Colman Domingo Reveals Why ‘Boardwalk Empire’ Rejected Him

Colman Domingo is giving fans some insight into what it’s really like to be an actor trying to find your big break in the entertainment industry.

During a recent conversation with The New York Times, the Euphoria actor opened up about auditioning for “under-fives,” roles that only offered him a just line or two of dialogue.

Back in 2014, Domingo was hopeful that one of these small roles might lead to a bigger break,  the most promising of which being a part on an episode of Boardwalk Empire.

At the time, the HBO drama series was looking for an actor to play the maître d’ at a Black-owned nightclub. At the callback audition, Domingo wore a tuxedo and apparently impressed producers by singing and tap dancing–but he later got a call from his agent with some bad news.

“His agent began that call by saying that everyone on ‘Boardwalk Empire’ had loved his audition. This is the one that’s going to change it up for me, Domingo thought. This is the one that’s going to finally be my big break.”

But, that wasn’t all.

“There was just one problem, his agent said. After the callback, a historical researcher on the show reminded producers that the maître d’s in those nightclubs were typically light-skinned, and Domingo was not. ‘Boardwalk Empire’ had passed.”

“That’s when I lost my mind,” the actor said, adding that he told his agent: “I can’t take it anymore, I think this is going to kill me.”

Luckily, that experience didn’t kill him, and he’s now landing roles with much more than a couple lines.

This year alone, Domingo has starred in Rustin and The Color Purple, the latter of which opened to a whopping $18 million on Christmas Day.