Colman Domingo to direct and star in Nat King Cole film
Domingo will play the legendary singer in a movie musical he has co-written.
Colman Domingo is booked and busy, and he has no plans to slow down anytime soon.
The 54-year-old actor revealed that he will portray Nat King Cole in a movie musical that he is also holds co-writer and director credits, according to Variety. The film will be Domingo’s directorial debut.
“I’ve been working on it quietly for a few years,” he said in an episode of Variety’s Awards Circuit Podcast. “It’s something I’m looking forward to putting together with some great partners.”
It is unknown what time period the movie musical will take place, but Domingo previously played Cole in a stage play he co-wrote with Patricia McGregor titled “Lights Out: Nat ‘King’ Cole.” The production speculates what Cole may have thought and felt when he performed his 1957 Christmas special on “The Nat King Cole Show,” the first network program hosted by a Black performer.
Cole is one of the most legendary jazz singers of all time, having released several chart-topping singles including “Unforgettable,” “Smile,” “L-O-V-E,” “When I Fall in Love,” “Let There Be Love,” “Mona Lisa,” “Autumn Leaves,” “Stardust,” “Straighten Up and Fly Right,” “The Very Thought of You,” “For Sentimental Reasons,” “Embraceable You” and “Almost Like Being in Love.” His 1960 debut of “The Christmas Song” broke records in 2022 when it beat The Ronettes’ “Sleigh Ride” to become the longest journey to the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 9, Variety reported.
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Domingo is having a major moment of success, having received best actor nominations for Academy, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards for his performance as civil rights leader Baynard Rustin in the Netflix film “Rustin.” He also starred as Albert “Mister” Johnson in the 2023 movie musical adaptation of “The Color Purple” and is set to play Jackson family patriarch Joe Jackson in the Antoine Fuqua-directed Michael Jackson biopic “Michael.”
“It’s very important for me, especially after a film like ‘Rustin,’ that [Bayard Rustin] is pulled out of the shadows of history, and he’s taken his rightful place in the center of his own story,” Domingo told Deadline about his Oscar nomination. “It took people like Barack and Michelle Obama, and their production company, to say that this story is necessary and vital and potent.”
He continued, “I know I’m existing in spaces that are unique in many ways. At the same time I was representing Rustin, I’m also playing the leading man in ‘The Color Purple,’ who has a very different experience. The way I’ve been able to see myself in this industry is that I can play anything, and it’s not limited by my own personal sexuality. People see me as I see myself, and being able to flex all these muscles and play all these different types of men, with very different experiences, hopefully moves the needle a bit more… I’m a strong representation for that now, and there’s many more folks coming up right behind me.”
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