Colman Domingo

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2:56funny time of day and I don't know how much she's going to eat so I've made a tart with chevro which is goat's cheese dill and spring onions which I griddled first I don't know what it would be like and you're good at quiches mum am I you are and then Carly Rae Jets I wanted to call myself I wanted to call it a tart really because I think it sounds a bit more classy than a quiche and then I've done a beetroot salad because I love beetroot and it will lower my blood pressure before christmas oh yeah and then i just a green salad and i did those moon blush tomatoes that you moon blush that's what she calls them whilst you were cleansing your crystals outside you know they're called moon that's what nigella calls them so you put them all you do is cut them in half put some olive oil a bit of salt a bit of sugar and thyme you put them in a hot oven at 225 and as soon as they go in you turn the oven off and leave them overnight they look very pretty and then I've made some well they're ground walnuts with cocoa and meringue basically and a bit of sugar not a lot of sugar and there's lemon juice in the meringue which I've never put in before and you just bake them in the oven and they're essentially a bit like a macaron they are so anyway so last week we gave you Jesse Eisenberg uh probably going to be up for an Oscar um Now we've got another, probably going to be up for an Oscar actor.

4:22When are they announced? It must be next week. We have the fantastic Coleman Domingo coming in. His film Sing Sing has been out for a while and he's been talking about it, but we got to watch it and it was so fantastic and moving and important. And I can't wait to meet him. You would have seen Coleman Domingo in many things. The remake of Colour Purple. you probably have seen him on the stage he's done the West End he's done Broadway he's done everything but now he's really like becoming a proper screen well not becoming he has he is a screen star he's got his own tv show called The Madness which he's like the star in on Netflix he was up for an Oscar last year for his role in Rustin and Sing Sing is really wonderful and he plays Divine Eye in it and it's just a absolutely moving story so I'm really excited to meet him He's also probably one of the most well-dressed men in Hollywood.

5:17I'm interested to see what he's going to be wearing today. And he also has the most delicious voice. It's like velvet. It's like Bailey's. I'm sure he's probably played King Lear before, but I kind of feel like that voice with King Lear could be really good. Anyway, Coleman Domingo is coming to clap.

5:56Colman Domingo, welcome. Thank you, Jessie. It's good to be here. You are, well, everyone talks about your fashion. And you're fabulous. I mean, we're going to talk about Sing Sing and we're going to talk about you and everything about you. You look just gorgeous. First of all, I was worried you wouldn't be able to fit through the door. Because I'm so tall. Because you are so tall. You are quite tall. Yeah. I'm six foot two. Oh, that's not that tall. It's not super tall, but I feel... Have you got high heels on? He's got a Cuban heel. I have a Cuban heel. Oh, okay. Exactly. I wanted to come in a little chop-chop for you.

6:27I thought, you never know, we may dance, you know? Yeah, sure. You never know. I'll shake it to the pearls. Oh, stop. Do you like that one? Oh, my God. Really. I will play it over and over again, especially at the gym, because it's just such a... Oh, thank you. You know, you're fun and effervescent. And just like, I love, no, really, I couldn't get here soon enough when I found out. Because, you know, I told you, I was like, you're kind of in a fog when you're on a press tour. Coming in, you have no idea who you're going to meet with. You don't know until minutes before. And then you're like, oh, we're adding this podcast.

6:59And I was like, oh, okay, who is it? I'm tired. It's right before the holidays. They're like, Jessie Ware and her mother, Lenny Ware. And I was like, wait, what? We have to do it. We have to do it. I'm such fans of you. That's so sweet. No, you're just very warm and kind and open. And I don't know. I just love, and you love to cook and feed people. We do. And I like a meal. So we're recording this before Christmas time. This is coming out next year. Yeah. But we're recording this like, it's the 20th of December. Is it the 20th or the 21st? It's the 20th. You're still here promoting. Yes. You must be the most hardworking guy in showbiz.

7:37I am the James Brown of modern day times, it seems. but I love what I do and I love getting out and really I love this is the part where I like you know I'm from the theatre originally I started in small professional theatres and I love getting out and talking to people and sometimes when you're still in film and TV you don't get this but for me it's that are you allergic? I'm allergic but it's fine no we can get rid of him no no no unless you have a Claritin or something no no no have you got Claritin? have you got Hayfeet? yeah but maybe just put him out get him out do you have any do you have any animals?

