Editor’s Note

It’s taken a little while for this actor, dancer, singer, sartorialist (and, we discovered, playwright and painter) to make it to the very big time, but he’s here now — and bets are on that he isn’t going anywhere. On Monday this week, Colman Domingo attended the 96th annual Oscars nominees luncheon at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California. He has been nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor for his performance as Bayard Rustin in the titular film produced by Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company Higher Ground.

Domingo is only the second gay actor to be nominated in the category for playing a gay character. The first was Sir Ian McKellen in 1999 for his depiction of English film director James Whale in Gods and Monsters. He lost out to Roberto Benigni in Life is Beautiful.

Domingo is also the first Afro-Latino star to be nominated in the category and is up against Bradley Cooper in Maestro, The Holdovers’ Paul Giamatti, American Fiction’s Jeffrey Wright and Cillian Murphy, for his role in Oppenheimer.

When he found out about his nomination, he and his husband had a little huddle and shed a few tears about the achievement. Domingo has been married to Raúl Aktanov for 10 years. Showing his romantic side on The Graham Norton Show, Domingo told the story of how they had met.

He was shopping in Walgreens when he spotted a man walking out and he couldn’t stop thinking about him. Three days later, he was on his computer scanning Craigslist — classified advertisements — when he decided to place a “missed connections” advert, only to find that Aktanov had placed one a few hours before. “I think I’m somebody who believes magic happens,” Domingo told Norton. “I really do believe that.”

In this month of love, Domingo brings his magic to the screen and the world is loving him for it. Read our exclusive interview with the award-winning star. For comments, criticism or praise, please write to nagela@sundaytimes.co.za