Colman Domingo has said he is going to portray legendary crooner and pianist Nat King Cole in a forthcoming biopic, Variety reports. The musical film, which Domingo co-wrote, will also serve as the actor’s directorial debut. Domingo shared the news, noting that he’s been “working on it quietly for a few years,” during an episode of the Variety Awards Circuit podcast. Find the full episode below.
Domingo and Patricia McGregor co-wrote the play Lights Out: Nat “King” Cole. It premiered at the Geffen Playhouse in 2019. The production imagined the inner thoughts of Cole during his historic 1957 Christmas special—the first network program hosted by an African American.
The Nat King Cole news coincides with the announcement that Domingo will play Joe Jackson—the controversial father and manager of Michael Jackson—in a forthcoming biopic about the late pop artist. Domingo is up for Best Actor at the 2024 Academy Awards for his role as civil rights leader Bayard Rustin—a co-organizer of the 1963 March on Washington—in Rustin.
Domingo has starred in films like Lincoln, Selma, If Beale Street Could Talk, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and Candyman, as well as HBO’s wildly popular teen drama Euphoria.