8:11I have no animals at all. I mean, it must be quite hard if you're traveling all the time. He's got an allergy as well. But the thing is, I love animals but I think I just I wouldn't know where to keep them. I'm not somebody who will want to keep an animal going on a plane with me or something. But I love animals so much. Where do you live exactly? I live in a little town called Malibu, California. Oh, my favorite! Isn't it good? It's good, right? I love it. It's perfect, right? My shoulders drop when I drive out of Santa Monica. I just moved there in February because I used to live in a small little suburban town in southeast LA and I just moved over there.

8:45Which one did you live in? It was a little town called Downey. I haven't even heard of it. Let me tell you why. You may have heard of it though. Downey is where the Carpenters are from. Oh wow. Karen Carpenter grew up in Downey. So everything about Karen Carpenter and the Carpenters is from this little town. So is it quite kind of quaint and everyone's like they're on psychedelics and they're kind of smiley. Absolutely. It still has that feel because the houses are very sort of old school uh traditional uh mid-century houses there's a lot of there's a few faux italian places that you know they tore down and built up but it does it's a very suburban community and it was really beautiful and i was there for eight years and then i bought this home by circumstance i wasn't even in the market for buying a house but this beautiful home that's really embedded in nature came up and i have a view of the ocean and it's peace and I didn't know that I needed listen people who are on the road all the time you know that like I need a place where it's just really um a place I can just be and just be a person and not it can't be about art or art making or anything it really is just like oh it's nature and it's me being dirty and putting on my galoshes and getting out to garden and and just I don't know so your partner Raul works in fashion doesn't he do you feel like you've learned a lot from him with style or were you already you were born stylish it's funny I think that we both have learned a lot from each other I think I've always had a sense of style even as a kid there's a there's a picture that has gone around every so often that I would post from Easter Sunday 1976 and I remember that day in particular because there was a navy blue suit that my mother wanted me to wear but of course I was a kid and I grew out of the sleeves and I said oh it's okay I want to wear that jacket anyway and the jacket was red white and blue um stripes and my mother was just like oh no no because my mother was very sort of conservative like oh no no no no she's going to change me into a brown suit or something like that very monochromatic which is something I actually love to wear now monochromatic because it's something about power with that but I was like no no I want to wear that jacket I like it and and I put it on and she says and she says oh and she's I said she I said it makes me feel good and then she said she looked at me and I'll never forget this moment she says okay it's good wear what makes you feel good and so I have this picture Easter Sunday which is kind of cool me sitting in the middle of my siblings and I'm wearing this suit that was like a little you know forward you know for a kid but it made me feel good I'm sitting there with the biggest smile and so I know that that was um already impressing me to say where what makes you feel good i love that um i want to go back to raul is it raul raul yeah so i i know lots of people well i i i learned this story of how they met and i know you've probably said this so many times but i feel like you need to tell my mom i'll tell you my because it's heaven okay it should be on like uh this modern modern love should it be that it's like well it's a new it's funny because well it's funny because i told the story once in gq magazine for their love issue a few years ago.

11:50And then Graham Norton invited me on and he got wind of the story and I told him last year. And I think I know why people love this story. And I'll tell you. The story goes like this. 20 years, almost 20 years ago, we met March 25th, 20 years ago. Now remember. 20 years ago? Yeah. When you were about 10. I'm an old married man. But get this, get this. 20 years ago, as we know, there was no real social media. It was the beginnings of it in many ways. And I'm just putting it in the back of your mind, more of an analog world. We know it. I was in Berkeley, California, just there to do a show at a theater, Berkeley Rep.

12:32And I used to live in San Francisco and it was my first time coming back in a long time. And I went to, I knew the whole neighborhood. So I was like, oh, on a Sunday night, I'm going to go treat myself to a facial mask. So I wanted to go get a mask at the neighborhood Walgreens or boots. So I go there and literally I walk in the door and walking out is a face. And I'll say it, but I'll give you more detail of the story now. Cause I don't usually get to, I saw a face that I didn't know was beautiful or interesting or what, but it was a face that was like, I left a deep impression on me. And I thought I'd never saw a face like that in my life.

13:07And he had hair down here and he was just open. he looked at me with his beautiful stare. He had a lip piercing. And I was like, who is that? I was literally on the phone, which I'm doing this. I was on the phone and I was talking to someone and I was like, Oh my God. And I walk into Walgreens and I'm like, I, my instinct was that I have to walk back out. Now preface. I was really not in a mood for anyone's relationship. I just got out of one. So I wasn't even on the prowl. I was just like, really being myself. I had a faux hawk. I I was dressing like myself. I was fun. I was relaxed. And so this, I was stunned.

