Name: Colman Domingo Shares His #1 Fashion Rule, Red Flags to Avoid and More
Uploaded: 2026-03-10T16:00:00Z
Duration: 11 min 22 s
Description: Colman Domingo sits down for The One with WSJ. Magazine to discuss playing Joe Jackson in "Michael," his new Spielberg film, a memorable "Euphoria" scene with Zendaya and advice for hopeless romantics.

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Colman Domingo sits down for The One with WSJ. Magazine to discuss playing Joe Jackson in "Michael," his new Spielberg film, a memorable "Euphoria" scene with Zendaya and advice for hopeless romantics. Photo Illustration: Nikki Walker

https://m.wsj.net/video/20260310/1aeeb73a-1536-4d89-a985-fd3fd5894f8e/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Colman Domingo sits down for The One with WSJ. Magazine to discuss playing Joe Jackson in "Michael," his new Spielberg film, a memorable "Euphoria" scene with Zendaya and advice for hopeless romantics.

Colman Domingo Shares His #1 Fashion Rule, Red Flags to Avoid and More

Interviewer: Colman, you are widely considered one of the best dressed men in Hollywood.

Oh, stop.

Interviewer: What is the one fashion rule you wish everyone knew?

Don't follow trends. I think you have to know what works on your body and what makes you feel like your best self, whatever that is. I think I've always strived to look effortlessly luxurious, and I want it to feel like, you know, like I'm having fun and I'm not taking myself too seriously. Even when I'm dressing up, even if I wear a tuxedo, I feel like there's always a bit of whimsy. Like I'll do something like wear one little thing that just gets people to go, "Huh." And it's also a conversation starter.

Interviewer: Has there been an outfit you've worn that has sparked a really interesting conversation?

Oh, absolutely. There's one in particular, a custom Valentino look that was absolutely stunning. Red trousers, a black blazer. But then there was also the Valentino cat that I decided to wear with it. And it was for the Academy Gala. I knew consciously why I was doing it, because I've been to the Academy Gala before, and I feel like sometimes, you wanna take a piss out of the room a little bit. You wanna just like, "Everybody, just calm down." And so I would walk around with this little kitty in my hand, and of course people would look at it, like, "What is that?" Like, "Who is empowered to have a cat bag with them?" A man.

Interviewer: What is the one red carpet look you are still obsessed with?

J.Lo, Versace, green dress just came to mind. I don't know why, but I thought like that's epic. And I think someone just wore it recently. It's like these moments that stay in our consciousness. You're like, "Oh, that was a moment." Like Cher at the Oscars, when Cher wore the Bob Mackie, things like that, that's a moment.

Interviewer: Do you think you've had yours yet?

I think I've had a few. I know that I had one wearing Valentino couture. It was going to the Critics. It's a mustard yellow suit, and then I have this coat on top of it, and I forget what it was made of, but I felt like it was made out of, you know, angel's wings or something, like all chopped up and turned into gold. And I felt like a billion dollars. I felt like I owned the room, and that is the look that went viral. I think it showed guys that you could stunt like this, you could have a good time. But I feel like I might, for me that felt like, "Oh, this is ultimately myself." The cut of it, everything about it felt like, I felt like 100% me.

Interviewer: What is the one red flag you never ignore?

The one red flag that I never ignore, wow. Yet I did ignore it recently. People tell you who they are in the first five minutes. They really do. If someone says, "Oh, I don't do relationships," or, "I don't like people," you better listen, because you'll find out later that it's true. Be careful too, because listen, like I'm giving life advice, because sometimes people are like, "Oh, I'm a hugger." Don't believe that though. They're making themselves that way. People just are. When you are, you are, and you know it. You just need to discern it quicker.

Interviewer: You and your husband have quite the love story. What's the one piece of advice you'd offer to a fellow hopeless romantic?

My advice to a hopeless romantic is to get off your phone. I've always believed love was very analog, and I would find the love of my life walking down the street, having coffee, looking up somewhere. But also, you gotta take chances. You can't just sit back and wait for the person to come to you. You gotta sort of make your chances happen, I think. You can't just believe in analytics and a profile and all that stuff, 'cause that shit lies, excuse my language. But people lie. And I think love is chemical. You know it when you see it, when you feel it, when you walk into a room. And a lot of times, people try to deny it. Don't deny that feeling. You saw that look in the eye. Follow. Follow through. See where it leads. I think I lead still with that, with that sort of spark and wonder every time I walk into a room.

Interviewer: What is the one boundary you wish more people respected?

I'm pretty straight with people, and I think that that's my boundary as well. I'm pretty straight, so I expect people to be straight with me. You don't have to lie to me. We can be very clear about expectations. Most people aren't confident to do that or to stand in their truth. And so you're constantly negotiating that. And I feel like that's, for me, that's the one thing that bugs me.

Interviewer: Some people would argue that's the most loving thing to do.

It is a very loving thing to do. If you sort of like divorce yourself from other people's feelings, and not in a healthy way, like saying, "I'm not responsible for the way you're gonna take this information. I'm just gonna give you the information." I respect that. Sometimes your emotions lie, and I think you just have to be very clear, that's it.

Interviewer: To that point, what's the one lie people tell themselves too often?

We live in a culture where everyone says, "If you manifest something, it can happen." I think sometimes, that's telling ourselves a lie. It's not about manifestation. I think it's about hard work. I sound so harsh right now, but I think that's what it is. I feel like putting something up on a dream board is fine. You need some creative visualization, but you've gotta do the work to get there. You can't just sit back and lay back and say, "Well, I manifested that thing to happen." No, nothing that I've built for myself has been manifested. It's all been diligent work and hard work ethic.

Interviewer: Tell me about the one moment you knew you wanted to start acting.

