Fresh from his Academy Award nomination for “Rustin,” Colman Domingo embraces a new role in the acclaimed prison drama “Sing Sing” (Photo Credit: Tacuma Roeback).
Colman Domingo is having the time of his life.
Fresh off being nominated for an Academy Award for his lead performance in “Rustin,” this Philadelphia-bred actor, writer, director and producer is in the midst of a run that any performer would envy.
With every production, Domingo’s substantial stature within the industry continues to grow. His latest film, the tough yet tender prison drama “Sing Sing,” has the actor poised to earn even more acclaim. The film, which will be released nationwide on Friday, Aug. 2, has already been hailed as one of the year’s best and is on the verge of racking up nominations during awards season.
This true story chronicling a theater group of incarcerated men in one of the country’s most notorious prisons has Domingo playing Divine G, a man imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit.
Under the direction of Greg Kwedar, Domingo and an ensemble cast composed of real-life Sing Sing RTA members bring fully realized characters to the screen as men who ache, aspire and even dream—just like the rest of us. While films set in correctional facilities often depict monsters who commit brutish and macabre acts of violence, “Sing Sing” introduces us to a world where wonder, hope and joy still exist.
About 30 minutes in, “Sing Sing” truly coalesces, hooking the viewer who somehow ends up rooting for Divine G and his more calculating counterpart Divine Eye, superbly played by Clarence Maclin.
The Chicago Defender recently met up with Domingo, who was in town doing press for the film. During the interview, he admitted wanting to leave acting altogether in his early forties because he wasn’t getting work.
“I was getting just not the best auditions,” Domingo said. “I thought maybe that’s it. I am in my forties, so maybe I should make smart decisions.”
But, he said that, after transitioning to a new team, “things got reinvigorated.” Thank goodness for us. In this interview, we discussed “Sing Sing,” the power of the arts and why having fun is finally on the menu for the 54-year-old actor.
Tacuma Roeback: I read somewhere that with “Sing Sing” there was no script, no timeline.
Colman Domingo: Where did you read that? There was a script. Oh, you mean before I came aboard?
Roeback: Yes.
Domingo: So, what was your question?
Roeback: My question was, what made you say yes to the project? I think only Clarence Maclin was on at the time.
Domingo: He wasn’t even on. What happened is, let me get this story right. The story is that [Sing Sing Director] Greg Kwedar and [Sing Sing writer] Clint Bentley had an idea. They’ve been working on this idea for a while, and it wasn’t really coalescing. And then, they met with Clarence, and they met with the real Divine G as well.
They wanted to meet some of the men to help give them some inspiration. But they still didn’t have a story, really. So, when I met with them, they said, ‘Hey, we have an idea about something about this RTA program. I said, ‘Oh, do you have a script? They said, ‘No, we’re not going to send you a script because they had maybe eight different versions of the script. They said, ‘We don’t want to send you a script because we want to start fresh with you.’ And they said, ‘We’ll send you this Esquire magazine article that’s based on [the real-life RTA group].
I read it and thought it was fascinating. I thought, ‘Well, this is really a good story here.’ It talked about some of the themes of brotherhood, sort of like smashing tropes of prisoners. And I thought, ‘Well, this is actually in alignment with what I think is interesting. ‘ So, we started to work on it and workshop scenes, and then I met Clarence. I think Clarence would be a wonderful co-star for me with this.
So, we start creating together. And then we got to a script pretty quickly. And then they wanted to get to production much quicker than I thought. I was like, ‘I don’t have time this year. I’m finishing up Color Purple. I just finished Rustin. I have to go back for pickups for Rustin. Then I was planning on taking some time off because I was working like, you know, a sweating a– slave (laughs).
Roeback: Understood. Understood.
Domingo: But then we found 18 days in my schedule. We had 18 days, so we did it.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]That’s the heartbreak of knowing what the system has done, what America has done, and what your childhood has done. The idea that you can’t even visualize and have a vision for yourself—it’s heartbreaking…There’s joy, then there’s heartbreak. – Colman Domingo[/perfectpullquote]
Roeback: Wow. What have you learned from those gentlemen who were in the RTA program? What did you learn from them on set that you still take with you now?
Domingo: I think we learn from each other. When you go into any creative exploration, you have to take people where they are. No one’s looking foreign to you. They came in with whatever skill set they had. I came in with my skillset, and we’re going to create together. We’re going to find our baseline and our brain trust about how we’re going to create, how we are going to interrogate this work, and that’s the beautiful thing.
