Fear the Walking Dead star says he almost quit industry after losing role on racial grounds
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Fear the Walking Dead star Colman Domingo has said he nearly quit acting after he lost out on a role in Boardwalk Empire on racial grounds.
Speaking to the New York Times, Domingo said that during one week in 2014, he auditioned for eight projects, including the HBO series Boardwalk Empire.
Domingo, who's also an accomplished stage actor, read for the role of the maître d' at a Black-owned nightclub and sang and tap-danced during the audition.
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After his audition, Domingo said his agent called him and told him that the casting agents loved him but had decided to pass on him due to concerns about "historical accuracy".
The actor added that Boardwalk Empire's head researcher told producers that maître d's in Black-owned nightclubs during the Prohibition era were typically lighter-skinned Black men, which is why Domingo lost out on the part.
"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."
Domingo also told his husband he was considering quitting acting.
Digital Spy has reached out to HBO for comment.
Related: Fear the Walking Dead's Colman Domingo's thriller series coming to Netflix
Reflecting on his career now, after being cast in Fear the Walking Dead in 2015, Domingo said: "I became an actor that was 'offer-only' probably sooner than the industry thought I should have.
"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."
Domingo can currently be seen in the movie musical reimagining of The Color Purple, playing Celie's husband, Albert "Mister" Johnson, opposite Fantasia Barrino.
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