“I’ve been working for 30 years.
I’ve never gotten this outpouring of support and love.”
There he is slicing and dicing zombies onFear the Walking Dead.
Eddy Chen/HBO
Oh, wait, but there healsois throwing down an epic performance in a diner onEuphoria.
Domingo is in all these places, seemingly at once.
There’s no doubt about it: Colman Domingo is having a moment.
David Lee/Netflix
As Cutler himself would say: 1… 2… you know what to do.
I want to just keep creating.
And she was like, “Oh, it looks like the dates don’t line up.”
Ryan Green/AMC
I said, “Hold on for a second.
It’s always worth making a phone call.
Let me just check and double-check,” because otherwise, I will squeeze something in.
And he was like, “We can make it work.”
You mentionEuphoria.We’ve got to talk about this special that dropped over the weekend.
I was like, “Great.”
You know what I mean?
But then he sent me the script.
I called him up immediately, and I was completely emotional.
I was like, “You’ve delivered a sermon for 2020.
That’s what this is.
So I put myself in my own three-week rehearsal at home.
I would wake up at 7 in the morning and I would rehearse until 4, every day.
Because it was the pandemic and I was home.
That’s what’s what we did, I think.
This is some heavy lifting that you’re doing.
That’s got to be exciting.It is, man.
I feel like that’s usually my strength.
That is very rare.
Usually you come in and you support the engine of a lot of different balls in the air.
I don’t know, maybe it was because we were in the pandemic.
That’s what it feels like.
It feels like I got into the boxing ring and had to train for it.
You know what I mean?
Because I was like, “Oh, this is like no joke.”
I called up Zendaya and we ran the scene, because I was already in my own rehearsal.
I was like, “Can we just initiate the lines?
Can we just read the scene together?”
Because I think it requires that.
And she immediately says, “Yeah, let’s set up a Zoom.”
So we Zoomed, and we read it, and we didn’t even talk much about it.
We just wanted to hear each other’s voices.
And then we just went in.
And each take, we just… it is a dance when it’s just a two-hander.
That was the joy.
I was wondering how much, if at all, you all got to rehearse this scene.
And you bring up theater, this episode feels like theater.
It’s a diner set, two actors at a table going into some really deep stuff.
So I feel like I have a long history of that.
So I knew that.
It was like an avalanche of love and support and people hurling superlatives at the work.
I’ve never gotten this outpouring of support and love.
And you know me, I go to the next project.
I’m not really thinking about your response, I just keep going.
I read some of the tweets, I put it away.
I don’t know, man.
It’s nice to get some adulation and some accolades.
But you know what?
If somebody takes notice, it kind of feels good.
The only thing I didn’t like about that scene is you’re sitting down with some pancakes.
You barely got to eat those things!
You’re talking too much!
And I’m getting hungry just watching!
[Laughs] Let me tell you something, those pancakes were so good!
I mean, these are HBO pancakes.
They keep them warm.
What kind of fruit would you like on your pancakes?”
I said, “What?”
I started to think, “What does Ali want?
And then what doIwant?”
So I have blueberries on there and then a side of pineapple.
And she’s like, “You’re eating bacon?”
I was like, “No, I’m Muslim.
I don’t eat bacon.”
So we just quietly both shoved it to her side of the table.
They keep it hot and ready and available.
It’s the best pancakes ever.
I mean, really, they were delicious.
But I ate just a little bit because I can’t talk with food in my mouth.
So when we call cut, I would actually take a couple bites.
You also haveMa Rainey’s Black Bottomcoming out Dec. 18 on Netflix.
Look, I tried in the sixth grade to play trombone and I was terrible at it.
[Laughs] I look like I know what I’m doing because I’m an actor.
The funny thing is, they did give us coaches.
I mean, this is at the very end of a shootingFear of the Walking Dead.
And it’s a really tough instrument.
Obviously, this is Chadwick Boseman’s last film.
You all go toe-to-toe,literallyat one point, in the film.
