Rustin has earned Colman three nominations, together with a Golden Globe for Best Actor for his function as civil rights activist Bayard Rustin.
The musical adaptation of The Color Purple opened on Christmas Day and earned a whopping $18 million on its first day, making it the second largest Christmas Day opening in historical past.
And certain, the Tony-nominated actor for The Scottsboro Boys has an excellent resume now, however he revealed one audition that almost broke him.
According to the New York Times, Colman used to stay to auditioning for “under-fives,” minor roles that solely have one or two strains of dialogue.
The 54-year-old actor thought “under-fives” would result in extra important roles, till one rejection virtually made him lose his thoughts.
Colman auditioned for a bit half within the HBO sequence Boardwalk Empire to play a maître d’ at a Black-owned nightclub. He even wearing a tuxedo, sang, and faucet danced for the producers.
As the Times reported, “His agent began that call by saying that everyone on Boardwalk Empire had loved his audition. This is the one that’s going to change it up for me, Domingo thought. This is the one that’s going to finally be my big break. There was just one problem, his agent said. After the callback, a historical researcher on the show reminded producers that the maître d’s in those nightclubs were typically light-skinned, and Domingo was not. Boardwalk Empire had passed.”
“That’s when I lost my mind,” Colman mentioned, which prompted him to inform his agent, “I can’t take it anymore; I think this is going to kill me.”
It’s surprising to study one thing as ridiculous because the darkness of his pores and skin shade saved him from a promising function, however not even colorism may maintain Colman’s unmatched expertise down.
Unfortunately, Colman’s struggles as a Black actor should not uncommon, as his costar Taraji P. Henson revealed in the course of the press tour for The Color Purple.
In the Times, Colman additionally shared that he is now an “offer-only” actor to keep away from reliving these hurtful and prejudiced audition processes. “I became an actor that was ‘offer-only’ probably sooner than the industry thought I should have,” Colman mentioned. “But I decided I have a body of work. You can go and look at it, you can ask other directors about me, and you can make me the offer or not.”
It’s Colman Domingo’s time, and I’m extremely proud!
Stream Rustin on Netflix. The Color Purple is now enjoying in theaters in all places.
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