Colman Domingo talks about playing the civil rights activist who fought alongside Martin Luther King Jr. and says it's 'travesty' that a few people knew about the inspiring figure.
- Dec 13, 2023
AceShowbiz - Colman Domingo felt "great weight and responsibility" on the film "Rustin". The 54-year-old actor portrays civil rights activist Bayard Rustin - who helped Martin Luther King Jr. and others to organise the historic 1963 March on Washington - in the biopic and felt under pressure to bring the relatively unknown historical figure to life in the picture, which is produced by former US President and First Lady Barack and Michelle Obama's company Higher Ground.
"I thought it was such a travesty that we didn't know anything about Bayard Rustin, his story and his influence on the Civil Rights movement. Then the idea that someone like President Obama and Michelle Obama were making sure this story is told, there's a great weight and responsibility," Colman said in conversation with Jacob Elordi for Variety's "Actors on Actors" series.
The "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" star continued, "You want to do all you can to show a living, breathing soul, an ordinary human being trying to do something extraordinary. It's my first leading role in a film. I wanted to do all that I could to get the nuances of his body, his voice and his mind, but also his soul."
Jacob and Colman have both featured in the TV series "Euphoria" and the "Saltburn" actor gushed about his colleague's "transformation" to play Rustin. Elordi said, "Your transformation was everything. Starting with your voice. There's not many videos of him talking, but you nailed it."