13:39And I was like, I literally turned back around and walked back outside. And I see him look over in the corner talking to a young woman who was angry about something. She was, you could tell she was frustrated. She was very animated. And he was trying to focus on her, but he was distracted looking at me. And I'm on the phone. I'm like, oh, I need to get off the phone. I want to talk to this person. But he's distracted. I'm distracted. And eventually I get off the phone. And then he's already walked away with this young woman walking down the street. She's still very animated. He keeps looking back.

14:07And my hand literally reached up and did this and said, come back. And he just, she's dragging him off. They go off. Did he see you go like that? He did. But he didn't come back because he was being dragged off. And I just stood there outside with this interaction, literally watching him walk away. And I felt like, what was that? So I get distracted. I think I, I don't know if I actually ended up going back in the Walgreens. I ended up at a blockbuster video across the street looking through the videos. And then I looked at my watch and it was 8.03. I'll never forget that. And I went back outside and I thought, well, maybe he's out there if he felt what I felt.

14:47He wasn't out there. And I thought the Walgreens had closed down because it closed down at 8. And I was like, maybe perhaps I'll come back again. I'm a romantic. Maybe I'll come back again next week at this time and maybe he will be here too. I don't know. I've always been that hopeful person believing that things like that will magic will happen. So now we're going to cut like a film and go three days later. I couldn't stop thinking about this interaction. And I had received a grant from the Bay Area, Bay Area cash fund to help me with my writing. Cause I was, you know, I just didn't have a lot of money.

15:23And I was like, Oh, with this money, I can get a new computer to help support my writing. and maybe I can buy something used and I can get an iPod touch because I need music too. So I'm online on Craigslist and I'm going through and just looking, looking, looking. And then after maybe about an hour, I just sit there. Now I'm staying in theater housing, which is not really great or glamorous at this little computer. And I can't, I keep thinking about this interaction and I thought, how can I find this person? And I thought, what if I posted one of those misconnections ads? Hmm. Cause I read them.

15:58I saw you on the... Where did they put them? There would be sections on this Craigslist, a website that would say, misconnections, casual encounters, whatever. You can find anything. You can buy a... We had the... What did we have? We had it in the London Light. What was it called? Love Shop? Was it called? I think it was called Love Shop. Oh, yeah, it was. Yes, but just imagine a whole page where you can find a housekeeper. You can find a used appliance or something like that and find love, apparently. So I go to this website and I thought about writing a profile like, oh, I saw you, missed you, wanted to talk to you and where our location was.

16:37So I'm scrolling down, reading them, thinking about this. I get to the second page on the website, three down, and it says, saw you outside of Walgreens, Berkeley. I literally jumped up. I said, oh, my God. That's me. That's him. How good is the story? And literally I touch it as if I was almost afraid. I tap the screen and I start reading it. And he says, I saw you outside of Walgreens, Berkeley. I was with a friend. We were lost. She was upset. I hope this finds you. I respond to it. Don't cry. I respond to it. This is me, et cetera, et cetera. My name is this. I'm so glad that I found you. Can we meet up?

17:24We met up three days later. We had our first date. I was trying to be a good boy and trying not to be naughty. After this date, which was so beautiful, and I have to tell you, we went to this bar called Dalva in San Francisco in the Mission District. And I walked in, and we just had a couple drinks, and then we went for a walk, and then we kissed on the street. And then he asked me to come back home with him. And I thought, I'm trying to be a good boy. I was like, no, no, no, because I really liked him. I thought, I want to take my time with this. And he said, really? And he felt like, and from his perspective, he said, I didn't know if you would want to see me again.