Some people come with more life experience, so I don’t have to actually research or do a deep dive because it’s staring me right in the eye. I’m not someone who pries into people’s business; I let people tell me who they are, which is also important. So you get the idea.
More than anything, what I’m taking in about these men is the fact that they love what I love—Shakespeare, which is theater—and they know the power of theater and how it has had such a profound effect on their lives, their lives on the outside. This program, RTA, has a less than 3% recidivism rate, which is extraordinary. We can learn from that.
If that can’t have an impact on you, I don’t know what can. To see that, ‘Hey, there’s always possibility for one to get better, to heal, to heal yourself and then also to be out there to make a difference in the world.
Colman Domingo as Divine G and Clarence Maclin as Divine Eye in “Sing Sing” (Photo Courtesy of A24).
Roeback: There was this one scene that I loved. It was the moment where the gentleman who plays the director asks everyone to go to that perfect spot, the place where they envision that perfect moment. How did you feel being a part of that scene? What was that like?
Domingo: The basis of this scene is really set up by Paul Raci’s character, Brent Buell. It’s really a great acting exercise for seeing how far your imagination stretches. By then, we knew our characters enough to have a structured improv of what we’re feeling, of what the story is in that way. So, it felt honest. It felt stripped down. Where do you come from as a storyteller? It was an offering that was generous and, I think, a vulnerable moment, which is beautiful.
These men are in this controlled environment that is very hyper-masculine, toxic in many ways, in every single way. And we have in here spaces to be gentle and thoughtful and to use our imagination.
For me, one of the most pivotal things in that scene was the fact that not everyone has that imagination, like Mike Mike’s character [played by Sean San Jose], to say, ‘I can’t see that far anymore.’ That’s heartbreaking.
That’s the heartbreak of knowing what the system has done, what America has done, and what your childhood has done. The idea that you can’t even visualize and have a vision for yourself—it’s heartbreaking. That’s the key in that scene for me: that everyone’s gone to that special place, but there’s also heartbreak in the middle of it. There’s joy, then there’s heartbreak.
Roeback: There’s this quote in this film that really resonated with me as well, ‘Brother, we’re here to become human again.’ RTA does have less than a 3% recidivism rate in real life. Why do you think that is? What do you think is the key to its success, to be able to foster hope in the people who participated in this program?
Domingo: You just answered the question (laughs) because it fosters hope. I think people can see themselves differently. That is the power of what theater does. I feel like I’ve been doing my own healing for a very long time because this is the work that I do. I uncover, I unpack. I deconstruct, I open up. I put my feet in someone else’s shoes. I develop into a bit more of a whole person, you know.
And then once you have that, that’s your superpower, man. You go out into the world and feel like you can do anything. You go on the outside, you have purpose. You have intention. You have mindfulness. You know who you are. I think that’s the power of the arts. Arts fill you up and let you know exactly who you are, so you can actually know who you are when you’re out in the world.
This is why I think our arts programs are cut because it was just trying to cut off our humanity. But we’re so connected to art. We need art. Ancient Romans knew that. The Egyptians knew that. We need that to survive and to connect us to each other and our humanity. Once they have those tools, they’re more equipped to be out in the world to feel everything and understand everything. You know what I mean?
Roeback: What’s the dialogue been like between you and the real Divine G in terms of feedback throughout the process and even with the final product of the film?
Domingo: I think he’s been very happy that he’s been played by the devastatingly handsome human being (laughs). Whenever I talk to him, he’s just so amazed. I think he’s just amazed at all of it. I think he’s very humble, but I’m sure he can’t even imagine that his life experience, this heartache, this trauma have turned into something beautiful and a gift for other people.
And for me, too, just to know that your life is not a mistake. Yeah. And the things that have happened to you — you being wrongfully accused in prison for 25 years — that there is; what’s that saying? That joy comes in the morning. It’s still available for you.
Roeback: Wow, where’s the offering plate?
Domingo: We got another building fund coming, brother (laughs).
Roeback: (Laughs)
Domingo: Deacons need new outfits (laughs).
Roeback: What’s next for Colman Domingo?
Domingo: I get to go have some fun. I get to do a half-hour comedy series with Tina Fey and Steve Carell (“The Four Seasons”). I think it’s about time this brother had some lighthearted comedy sometimes. I love the work I do in the dramatic space and historic spaces, but I also feel it affords me a chance to, just like, I don’t know, play something a little closer to myself. Maybe this Sing Sing has been an exploration, sort of doing some soul work. With this, I get to dance a little bit, more lighthearted work. So, I’m looking forward to that.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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