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I didnt go to graduate school for acting.
I learned everything by being in rooms and watching rehearsals I wasnt even called for because I was learning.
Colman Domingo as Mister in ‘The Color Purple.‘Eli Ade/Warner Bros./Everett Collection
I was watching relationships between directors, actors, playwrights and producers, you name it.
And I think thats been my strength as I look back at my career, it was my conservatory.
Thats why my career is so varied in theater, film and television, directing, producing and singing.
Colman Domingo as Bayard Rustin.David Lee/Netflix
Ive been doing that for years.
But now its with brighter lights around it.
DEADLINE:When did you start to take yourself more seriously as a creative?
DOMINGO:I think I took myself seriously before anyone else did.
I just did what was in front of me.
Do something that makes you feel useful.
So that was early on because I was starting theater companies when I was in my early 20s.
I had no access or anything…but listen, Im from West Philly.
I know how to hustle and bargain.
So, I think thats always been my approach to this industry.
Is there a place for my voice and what I want?
Ive had highs and lows in my career, like anybody else.
I was just going to go gently into that dark night and do something else.
Have you ever experienced pushback?
Im just not that person.
I dont think Ive had any pushback.
I always have somewhere to go and create.
And they actually asked me, Well, could you play straight?
It was wild to me.
And I thought, Wait, what?
That person has deeply apologized since then because they realized their narrow vision.
I dont know if Im masked presenting or not, but I think Im nerd presenting [laughs].
Lets get into these two very different roles youve played this year.
DOMINGO:We worked in concert in a very extraordinary waydeep conversations between George and I.
And it required a sense of extraordinary intelligence and wit and humanity and vulnerability.
We wanted to create a platform for one of our personal heroes.
Its not an opportunity given every day, especially for me as an actor.
How many people get the opportunity to play one of their heroes?
It doesnt happen often.
I wanted to give the role everything I could.
And I know I can see the work, and I know theres nothing I left behind.
Everyone from the writers to directors, camera operators and all departments had that mission.
So, it feels really special in that way.
Ive watched the [1985] film probably 100 times in my life.
Ive seen both versions of the Broadway musical.
I had to examine that, and I needed to find out how he lived in me.
And I think as I was exploring him, he lived in a unique way that Oprah even says.
Shes looked at me and said, Oh, Mister is sexy.
So thats the way he was leading and the way he was sneaking through the world.
He was trying to be his own man, even with his style and how he presented himself.
His name is Albert, but hes like, Call me Mister.
Im demanding my own reverence, which I thought was fascinating.
So, I put that into his body and how he moves through spaces.
So, I wanted to make that challenge of why Celie doesnt cut his throat sooner stronger.
Theres something seductive, something interesting.
Because I come from theater, I built a character from the ground up.
Im also a physical actor.
Im akin to Lucille Ball and Madeline Kahn.
DOMINGO:Theres always a lot of questions about process with actors.
I think that characters always stay within you.
But on the day-to-day, I know how to take it off.
I think its healthy for actors to know how to take it off.
I see to it I set myself up with, depending on what I need.
I think with bothRustinandThe Color Purple, I needed light when I went home.
So, whatever apartments or houses I had, I needed light and flowers every week.
I need to take care of myself so I can take care of others because I think thats important.
I always want to be a collaborator filled with joy, grace and love.
So, I dont let the darkness overshadow and just lean into the production.
DEADLINE:Throughout your career, youve often worked with younger, contemporary actors.
Do you mentor them?
DOMINGO:I absolutely mentor them.
I think its important for me to look after them but welcome them into their own process.
Im open to seeing how they experience this, but also I know that theyre watching.
Theyre watching the way I run a set.
Theyre watching how I deal with wardrobe or ADs [assistant directors] or directors.
So I know that thats also an added responsibility.
I loved working with those two young women.
I love working with Phylicia and with Halle.
Theyre my little sisters.
Celie is laying into Mister and Sofia is gloating in the mess.
Walk me through that day of filming.
DOMINGO:It was fun, yet arduous.
We shot that scene at least five times because we were shooting during COVID.
Its a scene filled with superstars as well.
You have her, you have Jon Batiste…
So, how can we get them all in the room to still get that effect?
That was a great scene to do.
I love that scene because its our perspective on it, too.
We all remember that scene so very well.
But playing off of Danielle and Taraji [P. Henson], Fantasia was just fantastic.
And even the ending of the scene with me and Louis Gossett Jr. just staring at each other.
You know what I mean?
Its an awesome scene.
I loved doing it.
I didnt know would be good, or something like that.
And then he just lays his head on Coreys chest.
We discovered that in rehearsal because its not written that way.
Its written that hes just saying, Im proud of what you did, he walks off.
And in rehearsal, it catches my throat every time I think about it.
I heard Corey just say, Are you all right, Pop?
And it lands on him, makes him vulnerable, then he looks up and dismisses it.
He cant go there.
I wonder, if Mister actually went there, how he would fall apart.
You know what I mean?
So, he keeps going with the trauma because thats all he knows.
Hes walking around with it.
I didnt know that that was the way that the scene was going to go.
DEADLINE:What color or symbol would you say represents your spirit at this time in your career?
And Im very conscious of that, of what my intention is, what my purpose is.
It makes people feel like the light, too.
So, I think thats dope.
Im having such an extraordinary time in my career, and I do know that its a moment.
We dont know if we ever get these moments, but I know I can recognize it.
Im not unaware of it.
You know what I mean?
I still want to feel like Im just starting out.
