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San Francisco holds a special place in Colman Domingo’s heart. He called it home from 1991 to 2001 and it’s where “I became of age as an artist,” he says. It’s only fitting that Variety, in partnership with the Frameline
Film Festival, honors Domingo with our Creative Conscience Award June 27 at the Castro Theatre.
Domingo is no stranger to the film festival. “I would go to Frameline every single year, in particular to see the shorts program,” he says.
Shorts, specifically, were important to him as an artist, calling the films “ambitious and giving slices of life.” He adds that the films gave “you a reflection of who you are, who you aspire to be — whether it’s about love, trials and tribulations, or joy. I looked at it as part of my pilgrimage every single year, so the idea of coming home and going back to the Castro Theatre is extraordinary to me.”
Domingo credits Frameline for helping him find his way as an artist, saying, “I owe a lot of that to Frameline.”
The actor is having an extraordinary year: He’s in the hit Michael Jackson biopic “Michael,” Steven Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day” and has wrapped up his role as Ali on HBO’s “Euphoria.” He also appears in and directed an episode of Netflix’s “The Four Seasons.”
“It’s a matter of taste,” Domingo states when asked what makes him choose a project. “I’m very incisive when it comes to distilling what I think is useful to me.
At a certain time, I think that I am someone who has never lost sight of my Bay Area roots.”
He recalls that as a young actor he would often turn the tables on directors and producers. “I want to know the rooms that I’m going to be in. I want to know the collaborators. What is this experience going to be like? How is it going to fuel me? How am I going to fuel it? Do I have anything to give?” he says.
Both Spielberg and “Michael” director Antoine Fuqua wanted to know if he felt that he had something to offer the role and the experience when he met with them about their respective films. “What a great question to be asked as an artist!” he says. “It forces you to think: Do I have something to give? What can I offer — not only as an actor and artist but as a human being? How are we going to create the sets and treat each other? I’m very clear about that.”
He offers, “I think that’s why my career looks the way it does, and maybe that’s why I’ve had such beautiful successes.”
Domingo has a philosophy that serves as a North Star to help guide his choices: “To pursue great work, foster a good atmosphere, and achieve meaningful success. I’ve been following that directive for a long time — never just doing something for the money or the opportunity.” Sometime, he’s had to let roles go “because they may not feel right for me at the moment, and I have to trust that there’s more. “You’re dealing with someone who always feels there’s plenty for me out there. So it’s OK to let things go and navigate with that North Star, because it will lead me to great moments and great collaborations.”
And Domingo’s star continues to shine as he adds to his great moments. Later this year, he will start work on the Nat “King” Cole biopic “Unforgettable” — where he’ll multitask as director, producer and star.
