‘Boardwalk Empire’ rejected me due to skin color

Colman Domingo is having a moment in the spotlight, but the actor revealed that he nearly quit the industry in 2014 after a bad experience with “Boardwalk Empire.” 

The HBO drama series starring Steve Buscemi was looking for an actor to play the maître d’ at a nightclub owned by a black man. 

Domingo, 54, said that he impressed the producers, and he thought it would be his big break — until he got a call from his agent.

According to Domingo, a historical researcher on the show reminded producers that the maître d’s in those nightclubs were typically light-skinned, and Domingo was not.

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

Following that experience, Domingo said he told his husband, screenwriter Raúl Domingo, that he was considering quitting. But, soon after that, he broke out on “Fear the Walking Dead,” and then in movies such as “If Beale Street Could Talk” and “Zola.” 

Domingo has had further successes recently — he’s starring in the new musical movie “The Color Purple” with Taraji P. Henson, he was recently nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance in the Netflix movie “Rustin,” and he’s in the trendy HBO show “Euphoria.”

He’s reached the point where he no longer auditions, he told the outlet. 

“I became an actor that was ‘offer only’ probably sooner than the industry thought I should have,” he said. “But I decided I have a body of work. You can go and look at it, you can ask other directors about me and you can make me the offer or not.”