18:01So I really wanted to hang on to every moment possible. So I said, okay, I will come over, but let's just cuddle. So we cuddled. And about 4 o 'clock in the morning, I couldn't sleep. And I said to him, I thought he was asleep. I said, I think I love you and you're about to change my life. I knew it. Now, I have to also let you know this. he tried to post this ad three times and it didn't go through until an hour before i found it oh so kismet if that isn't kismet if that isn't destiny and that isn't magic i don't know what is that's what makes me believe in magic i'm like oh no there is love available you just gotta put your head up you're just meant for each other we were and and he's he's my best friend he's a good human and i feel extremely lucky 20 years are you married we're married we got married 10 years ago he's yeah yeah i guess we should probably get to some food but what was the food at the wedding the food was oh the wedding happened like this very easy because i always have a busy schedule and he wanted to get married i wanted to get married but we never knew when we could schedule suddenly it was the week before the anniversary of my mother's passing which was seven years prior thank you and i thought my mother was such love i said let's let's transform mom's day and to a day of love so let's organize a wedding and we did it very quickly we didn't tell anyone we're getting married until they came to our apartment that day where we had fried chicken great champagne i made some salads and when people came in i said welcome to our wedding they were like what when i said now it was a surprise because we don't want to put anyone out yeah everyone came in we created the wedding in a moment my friend ari sang a beautiful song called brishert but meant to be and yeah exactly exactly and then it's brishert and then we just we just ate drank and laughed until five o 'clock in the morning beautiful so that's what we ate we fried chicken and some really good salads that i made and we i'm such an i don't like to be fussy at all in any way so i'm very relaxed and that's the way i wanted it and that's the way he wanted it i'm gonna get back to you being obviously quite a good cook but let's start at the beginning Where you grew up, it was in Philly.

20:12Philly. Who was around the dinner table and what was being served? The wildest thing is my whole family, we sat down like we were in a 50s family or something. We sat at the table with my mother, my stepfather at the head of the table, and kids all around. My brother, my younger brother Philip next to me over here. Wow, I can remember the table setting. My younger brother right here. My mom's here. Dad's here. My brother Rick here. and my sister Avery here, four kids. And we would sit down. And usually we had something like, gosh, the one thing. Because we didn't have a lot of money, we would have something called Salisbury steak.

20:51What's that? Which is like a patty of meat that's like, it's a little better than hamburger, yet it usually have a gravy over it or something. There was always a gravy, and I hated gravy. Really? What if you have gravy? No, we don't have gravy. You're safe. But we always had like good soul food. You know, my mother, it's a tradition coming from the South, eventually her family's and all. We had fried chicken. We would have real rich food, actually, like, you know, collard greens, candied yams, you know, but pretty much traditional soul food. How do you candy a yam? You candy a yam? Brown sugar.

21:25Oh, okay. Maple syrup. Oh, yum. Cinnamon, low-close nutmeg. So you fry it. You fry it. You can fry it. Oh, you can bake it as well. You can bake it. Butter, a little orange juice or an orange rind. It's just rich. It probably will kill you. I don't eat so much like that all the time, but it's real fatty sort of soul food like African-American food. Do you think yam holds it better than sweet potatoes? It's kind of the same. It's not as sweet, is it? It's not as sweet. So it's more like a potato. Yes, exactly. It's starchy. Yes, exactly. You can't eat it every day. And it's white, isn't it? It's white.

22:04Creamy color. Actually, no. Yam is, it's funny because I feel like I've seen them both. I've seen yam that's like creamy colored and sweet potato that is more orange than you. Yeah. Yeah. But sometimes it depends on the varietal. How long would you bake it for? I would say you want it to get a little soft. I would say 45 minutes. Oh, that. Yeah. You want it mushy. And you just cut it in rounds. In rounds. Cut it in rounds. That big. Okay. You're a good cook. I can tell now. Oh, I love cooking. Straight away. so if we were coming around to yours which we probably will which we will we're our best yes exactly of course i would love that what are you gonna cook for us it all depends on the season okay i love to do a good roast like a roast chicken i love a good roast chicken with root vegetables and things like that very i like to cook sort of like in an effortless manner that's just fresh farm to table i would make something very healthy that i think that everyone would like Like I would get a little fancy.

22:59I would make some French food sometimes. Like I'll make, I don't know, I might do a trout almondine. Lovely. You know, I like lighter foods that are like, you know, really, I don't know, that make you feel like you're somewhere else. I can experiment with like Japanese food and different flavors. I also love, I love forward seasonings in many ways, just things that have like, that are complicated. Like I will make a good fried chicken that has like, yeah, you'll have all these different spices, garlic and cumin. and maybe even a little cinnamon to make a little sweet. So what's the secret to the batter on a fried chicken?

