Colman Jason Domingo (born November 28, 1969) is prominent actor on both screen and stage.
He has received Oscar nomination, Primetime Emmy Award, and two nominations for Tony Awards.
My Oscar Book:
Domingo’s early Broadway roles include the 2005 play Well and the 2008 musical Passing Strange.
He gained acclaim for his role as Mr. Bones in the Broadway musical The Scottsboro Boys (2011), for which he received Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical nomination. He reprised the role in the 2014 West End production, receiving Laurence Olivier Award.
In 2018, he wrote the book for the Broadway musical Summer: The Donna Summer Musical.
Breaktrough
After early roles in various incarnations of Law & Order series and as part of the main cast for The Big Gay Sketch Show, he had his breakthrough playing Victor Strand in the AMC series Fear the Walking Dead (2015–2023).
In 2022, he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his performance as the recovering drug addict Ali on the HBO series Euphoria.
Domingo’s film appearances include supporting roles in Lincoln (2012), Selma (2014), If Beale Street Could Talk (2018), and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020).
For his role ruthless pimp in Janicza Bravo’s Zola (2021), he received nomination for Independent Spirit Award for Supporting Male.
His portrayal of civil rights activist Bayard Rustin in the Netflix film Rustin (2023) earned him Best Actor Oscar nomination.
Domingo was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His father is from Belize and his family is from Guatemala.
Domingo attended Overbrook High School and later Temple University, where he majored in journalism. He moved to San Francisco, where he started acting, mainly in theatre productions.
Domingo starred as Mr. Franklin Jones, Joop, and Mr. Venus, in the critically acclaimed rock musical Passing Strange, which, after a successful 2007 run at The Public Theater, opened on Broadway February 28, 2008. He received an Obie Award in spring 2008 as part of the ensemble of Passing Strange Off-Broadway.
He reprised his role in the film version of Passing Strange, directed by Spike Lee, which made its premiere at the 2009 Sundance Film Fest.
In 2010, Domingo’s self-penned, one-man autobiographical play A Boy and His Soul premiered Off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre, for which he won Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Solo Show. He was also nominated for a Drama Desk Award and Drama League Award.
Domingo starred as a replacement role as Billy Flynn in Chicago, the longest running revival on Broadway.
Domingo also acted in TV series. He made his TV debut in the police procedural Nash Bridges in 1997 and made appearances on the series.
He took a small role in Eastwood’s True Crime (1999) and acted in the indie films Desi’s Looking for a New Girl (2000), Kung Phooey (2003), and the crime drama Freedomland (2006).
He also played minor roles in Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and Law & Order: Trial by Jury. He acted in the sketch series The Big Gay Sketch Show from 2008 to 2010.
Domingo earned acclaim in final collaboration by Kander and Ebb of The Scottsboro Boys, directed by Susan Stroman on Broadway in 2010. He was nominated for the 2011 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.
When The Scottsboro Boys opened in London in Fall 2013, Domingo was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in 2014.
He was nominated for the Fred Astaire Award for Best Principal Dancer on Broadway in 2011.
Domingo collaborated with Spike Lee in Miracle at St. Anna (2008) and Red Hook Summer (2012).
He appeared as Private Harold Green in Spielberg’s historical epic Lincoln (2012).
He appeared in the civil rights films 42 (2013) playing Lawson Bowman and The Butler (2013) as Freddie Fallows.
In 2014 he appeared in Ava DuVernay’s civil rights film Selma portraying activist and Baptist minister Ralph Abernathy.
In 2015, he had recurring role on AMC’s post-apocalyptic, zombie series Fear the Walking Dead, as Victor Strand. In December 2015, Domingo was promoted to series regular for Season 2.
That same year he had recurring role as Dr. Russell Daniels in the Cinemax series The Knick.
The following year he appeared on Lucifer and Louis C.K.’s self-streaming show Horace and Pete.
In 2017, Domingo joined the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as a member of the Actors’ Branch.
In 2018, Domingo joined the Directors Guild of America as a director of episode 12 of season 4 of Fear The Walking Dead.
He is the first actor in The Walking Dead universe to helm an episode.
In 2020, Domingo signed a first-look deal with AMC Networks.
In 2018 he appeared in Barry Jenkins If Beale Street Could Talk, a film of the James Baldwin 1974 novel of the same name. He plays Tish’s father, Joseph Rivers. His on-screen wife is played by Regina King who received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
That same year he collaborated with Sam Levinson in the black comedy Assassination Nation playing Principal Turrell. The following year Levinson cast Domingo in a recurring role as Ali, a recovering drug addict in the HBO drama series Euphoria. In 2020 he received acclaim for his role as Cutler in the Netflix adaptation of August Wilson’s play Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom starring Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman.
He received attention for his role as X, ruthless pimp in the crime film Zola directed by Janicza Bravo. For this role he received ISpirit Award nomination for Best Supporting Male.
Emmy
In 2022 he received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his role in Euphoria.
Domingo starred as civil rights activist Bayard Rustin in the 2023 Netflix film Rustin directed by George C. Wolfe.
Upon the announcement of his being cast in the lead role, the Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice, an LGBTQIA safe-space, community activist center, and educational bridge dedicated to honoring Bayard Rustin through their mission and good works, voiced their approval, espousing that “Your powerful voice helps amplify Bayard Rustin, Godfather of Intersectionality, Planned the March, Brought non-violence to the Movement, Inspired the Freedom Riders, Lost to history because of who he loved, Who he was. Angelic Troublemakers unite!”
For his performance he received nominations for Best Actor for Oscar, BAFTA, and Screen Actors Guild Award.
Also in 2023, he appeared as Mister in the movie adaptation of The Color Purple directed by Blitz the Ambassador. The film received positive reviews along with a nomination for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast.
He also voiced the DC Comics superhero Batman in the Spotify scripted podcast The Riddler: Secrets in the Dark. Domingo portrayed John “Divine G” Whitfield in the Sing Sing which premiered at the 2023 Toronto Fest and which was picked up by A24 for distribution.
Domingo will play Joe Jackson in the musical biopic Michael (2025) about the life of singer Michael Jackson.
Domingo is set to direct and star in the lead role of a untitled Nat King Cole biopic from a script he co-wrote.
Domingo has taught at the O’Neill National Theater Institute, University of Texas at Austin, and University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Openly gay, Domingo met his husband, Raúl Domingo, in 2005 and they married in 2014.
