Colman Domingo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Colman Domingo
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Domingo at SXSW in 2024
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| Born |
Colman Jason Domingo
November 28, 1969 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
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| Education | Temple University (BA) |
| Occupation |
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| Years active | 1995–present |
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Works
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Full list |
| Spouse(s) |
Raúl Domingo
(m. 2014) |
| Awards | Full list |
Colman Jason Domingo (born November 28, 1969) is an American actor, playwright, and director. He became very well-known in the 2010s for his work in movies, TV shows, and plays. Domingo has received many awards, including a Primetime Emmy Award. He has also been nominated for two Academy Awards and two Tony Awards. In 2024, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Domingo's early roles on Broadway included the play Well in 2005 and the musical Passing Strange in 2008. He earned praise for his role as Mr. Bones in the Broadway musical The Scottsboro Boys in 2011. For this role, he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. He played the same role in London in 2014 and was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award. In 2018, he helped write the story for the Broadway musical Summer: The Donna Summer Musical.
After appearing in the Law & Order TV series and The Big Gay Sketch Show, Domingo became widely recognized. He played Victor Strand in the AMC series Fear the Walking Dead from 2015 to 2023. He gained even more fame for his role as Ali in the HBO series Euphoria, starting in 2019. He won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series in 2022 for this role. In 2025, he starred in the TV series based on The Four Seasons.
Domingo received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actor in 2024 and 2025. These were for his roles as civil rights activist Bayard Rustin in the movie Rustin and a prison inmate in the drama Sing Sing. He has also appeared in other notable films like Lincoln (2012), The Butler (2013), Selma (2014), If Beale Street Could Talk (2018), Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020), Zola (2021), and The Color Purple (2023).
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Life and Education
Domingo was born and grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the third of four children in a working-class family. His mother worked at a bank, and his stepfather sanded floors.
As a child, Domingo had a lisp, which is a speech difficulty. His mother sent him to speech therapy classes to help him.
Domingo graduated from Overbrook High School in 1987. He then attended Temple University, where he studied journalism. After college, he moved to San Francisco, California. There, he began acting, mostly in theater plays.
From 2009 to 2017, Domingo lived in a special building for artists called Manhattan Plaza. This building helped artists with affordable housing.
Domingo has also shared his knowledge by teaching classes and giving talks. He taught at the University of Texas at Austin in 2014, the O'Neill National Theater Institute in 2015, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2016.
On May 10, 2025, Domingo received an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree from American University. He also gave the main speech at their graduation ceremony.
Career Highlights
Early Roles (1994–2014)
Domingo's first acting role on screen was in a movie called Timepiece in 1995. He continued to act in the 1990s, appearing on TV in Nash Bridges in 1997. He also had small roles in movies like True Crime (1999) and Freedomland (2006). He appeared in different Law & Order TV shows and the comedy series The Big Gay Sketch Show.
On stage, Domingo starred in the musical Passing Strange. This show was very popular and moved to Broadway in 2008. He won an Obie Award for his part in Passing Strange. He also appeared in the movie version of the musical, directed by Spike Lee.
In 2010, Domingo's own play, A Boy and His Soul, opened in New York. He won an award for this play, called a Lucille Lortel Award.
From June to July 2014, Domingo played Billy Flynn in the Broadway musical Chicago.
For his work in The Scottsboro Boys on Broadway in 2010, he was nominated for a Tony Award. When the show opened in London, he was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award in 2014.
Domingo also appeared in Spike Lee's films Miracle at St. Anna (2008) and Red Hook Summer (2012). He had supporting roles in other important films. These included Private Harold Green in Steven Spielberg's Lincoln (2012). He was also in 42 (2013), The Butler (2013), and played Ralph Abernathy in Selma (2014).
Around 2014, Domingo thought about quitting acting. He had been acting for 30 years and felt rejected after missing out on many TV roles. He even considered starting a business taking headshot photos. However, a friend introduced him to a new manager. This manager helped Domingo change his audition style. These changes led him to get his big role in Fear the Walking Dead. Domingo said this role "gave me a new footing back in the industry."
