Rustin actor Colman Domingo reveals Broadwalk Empire rejected him for his skin colour

HBO debuted Boardwalk Empire, a drama series created by Terence Winter in 2010. The show ended in 2014 after five seasons. In a recent interview, actor Colman Domingo discussed his audition experience for the series, including the reason he wasn't hired by the makers. 

Colman Domingo recalls getting rejected from Boardwalk Empire

In a conversation with The Times, Domingo talked about the time HBO was looking for an actor to portray the maître d' of a nightclub in Boardwalk Empire. The actor reportedly impressed executives with his tap dancing and singing during the audition. 

However, after the callback, a historical researcher on the show reminded producers that the maître d’s in those nightclubs were typically light-skinned, which Domingo was not leading them to reject him for the role. The actor said, “That’s when I lost my mind. I can’t take it anymore, I think this is going to kill me.”

Colman Domingo is now an "offer-only" actor 

Domingo considered permanently giving up acting at this point. After ten years, the actor finds himself in a different stage of his work. His performance in Netflix's Rustin has generated Oscar buzz, and he is also appearing in The Color Purple, a musical. Domingo claims that he is now an "offer-only" actor as a result of his experiences from ten years ago.

“I became an actor that was ‘offer-only’ probably sooner than the industry thought I should have,” he said. “But I decided I have a body of work. You can go and look at it, you can ask other directors about me, and you can make me the offer or not.”