Colman Domingo
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Colman Domingo

Actor & Playwright

b. November 28, 1969

“I think what we're trying to do in theater is heal someone.”

Colman Domingo is an Oscar- and Tony-nominated, Obie and Emmy Award-winning actor, director, and playwright. Most recently, he earned acclaim for his starring roles in the films “Rustin” (2023) and “Sing Sing” (2024). He plays Joe Jackson in the biopic “Michael,” which opened in October 2025.

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Domingo is the son of a Black mother and a Belizean father who left when Domingo was 9. His mother later remarried, and his stepfather worked sanding floors.

Domingo earned a degree in journalism from Temple University. After college, he moved to San Francisco to pursue acting. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, he appeared in small roles on television shows such as “Law & Order” and in films including Clint Eastwood’s “True Crime.”

In 2008, Domingo received an Obie Award for his Broadway debut in the rock musical “Passing Strange.” He reprised the role in Spike Lee’s 2009 film adaptation. In 2010, he appeared Off Broadway in his autobiographical play, “A Boy and His Soul.” One of six plays written by Domingo, it earned multiple nominations and the Lucille Lortel Award. The following year, he earned a Tony nomination for his performance in “The Scottsboro Boys.”

While continuing in theater, Domingo secured supporting roles in acclaimed films including “Lincoln” (2012), “The Butler” (2013), and “Selma” (2014). He landed his breakout role in the AMC TV series “Fear the Walking Dead” (2015-2023). In 2018, he directed three episodes of show, wrote the book for Broadway’s “Summer: The Donna Summer Musical,” and appeared in the award-winning film “If Beale Street Could Talk,” based on the novel by James Baldwin. After directing Domingo in his 2018 film, “Assassination Nation,” Sam Levinson cast him on the hit TV series “Euphoria”— a part that earned Domingo a Primetime Emmy Award in 2022.

In 2023, Domingo starred as the civil rights activist Bayard Rustin in the Netflix biopic “Rustin.” The portrayal made him the first Afro-Latino and the first openly gay American man to receive an Academy Award nomination for playing a gay character. Domingo produced and starred in the 2024 film “Sing Sing,” which earned him three Oscar nominations and numerous awards. To date, Domingo has garnered more than 40 awards for his stage and screen performances, countless nominations, and a place on TIME magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people of 2024.

Domingo lives in California with his husband of 11 years, Raùl Domingo.