Colman Domingo is an Oscar nominee for the first time for Rustin, and the overwhelming feeling for Domingo is one of pure gratitude. The actor took to Instagram after the nominations were announced early on Tuesday, January 23rd, to post a carousel of pictures from Rustin alongside a message that focused on his overwhelming feeling of joy at his nomination and at the role he got to play.
The message read: “Overflowing. Thank you dear Bayard. Thank you @theacademy for this nomination. Trying to find the words. Today it is pure gratitude. For everything. The journey. The company. The highs. The very lows. The staying with it. Faith. Love. Light. Joy. Rejoice.”
Domingo told THR that he was organizing the closet because he couldn’t bear to watch the nominations, while his husband watched the feed. “And then I got very nervous when it came to my category, and I went deeper into the bathroom, and then suddenly, because I guess the East Coast feed was coming in sooner, I get a text from my manager, who says “Oscar nominee.” This is literally a second before my husband found out. So I picked up the phone and put it back down. I was stunned, almost like it didn’t happen. And then my husband heard the news, and he laid on the floor and started crying.”
He also recounted the story again to AP Entertainment.
The actor also told THR that, for him, one of the most important things about the nomination is the attention it brings to the story Rustin is telling. “I love that the more people know my name, the more they know Bayard Rustin’s name.”
Domingo will be competing in the Best Actor category against Bradley Cooper, nominated for Maestro, Paul Giamatti, nominated for The Holdovers, Cillian Murphy, nominated for Oppenheimer and Jeffrey Wright, nominated for American Fiction.
The 2024 Academy Awards are on March 10, 2024 on ABC at 7 p.m. ET.
Rustin is available to watch on Netflix.