Colman Domingo Lost Major HBO Role Because of His Skin Tone

Colman Domingo is on fire. Fresh off the success of the Netflix biopic Rustin, and with the release of The Color Purple on Christmas Day making history as the greatest holiday release since 2009, more people are finally paying attention to the Philadelphia native. But it’s been a long road for the talented actor. Trained in theater, Domingo’s work is vast. Unfortunately, industry politics have plagued his career at times.

The Euphoria star spoke with The New York Times about being on the audition circuit. In 2014 following his Tony nomination for The Scottsboro Boys musical, he found himself constantly auditioning for “under-fives,” roles that have fewer than five lines of dialogue. He reflected on a call about a role in Boardwalk Empire, which was airing on HBO. “This is the one that’s going to change it up for me,” Domingo thought at the time, as reported by Deadline. “This is the one that’s going to finally be my big break.”

The role was for the maître d’ at a Black-owned nightclub, and Domingo dressed in a tuxedo to the audition, impressing the producers with his singing and dancing skills. “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,” the article notes. Domingo added, “That’s when I lost my mind. I can’t take it anymore, I think this is going to kill me.” He contemplated quitting acting for good, thankfully, he changed his mind.

In an interview with Blavity while promoting his role as Civil Rights icon Bayard Rustin, he spoke about receiving recognition for his work after a long journey to getting his flowers. “I could say that I think I’ve been a workhorse in the industry for a long time and probably without a lot of acknowledgment because you’re just committed to doing the work, just as Rustin did,” he said. “And like Rustin, because I think for a long time, I realized that I thought that that’s what I had to do. I think I’ve sort of been acknowledged for some of the things that we’ve been a part of. And I’ve been working for a long time and sometimes it’s nice to get a little acknowledgment and so beautiful.”