I was in my third or fourth grade play, but it was barely a play. We'll call it a play, but we were basically the 50 states, and your parent had to make you a costume representing a state. And I went to a mostly Black school, and I was the only Black student with an essential American father and also with a Spanish last name. So somehow, I got the state of New Mexico. Doesn't make sense still to this day, but that's what I got. I had a cutout of the state of New Mexico, and I would come on and go, "New Mexico," and I would go sit down. And what I did like about that, I liked that people were laughing and they were entertained. Like you felt like, "Oh, people appreciated my effort."

Interviewer: You are in the new Michael Jackson biopic. What's the one unexpected quality of Joe Jackson you wanted audiences to see?

I mean, I think that he's villainous in many people's eyes because he was a tough guy and a complicated man. And I wanted to show the father, sort of that generation of men who didn't know how to nurture their children in a very soft way. They left that responsibility to the mother. Their job was to be the taskmaster, to make sure that these kids survived and survived well and were the best that they could be. And you gotta look through a character's lens and see what he's fighting up against. 'Cause there's a moment where I'm sure that the audience feels this way too. They're like, everyone's always beating up on Joe. Like why is everybody thinking that I'm the bad guy? And you have to do the math. Is he the bad guy? He got these kids outta Gary, Indiana, and made them the greatest performers that this planet has ever seen. As an artist, I'm not here to provide answers, but I want to raise questions about a person. And so I thought that was my responsibility with the film.

Interviewer: You're starring in Steven Spielberg's new sci-fi movie.

There will be no other day like tomorrow.

Interviewer: What's the one thing that stands out on a Steven Spielberg set?

He felt like a new filmmaker. He felt like somebody who was really trying things out and figuring it out in the moment. Like, "Oh, that's interesting, let's do that." He didn't come in with a preconceived notion. Now, I'm sure he's prepped like no one else preps, but he was also willing to feed off of what he just saw and what he just witnessed in the room.

Interviewer: In "Euphoria," you play Rue's sponsor, Ali. What's the one scene you'll never forget shooting with Zendaya?

I'll never forget shooting the Christmas diner scene. Sam Levinson wrote this incredible, I wanna say sermon to the world and all the questions that we have about who we are, what are we digesting, who do we wanna be? It's probably one of my favorite scenes I've ever done before television, and just really sparring with Zendaya. We prepared in our own ways, and then we came together and it felt like just breath.

Interviewer: Is there one line in that scene that maybe broke your heart a little bit?

Oh, the whole 60 minutes broke my heart. Ali says, "You gotta believe in the poetry, because everything else will fail you." I've seen people online get that tattooed. "You gotta believe in the poetry." And then you question, well, what is the poetry? And it's something you can't put your finger on, but you know it when you see it and when you feel it, it's poetry.

Interviewer: Who is the one character you've played that you most relate to?

At my core, I would actually say Bayard Rustin. Bayard Rustin was such a hero that was hidden in the history books. And I do believe that he was someone who was just like put his head down and did the work. It wasn't about getting the glory or the shine. And I know that's been a part of me and my career for a very long time. Like I'm a workhorse. I just put my head down and do the work.

Interviewer: What's the one mistake that ended up changing your life?

Ah, well, I was about to leave this industry. I literally was packing up my gear and putting away my makeup brush, everything, and like saying, "I think I've had a good career. It's time to move on." Begrudgingly, I went to a meeting because one of my best friends was like, "Oh, why don't you meet with these managers that they've been wanting to meet with you?" I'm like, "I don't want to, I'm good. I'm cool with that. I don't wanna be bitter, I'm good." This is about 11 years ago, 12 years ago. And my friend said, "Just meet with them, man." I was like, "Oh, man." I went there, I had a bad attitude. I know I did, I had a terrible attitude. I booked my first series. Actually, I booked two series in that one day. Now, I had never done anything like that before. And I was like, "Oh, man. Now I have to think about what is it gonna be like to get back into this thing that may bring me heartache." And then the show was actually shooting like in Mexico. It was a genre thing. I didn't feel like I had any part, anything to do with it. And then it changed my life.

Interviewer: And what show was that?

"Fear of the the Walking Dead." After everything I did, I'm still here. It changed my life forever. I became a television director. I became a television producer. But, listen, I always tell people I'm from inner-city West Philadelphia. If I'm at the table, I'm gonna eat everything. So I'm gonna fill myself up. I'm gonna walk away with something, like Denzel Washington says. And I walked away as a very different craftsman.

Interviewer: What is the one fear you're still working to overcome?

I think my fear is becoming maybe desensitized to all this violence. I think my fear is that it could feel like, okay, that's just the way it is. I don't wanna feel that way. I wanna feel everything, but I feel like I've gotta work to make sure that I have all that space for it.

Interviewer: What is the one memory you play when you need motivation?

I put my hand up against a wall and I'll just look at my hand and just focus on that and relax and breathe. Many people have these hands, and I'm not the only one. And I mean, all my ancestors, all the people who came before, they're all with me, go with me in the room. So I remember that, and something just came to me to just start saying, "I can't go in there alone." So then I'm like, "I'm strong. I got like a lot of people deep."

Interviewer: What is the one insight you would tell your 21-year-old self?

You're a weirdo and you're fun. You're light, you're physical, and you're gonna find your way. There's gonna be lots of people that appreciate that. It may take a little longer, but just hang in there. Keep being exactly who you are.

Interviewer: Amazing. Is there one question I should have asked you?

No, these were great questions.

Interviewer: I told you we'd have fun.

That was good. You're great.

Yeah.

I think it's my favorite interview ever.

Thank you.

Sure.

Thank you.

Thank you. It was really good though, it was really good.

Interviewer: Yeah, yeah, great to meet you.

You're lovely.