Colman Domingo: "My Soul Really Likes to Be Out Until 6am"
If you were to assume that Colman Domingo is a very busy man, you would be correct.
It’s 8am in the States when we speak over Zoom. Coffee in hand, he explains how he’s doing remote table reads for his next project; a Tina Fey comedy-series adaptation of the 1981 film The Four Seasons. His latest film, Sing Sing, has just been released in the UK, with all the media commitments that come with it.
But what’s occupying his brain space that morning is the mundane, but highly stressful, task of moving. Having finished a house renovation overlooking the ocean in Malibu, Domingo is in the process of packing up his home of nearly a decade.
“It’s been a gentle way of moving, but it also feels kind of existential because they couldn't be more different,” he says. “The [house] here is in a suburb; families, rolling lawns, things like that. It's very idyllic and delicate, sort of 1950s American in a way. And then I'm moving to this architectural house, and I think my whole brain is just like, ‘Well, who am I?’”
That emotional, introspective response won't come as a surprise to anyone who's seen the 54-year-old perform. He's a powerful and emotive performer with a broad range, with a keen ability to delve into the nuances of his characters.
Acclaimed performances on the stage throughout the noughties led to TV gigs and his breakout role as Victor Strand in Fear the Walking Dead. His portrayal of the recovering drug addict Ali in Sam Levinson’s Euphoria won him an Emmy.
On the big screen, Domingo starred in five films last year, including an Oscar-nominated performance as civil rights activist, Bayard Rustin, in the eponymous Netflix film. Drive Away Dolls came out in cinemas this year, while 2025 will see the release of a Michael Jackson biopic that has Domingo playing the singer's late father, Joe Jackson.
And in the midst of a crazy year (if not few years) Domingo has also managed to find the time to be a part of COS’ autumn/winter ’24 campaign, as well as attend their New York fashion show this week.
“I think photographers know I'm at best when I'm left in my own devices,” he says of the modelling experience. “You don't have to manipulate me too much because I'm a storyteller. I'm looking at your lighting setups – because I work in cinema – I walk in, I'm like, ‘Oh, I see.’ You just give me a couple questions, a couple directives, and I got you.”
Domingo’s fondness for the brand helps him get focused, too.
“How do I feel in COS clothes?” he asks himself. “It’s always been effortlessly luxurious. I always think that when I wear COS clothes I feel worldly. I feel like I can wear it anywhere in the world. I can wear it in Japan, I can wear it in England, I can wear it in New York and LA. You always feel cool, but you're not trying to do too much.”
As a regular on red carpets and best-dressed lists, we ask Domingo for his thoughts on fashion, men's grooming and the US fashion capital, New York.
What’s your opinion of New York now you don’t live there?
I lived in New York for 16 years, and I achieved so much. I was an artist and it was a place that I needed, where you walk out the door and you never know what's going to happen. I was in that stage of life where I was excited about the possibility of what may happen if I just turn left instead of right. I love New York for that, it feels like you can go down the rabbit hole into a whole new universe.
I don't really venture out as much as I used to in New York, because I feel like when I did New York, I really did New York. I mean, I was a bartender. I was up till four, five in the morning. I partied, I clubbed, I did it all. So now I'm in my mid-fifties, I'll go to an art gallery, I'll go to a good restaurant. Every so often, when a friend like Natasha Leon is in town, she'll take me somewhere: an outdoor dance party under the Brooklyn Bridge or something. That’s where we ended up last time. So I need friends to take me out a bit more, because they know that that's actually my real spirit. I became the man who likes to go to bed at 9:30pm at night, but my soul really likes to be out until 6am.
How would you spend the perfect day (or night) in New York?
I love New York at the crack of dawn. I really do love New York at, say 4:45am, and going for a walk when the city is just about to wake up. I would either go for a walk or for a run on the West Side because I need something physical in my day. I’ve always been a West Side person rather than an East Side person.
On a run, I’d go around the High Line, run up the entire West Side and all the way up to Washington Heights. Then I’d get the subway back down, because I like to see all the diversity of New York, and you can always get that on the A train. Then go somewhere really lovely for a late breakfast, go by Empire diner or somewhere like that, because I love a good diner.
