Actor Colman Domingo gained recognition for portraying civil rights activist Bayard Rustin in Netflix’s Rustin. The actor has been a part of projects including Lincoln, Selma, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Zola, and more. He recently appeared in the musical adaptation of The Color Purple in which he played Albert ‘Mister’ Johnson.
The actor who collaborated with Sam Levinson for the black comedy movie Assassination Nation in 2018, later appeared in his show Euphoria as Ali. Colman Domingo was highly lauded for his performance on the show which features Zendaya as the lead actress. Domingo recently named an artist he would like to work with shortly. Let’s find out.
Colman Domingo expresses a desire to work with Poor Things actress Emma Stone
Actor Colman Domingo joined Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Paul Giamatti, Andrew Scott, and Jeffrey Wright at the Hollywood Reporter’s Off Script actors roundtable hosted by Yvonne Orji. The stars at the roundtable spoke about their connections with one another, and their experience in the industry and reflected on their career. The actors were asked about the one artist (actor/actress) they would like to work with in the future. Colman Domingo said,
“I immediately thought Emma Stone. I thought that she’s so…I’m sure I can feel that she is inventive and kind and generous and kind and quirky and weird. You feel like she’s going to just give you a gift every day and you’re like how am I going to respond. “
Mark Ruffalo, who recently worked with the actress in Poor Things appreciated Colman Domingo’s choice and said ‘good call’, later adding that she was precious. The critics as well as the audience have appreciated Emma Stone’s recent performance as Bella Baxter in Poor Things. She has already won a Golden Globe award for it, which was followed by a Best Actress Critics Choice Award.
Colman Domingo talks about his experience with portraying both straight and gay roles
In an interview with Deadline, Colman Domingo who is a proud openly gay Black man was asked about his experience with portraying both straight and gay roles on-screen. He said,
“I think from the very beginning, I’ve always been open in my career, but it wasn’t as if I was letting the fact that I was openly gay dictate the roles I was doing. I’m just not that person. I feel like I’m a dude who’s got ideas and thoughts and dreams and aspirations like anybody else, and you have a heteronormative male.”
He continued to explain that he has never put any limitation on himself and added,
“As an actor, I want the person to see me as someone who can play a myriad of things. And I think if there was ever any pushback, if anyone knew something about me and thought, ‘Well, I don’t know if he can really go to those places,’ I didn’t know. But I felt like I liberated myself from that sort of criticism or power or anything early on in my career. For an actor to play Bayrad Rustin and Mister in The Color Purple simultaneously shows what I have always believed my career could be.”
Colman Domingo added that he has been busy creating his work and his lane in many ways which is why he goes between being a playwright, screenwriter, singer, dancer, and actor. The actor noted that he has somewhere to go and create.
Rustin is available to stream on Netflix while The Color Purple is available on VOD.
Frequently asked questions
Which actor does Colman Domingo want to work with?
At The Hollywood Reporter’s Off Script actors roundtable, Colman Domingo named Emma Stone as the performer he would most like to work with. He described her as inventive, kind, generous, quirky and weird, saying he imagined she would give a scene partner a gift every day. Mark Ruffalo, who worked with Stone on Poor Things, approved and called the choice a good call.
Why was Emma Stone singled out that awards season?
Emma Stone drew wide acclaim for playing Bella Baxter in Poor Things, a performance embraced by critics and audiences alike. She had already won a Golden Globe for the role, which was followed by a Best Actress win at the Critics Choice Awards. That momentum helped make her one of the standout figures of the 2024 awards season Domingo referenced.
How does Colman Domingo approach playing straight and gay roles?
Speaking to Deadline, Domingo, an openly gay Black man, said he never let his identity dictate the roles he pursued and refused to limit himself. He noted that playing Bayard Rustin in Rustin and Mister in The Color Purple around the same time reflected the wide-ranging career he always believed he could build across acting, writing and other creative work.
