Colman Domingo is in the middle of a major career moment. He can currently be seen as Mister in the blockbuster musical “The Color Purple.” He’s also receiving critical acclaim and multiple award nominations for his performance as civil rights icon Bayard Rustin in the Netflix biopic ‘Rustin.’ However, the Emmy winner shared that early on his career he had a rough go at making it in Hollywood.
Like all New York-based actors he did the “Law & Order” rounds, appearing in guest roles on the franchise’s various series. He booked small parts but was having trouble breaking through in a role that would really get him noticed.
In 2014, he thought his luck was turning around after he had a fantastic audition for the HBO series “Boardwalk Empire.” He was looking to play the maître d at a Black owned nightclub on the 1920s period drama. Making a memorable appearance on the prestigious show would have been a big moment for Domingo. Unfortunately, he lost the part because producers thought he was too dark-skinned for the role. In their research, they found that maître d’s in those times were usually light-skinned. According to the Tony nominee, this was a huge blow to his confidence.
“That’s when I lost my mind,” Domingo told The New York Times. “I can’t take it anymore, I think this is going to kill me.”
For actors, auditioning is a brutal cycle of rejection and low pay. No matter how talented actors are, there’s always some director or producer who doesn’t want to cast them for a ridiculous nitpicking reason. For Black actors—and musicians—colorism makes the road even more rocky.
Let’s be honest: “Boardwalk Empire’s” producers probably used being “historically accurate” as an excuse for choosing the actor they really wanted. Domingo’s look as since landed him work in “Euphoria,” “Zola,” “If Beale Street Could Talk” and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.”
And Domingo attributes his success to his decision to skip the audition hamster wheel and become an “offer-only” actor.
“I became an actor that was ‘offer-only’ probably sooner than the industry thought I should have,” Domingo said. “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.”
“Rustin” is now available on Netflix and “The Color Purple” is currently playing in theaters.