purple” at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles, December 6, 2023.Photo:Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty
Colman Domingo’s rise to stardom has included anEmmy winand multiple Tony Award nominations. And now he’s in the Oscar conversation for his turn in the historical biopicRustin. Despite these recent successes, though, the actor has seen his fair share of setbacks during his career.
Domingo recalled 2014 as an especially trying year — he’d was back on the audition circuit in New York City despite a Tony-nominated run in the Broadway musicalThe Scottsboro Boysthat took him to London.
He was particularly excited about a role in theMartin Scorsese-produced HBO dramaBoardwalk Empire.
At the time, Domingo thought the small part as a maître d' at a Black-owned nightclub was “the one that’s going to finally be my big break,” he toldThe New York Timesin a recent profile. After a strong audition, the actor’s agent told him that a historical researcher on the HBO series informed producers that maître d’s employed in nightclubs at the time were usually light-skinned. Domingo did not get the part.
“That’s when I lost my mind,” he recalled, sharing that he was in the middle of a Manhattan Equinox gym when he got the news and couldn’t stop himself from screaming and sliding to the floor.
He said he told his agent: “I can’t take it anymore. I think this is going to kill me.”
Colman Domingo is pictured attending the MPTF NextGen Summer Party at NeueHouse Los Angeles on August 06, 2023 in Hollywood, California.Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Though that experience nearly prompted Domingo to abandon his acting career entirely, he persevered and learned an important lesson about the business.
“I’ve had many moments where I just needed that little shine or that little push or that extra scene that I know we shot, but decisions were made,” he toldNYT. “It happens. You can shoot a film and do some of the best work of your career, and they leave out three incredible scenes, and you’re like, ‘That could have made me. That could have changed everything.'”
After winning his first Emmy last year for an impactful guest role in HBO’sEuphoria, Domingo is now in the midst of a career high.
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
Of the position he’s currently in, Domingo noted, “I don’t want to miss this moment. All the films, all the lights, all the accolades, all the beautiful critical responses — I want to bathe in all of that right now.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Rustincan be streamed on Netflix, andThe Color Purpleis currently out in movie theaters.
source: people.com
