Colman Domingo on enjoying attention and not attaching the word ‘struggle’ to his journey
"People always ask me if I’m enjoying the attention — and I absolutely am," the actor told AnOther magazine
By Gary Grimes
Colman Domingo has spoken out about the recent influx of attention he has been receiving from both the press and film industry alike – and he’s confirmed, he’s loving it!
“People always ask me if I’m enjoying the attention — and I absolutely am,” the actor told AnOther magazine, on which he graces the latest cover. “Maybe it’s because it’s happened so late in my career that I don’t have those same complicated feelings about fame and success.”
The actor, who made history as the first Black out gay man to be nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars in 2023 for Rustin, explained that he feels assured in knowing he laid a sturdy foundation for his newfound level of fame.
“I feel really happy about this moment. And I say this without ego — I know that I took all the steps to get here and did all the hard work,” Domingo explained. “None of it was handed to me. It wasn’t because I was lucky or because I was pretty. It’s because I took it. It’s because I had to take it.”
Domingo’s embrace of the limelight came with time, as the Selma star explained that as a teenager he was the retiring type, keeping to himself in order to avoid being noticed as gay. After being introduced to acting whilst studying journalism at university, Domingo moved to San Francisco where he lived in a shoebox bedroom and did everything from bartending to performing in a circus to make ends meet as he pursued an acting career.
“I’ve never attached the word ‘struggle’ to my journey,” he told the magazine. “I thought, if one day you’re acting, the next day you’re bartending, the next you’re doing a temp job or teaching or doing a reading – I considered that to be the life of an artist.”
The performer is currently once again nominated for Best Actor at the Academy Awards, this time for his performance in Sing Sing, making him only the second ever Black actor to be nominated in the category two consecutive years, after Denzel Washington.
Domingo has also become something of a red carpert darling, regularly landing on Best Dressed lists. Earlier this year, he was announced as a co-chair of the upcoming Met Gala.