Colman Domingo’s Net Worth Will Soar as He Embraces Being the First Black, Gay Movie Star

Actor Colman Domingo seemingly became one of Hollywood’s “It boys” overnight. In his early 50s, the Philadelphia, Penn. continuously challenges himself in his work. After taking on roles as Mister in The Color Purple movie musical and one as Michael Jackson’s controversial father, Joe Jackson, many who follow Colman’s career believe he’s entering his villain era.

While I hope the A-lister isn’t going to play a “bad” or complicated character forever, he’s certainly good at taking on such roles.

With several critical acclaims, Oscars buzz, and his directorial debut as Nat King Cole in an upcoming biopic, Colman’s net worth will surely skyrocket.

However, Colman’s current reported net worth and salary aren’t too shabby for someone who almost quit his dreams before they really began.

Keep reading to see how much the actor makes!

As of this writing, Colman’s net worth is $2 million, per Idol Net Worth and several other outlets. Anyone following Colman’s career these days, however, can tell he’s on his way to earning double, maybe triple that amount very soon.

After giving several captivating performances in 2023, including The Color Purple and as the late openly gay activist Bayard Rustin, Colman quickly launched into A-list status. In January 2024, days after he received his Oscar nod for Rustin, Out Magazine dubbed him “Hollywood’s first Black gay movie star.”

In Colman’s cover story for the magazine, he said that, while all of his characters don’t reflect all of his identities, he intentionally brings a little of each intersectionality into his characters.

“It wasn’t even designed that way,” Colman told the outlet of using his identity in his characters. “Though it is something I’ve just been trying to do my entire career, I need you to see me the way I see myself. I need you to see me without limitation. I want you to see me as an artist, as a thinker, as a creator.”

“In the middle [of both of these characters] is me who’s just constantly trying to explore Black men and how we operate, how we love, whether there’s redemption or not,” he continued. “There’s a human quality that I’m trying to explore in all these different kinds of people, whether they’re a pimp or a bandleader. I always want to be useful [to the narrative or story], and then let’s see how I can tell my story [through it].”

Although his career is on the upswing now, there was once a time when Colman didn’t think acting was for him. Before he would go on to win an Emmy for his role as Ali in Euphoria, Colman said he nearly quit acting in 2014.

The actor explained to The New York Times that he was forced to rethink his career after losing a role he felt would be his big break. He said he auditioned to play a maitre’d in HBO’s Boardwalk Empire but didn’t get selected because of his skin color.

After auditioning for the role, Colman said his agent told him that a researcher on the project said he didn’t fit the profile of a maitre’d because he wasn’t light-skinned.

"That's when I lost my mind," Colman recalled of the rejection, telling his agent, “I can't take it anymore. I think this is going to kill me."

Despite his initial yearning to quit acting, Colman kept going and, almost a decade later, blossomed into the star he was always meant to be. And now, with his growing fortune, he has enough to continue slaying every red carpet he will surely grace!