Award-winning actor, director, playwright and producer Colman Domingo will be joining the faculty of the USC School of Dramatic Arts (SDA). Domingo can currently be seen starring alongside Viola Davis and the late Chadwick Boseman in the Netflix film adaption of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, for which he garnered an Independent Spirit nomination for Best Supporting Male, as well as an NAACP nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Cutler. A Newport Beach Film Festival’s Artist of Distinction award recipient, he has also received Tony®, Lawrence Olivier, Drama Desk, Drama League, NAACP Image and Black Reel Award nominations, and OBIE and Lucille Lortel Awards.
“We are incredibly excited to welcome Colman to our faculty. He is a great artist and a great person. Not only is he a world-class stage and film actor, but he’s a brilliant writer and director too. Most of all, Colman is a committed advocate for meaningful social change in our country,” said Oliver Mayer, associate dean of faculty for the USC School of Dramatic Arts. “I’ve loved working with him over the years, and now I can’t wait to see him work with our students at SDA.”
Domingo’s time with SDA will begin this Fall 2021 as a guest lecturer and master artist for students in both the undergraduate and graduate populations. Once filming has wrapped on previous commitments, he will begin teaching full time in the classroom in Fall 2022.
“I am thrilled to be joining the faculty at USC,” said Domingo. “I’ve had the opportunity to connect and work with some of the incredible students and faculty of the School of Dramatic Arts over the past few years, and I feel like I’ve found an institution that believes in the core values that I possess that is fundamental when working with the next generation of artists that will shape the future of theatre, film and television.”
In addition to Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Domingo’s work as an actor can also be seen in Amazon Prime’s recently released Without Remorse, opposite Michael B. Jordan, and will next be seen in A24’s Zola, Vertical’s The God Committee — as well as Universal’s Candyman. Past film credits include Selma, If Beale Street Could Talk, Lincoln, The Butler and more.
On the small screen, Domingo currently stars in AMC’s Fear The Walking Dead as Victor Strand. He can also be seen hosting the third season of his chat show Bottomless Brunch at Colman’s for AMC.com. Last December, he returned to HBO’s Euphoria for a Special Christmas episode receiving critical acclaim. Past television projects include Nothingman, The Twilight Zone, The Knick and Lucifer, as well as voicing characters in American Dad and Bojack Horseman.
On stage, he is known for starring in The Scottsboro Boys, Mr. Venus of Berlin, Passing Strange, among many others. He has also directed celebrated plays including A Guide for the Homesick, Pilgrims for the Lark, Barbeque, Seven Guitars and many more. In 2020, the Vineyard Theatre established “The Colman Domingo Award” – an award given annually to a multi-faceted and male-identifying theatre artist to provide support and resources to create new work.
As a writer, his plays and musicals include Dot (Samuel French), Wild with Happy (Dramatist Play Service), A Boy and His Soul (Oberon Books), the Tony Award-nominated Broadway musical Summer: The Donna Summer Musical and the Geffen Playhouse’s groundbreaking musical Light’s Out: Nat King Cole. His plays have been produced by The Public Theater, Vineyard, La Jolla Playhouse, Humana Festival of New American Plays, New York Stage and Film, A.C.T, The Tricycle Theater in London, Brisbane Powerhouse in Australia, among others.
This new position was made possible with the generous support of the Office of the Provost.