I think there should be some art, so maybe I'll pop into a gallery in Chelsea. For lunch, the Pendry Hotel has one of the best restaurants called Zou Zou’s. Go there, sit at the bar and have the cabbage. It's an appetiser, but it can be an entree, and it's the most beautiful cabbage in the entire world. I can just do that with a fresh lemonade.
A perfect day would also include going to the top of the Chelsea Hotel, which has a beautiful spa, and maybe getting a facial or a massage. Then hopefully meet up with some friends, maybe go see a play or a musical. Gotta have some live theatre. And then I think it would end having cocktails somewhere.
On the subject of the campaign, tell me about that experience. Obviously, in the film, theatre and acting world, you've written, you've directed, you've worn quite a lot of hats. How was it modelling? When you were younger, did you think you'd be modelling in campaigns when you were older?
No, not at all. I was a geeky, geeky kid. It's funny, I look back at pictures of me now when I was in my early twenties, when I was just stick thin and I didn't feel attractive. I didn't feel like I was anything to look at. I didn't like being tall, so I didn't understand what I was working with. I look back at pictures of my myself now and I’m like, ‘I was cute!’. I possibly could have leaned into modelling in some way, but I didn't think of myself that way.
As I've grown into my body and into who I am and become more comfortable with myself in my thirties, forties and absolutely my fifties, it makes more sense that at 54-years-old, where I feel the most in tune with my body, who I am as a person and my looks, that people are drawn to it being in campaigns. That never would have happened in my 20s or 30s.
You're very well known for your red carpet style. Is it something that's really thought-out, or is it a spur of the moment decision?
It's a little bit of both. For me, I feel like I can tell you a story about every single outfit that I've worn, because it all makes sense to me. But it's not even about what I feel, it's what I want other people feel when they see it.
I remember that one moment where I wore a hot pink Versace suit at the Oscars. There was a series of black and white tuxedos laid out for me, and then there was this pink one in the corner. This is during the pandemic and I put on the hot pink one. And literally, the tailor, this older Latino woman, said I had to wear it. She said, ‘The world has been so depressed, you're going to make everyone feel so good.’
I'm actually sort of into starker, monotone, more utilitarian colours currently, because I'm promoting a film that is about rehabilitation of the arts at a prison with a lot of folks who were formerly incarcerated. I want to stand strong with these men who have this lived experience.
Are you a fan of watches?
I’ve become a bit more of a watch guy. I have a beautiful Tag [Heuer watch] here, [pointing to his wrist]. A beautiful Cartier Mini Tank that I love so much, and then I have a 1946 rose-gold Rolex that I need to get repaired. I like a few really good, fine watches.
Do you have a piece of styling advice that you think is important to share with our readers?
I think maybe the most major thing that I would tell anyone is to not follow trends, to follow what works for your silhouette, for your personality, because you can always see when someone's trying something on. It's important to try things, yes, but know your lane as well.
What are some grooming products you couldn’t live without?
I can't live without La Prairie Caviar Luxe cream around my eyes. It’s expensive, but it takes the puff down. It's amazing, it feels like heaven.
I usually use a lot of Aesop products on my hair, on my skin, shaving. I love the fragrances, too. And you’ve gotta wear moisturiser. I didn't learn that until later in life, I thought just because I'm black that I don't need a lot of moisturiser, but I do. And sunblock!
I'm sure lots of people would love to know what your signature scent is...
I knew you were going to ask that! There's one in particular. You're going to come with me, because this is something I what you need to see.
[Colman Domingo picks up his laptop and carries it to his bathroom. He turns the camera around to show a bathroom countertop covered in fragrances. He’s picking up and showing me the bottles as he talks about the fragrance.]
This is one of my favourites, I’m wearing this today. Ella K is absolutely beautiful. Another favourite of mine – as you can tell, it's almost gone – is Maison Francis Kurkdijian Amyris. It’s heaven.
This one is called Osmanthus Tea, everyone seems to love this when I layer it with Gorseland [by Jurum Studio]. It's the scent you wear when you when you want to be noticed in a room.
I last brought this in an airport in either Vienna or Munich. It’s called Lengling Number Eight, and you can see it's [basically] gone. It's absolutely special.
I like things that are grassy, a little floral, maybe have a little oud in it, but things that are pretty light and bright with a little apple or grapefruit.
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