Throughout his career to date, Colman Domingo has not been a performer known for transforming himself for roles. If you believe the actor’s recent interview with W Magazine, though, that all might be about to change as he takes on the role of Joe Jackson in frequent Denzel Washington collaborator Antoine Fuqua’s upcoming Michael Jackson biopic Michael.
In speaking with the magazine, Domingo said that he doesn’t “look like myself at all” in the film. He elaborated, explaining all of the prosthetics that were used to make him look like the Jackson family patriarch. “My skin is lighter because Joe was a bit more fair-skinned. I had prosthetics on top of my head above my eye, and my nose is different,” he continued.
The Sing Sing actor added that the costuming was also very precise and reflects Joe’s evolution. “We really leaned into the different periods of Joe, where he was a little bit younger and slicker and a bit more of the hustle,” he explained. “And then, when he started to have his little pooch, I needed that pooch. And the pants were riding right underneath, like all the men that I know that wear their bellies proud.”
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Michael is set to hit theaters on October 3 and will follow the King of Pop through his career and the sexual abuse allegations that dominated the latter part of his life. Starring Jafaar Jackson, Michael’s nephew, in the lead role, the movie is likely to be as polarizing as its central figure.
In speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Domingo said that he wanted to take on the role of Joe in part because of how complicated the character is.
“I wanted to take it on because I know that there are many public opinions about Joe Jackson that are in conflict with what maybe family members or people who knew him think or believe,” the actor said. “And even that is very complicated. I want to figure him out and find out what made him tick. How did he create these magnificent artists, these world-acclaimed artists? Because it was a lot through Joe, what Joe did and his impact.”