Exclusive: Colman Domingo and director George C. Wolfe talk Rustin film
Currently playing on Netflix is RUSTIN, directed by 5-time Tony Award winner / DGA Award winner George C. Wolfe (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) and starring Emmy Award winner Colman Domingo alongside an all-star cast.
The architect of 1963's momentous March on Washington, Bayard Rustin was one of the greatest activists & organizers the world has ever known. He challenged authority, never apologized for who he was, what he believed, or who he desired. And he did not back down. He made history, and in turn, he was forgotten. Directed by DGA Award & five-time Tony Award winner George C. Wolfe and starring Colman Domingo, Rustin shines a long overdue spotlight on the extraordinary man who, alongside giants like the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., Adam Clayton Powell Jr., and Ella Baker, dared to imagine a different world, and inspired a movement in a march toward freedom.
The cast includes Colman Domingo, Chris Rock, Glynn Turman, Audra McDonald, Aml Ameen, Gus Halper, Johnny Ramey, CCH Pounder, Michael Potts, Carra Patterson, Adrienne Warren, Bill Irwin, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Jeffrey Wright, Lilli Kay, Jordan-Amanda Hall, Jakeem Dante Powell, Ayana Workman, Grantham Coleman, Jamilah Nadege Rosemond, Jules Latimer, Maxwell Whittington-Cooper, Frank Harts, and Kevin Mambo.
The screenplay is written by Julian Breece and Dustin Lance Black; story by Julian Breece. RUSTIN is executive produced by Higher Ground’s Barack & Michelle Obama, Mark R. Wright and Alex G. Scott. Producers are Academy Award winner Bruce Cohen and Higher Ground’s Tonia Davis.
Having had extensive theater work, which included nominations for a Tony Award and Olivier Award, Colman has also been lighting it up on the big and small screen. He just finished an eight season run playing Victor Strand in the AMC series Fear the Walking Dead (2015–2023). In 2022, he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his performance as the recovering drug addict Ali on the HBO series Euphoria. His film credits include supporting roles in Lincoln (2012), Selma (2014), If Beale Street Could Talk (2018), and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020). For his role as a ruthless pimp in Janicza Bravo's Zola (2021), he received an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male nomination.
Wolfe is known in the film world for directing films such as Nights in Rodanthe, You're Not You, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.
Blackfilmandtv.com’s Wilson Morales spoke with Domingo and Wolfe on the making of Rustin.