What was the energy like working with Chadwick?Beautiful.
It was beautiful imagery.
Chad, he’s a funny guy, has a sly, dry wit.
He’s a workhorse as well.
He worked really hard.
He was really trying to become proficient with the trumpet, and I think he did.
We’d just say, “Hey, you want to run them?”
and then we’d just start, whatever scene at any time.
He had an incredible work ethic and a good heart, and just a good guy.
He always entered a room kind of not taking up a lot of space.
He let his work take up the space, which is beautiful.
He walked in quietly.
He was a great man.
And his work, I actually just watched his work last night.
I wanted to focus on Chad and watched the film again.
And I was astounded.
You know, I’m an able-bodied man, it was tough for me.
And there was that conviction, I think that faith.
He was a king among kings.
When I watched the movie, he comes into the film like a firecracker.
I think that was his joy.
He wanted to go for the joy.
He was still going forward.
He wasn’t letting his illness drive him backwards.
He was like, “No, what can I do?
What can I create?”
And so every take, he came in with so much joy.
I’m very inspired by that, because I feel like I’ve learned from him as a comrade.
And I’ve always been this way, but even more so.
I take no moment for granted because you really never know.
And I know for sure he gave it all that he had.
And Viola Davis is a force of nature in this film as well.
Does she come out of character as Ma between takes?
Because that is quite a character.Yeah, I have pictures of us dancing and being silly together.
We’re all very much actors who sort of are halfway in, halfway out.
We can always jump back in.
But I think that she’s a powerhouse as Ma, and it’s subtle and it’s weighted.
And at times the makeup is grotesque, but it’s completely beautiful.
Everyone was a heavyweight fighter, and they were ready to get into that ring.
And so everybody was at the top of their game because everyone demanded that of the other.
And so that’s the environment George C. Wolfe set up.
What’s your next theatrical conquest?
And hopefully, it’ll be a commercial production of it as well.
Okay, we have to talk a littleFear of the Walking Dead.
And usually we get that from the outside.
You get some other group coming in, you get Virginia, you get whatever.
But what about the person that youknow, and you know what they’re capable of?
And now, I’m basically interested in Strand 2.0.
And I think it’s actually greater storytelling and it’s a bit more challenging.
And he said that he’s listened to everyone else far too long.
So I think he’s going full Strand, full-tilt, without apology.
And what I love about it is that it’s sort of a combination of the two Strands.
Exactly.Yeah, and I think that’s the difference.
I think he knows his superpower, and he knows he can do it for good.
It may not be a popular decision, but like when he killed Sanjay…
I mean, Sanjay was going to die anyway.
[Laughs] Sanjay was a little wimp who decided not to help them out and ran and hid.
it’s possible for you to’t have that behavior.
And I’m the one to do it."
Other people would get caught up in their feelings, Strand’s not that person.
He’s like, “Oh, you know what?
Colman, I gasped when it happened.
I couldn’t believe it.
[Laughs] I laugh every time I see it.
I don’t know what that says about my sense of humor, but I laugh so hard.
I was like, “Oh my God, that’s cold-blooded.”
And the beautiful thing is the episode was directed byLennie James.
And he allowed me one take where I said, “I want to try something.”
He said, “Great, try it.
This is the last take.”
So that’s why he’s screaming at the Walkers to come and then kicks him in the butt.
So he’s just completely doubling down on what he can do.
You’ve directed a few now.
Listen, you’re a busy man.
I would love to direct for some other shows.
I definitely want to direct some film.
And I want to double-check I’m clear about that.
So I’m really looking at directing.
And then I’m very hungry to work on other television shows.
I love the work that AMC always does.
And are we getting moreBottomless Brunch?Yes, man.
This is the scoop.
I’ll tell you because we just signed an agreement yesterday.
We’re going to have season 3 ofBottomless Bunchat Colman’s.We just got approved for that.
It’s going to be another wonderful season.
I think we’re going to dial up the production value, and things like that.
So I think we’re making steps to get it to the fully produced version if it.