Breakthrough and Recognition (2015–2019)
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In Fear the Walking Dead, Domingo played the character of Victor Strand. His first appearance was in the fifth episode of the first season. By December 2015, he became a regular cast member for the second season. Critics praised his performance, calling him "easily the most vivid character" in the show.
In 2016, Domingo appeared in several other TV series. He played Dr. Russell Daniels in The Knick and Father Frank in Lucifer. That year, he also starred as Hark Turner in The Birth of a Nation. This movie was based on the true story of Nat Turner, an enslaved man who led a rebellion in 1831. Domingo shared that playing this role was very emotional for him.
In 2017, Domingo became a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This is the group that gives out the Academy Awards. He also voiced a dragonfly character in an episode of the animated series BoJack Horseman.
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In 2018, Domingo joined the Directors Guild of America as a director for Fear The Walking Dead. He was the first actor from The Walking Dead universe to direct an episode. He directed three episodes of Fear The Walking Dead. That year, he also helped write the musical Summer: The Donna Summer Musical. He appeared in If Beale Street Could Talk, a movie based on a book by James Baldwin. In this film, his on-screen wife was played by Regina King, who won an Academy Award.
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The director Sam Levinson cast Domingo in the role of Ali in the HBO drama series Euphoria, which started in 2019. Domingo's performance as Ali, a character working to overcome challenges, received a lot of attention. He won a Primetime Emmy Award in 2022 for his work in the second season of Euphoria.
Recent Work (2020s)
In 2020, Domingo made a deal with AMC Networks to develop new projects. That year, he also earned praise for his role as Cutler in the Netflix movie Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. He starred alongside famous actors Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman. The next year, he was noticed for his role as X in the crime film Zola. For this role, he was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award. He also helped produce a short film called Leylak, which was shown at the Tribeca Festival.
In 2023, Domingo starred as civil rights activist Bayard Rustin in the Netflix movie Rustin. This film was directed by George C. Wolfe. The Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice praised Domingo's casting. They said his "powerful voice helps amplify Bayard Rustin."
For his performance in Rustin, Domingo was nominated for many top awards. These included the Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor. His Academy Award nomination for Rustin was historic. It made him the first Afro-Latino to be nominated for Best Actor. He was also the first American openly gay man to be nominated for playing a gay character.
He received positive reviews for his performance as Mister in the 2023 movie The Color Purple. This film was based on the musical, which was based on a novel. Along with the other actors in the movie, he was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award. That year, he also voiced the DC Comics superhero Batman in a podcast. In 2024, he played Batman again in the second season of another podcast.
Domingo played John "Divine G" Whitfield in the prison drama Sing Sing. This movie was shown at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival and received great reviews. Domingo was nominated for an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award for his role in Sing Sing. In 2025, Domingo voiced Norman Osborn in the animated series Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. He has also said he would like to play the character in live-action movies.
Domingo co-starred in The Four Seasons, which was released on Netflix on May 1, 2025. Netflix has already decided to make a second season. He was nominated for a 2025 Emmy Award for his role as Danny. Domingo was also a co-chair for the 2025 Met Gala, a big fashion event. He has also filmed a supporting role in an upcoming historical crime film called Dead Man's Wire.
Domingo will play Joe Jackson in the 2026 musical movie Michael. This movie is about the life of singer Michael Jackson. He will also co-star in a 2026 film directed by Steven Spielberg. Domingo is also set to direct and star in a movie about Nat King Cole. This project is planned for 2026. He will also star in a movie called True-ish and is attached to co-star in Strange Arrivals.
Works
See also
In Spanish: Colman Domingo para niños
- African-American Tony nominees and winners
- List of actors with Academy Award nominations
- List of actors with more than one Academy Award nomination in the acting categories
- List of Hispanic Academy Award winners and nominees
- List of LGBTQ Academy Award winners and nominees
- List of black Academy Award winners and nominees
- List of black Golden Globe Award winners and nominees
- List of Primetime Emmy Award winners