23:33What's your batter? Buttermilk. Uh-huh. Okay. Must do buttermilk. So buttermilk made into a batter? Into a batter. Oh, so buttermilk's instead of milk. I also saw something where instead of using the egg to be the glue, you would use buttermilk instead. So that's your glue. Everything sticks to it, and all the seasoning will stick to it as well. And the thing is about frying it, though, because you want to get it to a real, you need it at a very high heat. Have you got a deep fryer? I don't have a deep fryer. I still go very old school. And what do you fry it in? Oil? You fry it in oil. Which oil do you use?

24:12Because you have a funny one there, canola. Everyone's using avocado oil. Everyone's using avocado oil. But I like peanut oil. Peanut oil to fry something in. Five guys use peanut oil. We don't get peanut oil here. Well, Five Guys have got it, so I don't know where they're getting it from. You know where I learned how to use peanut oil? When I worked at McDonald's. Ah. It's not what they do. That's why the fries are so good. Because it gets a good high heat. They smell like cooking in beef. You know what? Also, I don't mind frying things in like a little beef fat. Okay. You know? Exactly. Or duck fat.

24:46Duck fat. Mwah! So, okay. We're going to get on to Sing Sing. Okay. But you're in full, like, it's campaign mode. and I'm sure it's your team I mean quite rightly you are no doubt going to be up for the Oscar you're already up for the Golden Globes you've won the Gotham it's looking pretty bloody good so you're up for a Golden Globe have you been nominated for anything else? he was up for an Oscar last year mum I know that for this haven't come out yet yes I've been nominated but there's been a lot of like my film has been out since like last September so there's been a nice long runway way we've been playing regional festivals around the country around the world and we've we've stacked up a lot of honors which has been great not only for myself but my my castmates and the ensemble and the film that's been beautiful because i feel like it does feel like it's been a grassroots way of getting the film has divine g got a nom yes he actually he actually won um he actually won the um supporting uh for the gotham as well which has been great I mean that I've got goosebumps thinking about you two together because he's a beautiful performer but you there was this tension where I was like I didn't know what was going to happen in this film but I was like I'm worried he's going to fucking kill him or something and there was that tension when he goes and reads for Hamlet I'm not going to give anything away and your character is just kind of like hang on like and there's just like this real time and then this beautiful tenderness and friendship and brotherhood that happens, well, with all the cast, but that's the one that you're like, which way is it going to go, right?

26:25And doesn't that say something about the possibility of someone that you feel like you have nothing in common with? Both of these characters felt like, even in the confines of a prison, felt like they had nothing to do with each other. And then you find out that you're probably more alike than not alike. You just have different ways of approaching something. So for me, that's what it's about. Yeah, there's a tension throughout the film. and it's constantly shifting perceptions of people and what the possibility is. Like my favorite moment, and this won't give too much away, but there's a word, maybe I won't say what the word is.

26:57There's a word that is used in the film that is an offering of grace. When someone says, oh, we don't use that word in prison. We use the word this when it comes to brotherhood. And for me, that was a gift that Clarence actually gave me when we were trying to figure out the script. and he said oh it was an offering of a word and we're like wow that's what a transformative word i would never imagine these hyper masculine men in this environment to use this word it's a word of transformation it's a word i think the more men need to invite into their whole dna which will change them and shift them so clarence is also a writer he he was um involved in this screenplay yeah but also in the rta program which for people i mean you're gonna explain this much better but for people that haven't seen sing sing can you describe the program that this all centers around yeah our film sing sing is centered on this program and um that was started at sing sing prison which is the maximum security prison in upstate new york and there's a beautiful gem of a program that was founded by a lot of the members there who just wanted to do something different.

28:11They wanted to, let's put on a play. Let's see if the volunteers will come in, teach them acting skills. And they started by just playing. And you're like, oh, this is good. This is fun. This is interesting. But then these real things started to happen. As we know, anyone who loves theater is like, what does it develop? You develop more empathy. You start to break down your own barriers and things that you have, you've had trial and trauma with. You can name a feeling and you can do some process work to become a bit more evolved. And they start to realize it was having a profound effect on these inmates.

28:50So much so that this is a number that I love to put out in the world. So much so that there's a 3 % recidivism rate, meaning that once they're out of prison they don't come back in compared to 60 percent six zero nationwide of people involved in the program exactly so that shows that programs like this work you're like oh we have to give people tools to be different you know to actually do some real rehabilitation or is the rta in all prison no but the other thing about your prisons is they're not nationally owned they're some of the private and i think that is the problem yeah because there is money to be made off of these prisons.

29:29Yeah. I think it almost doesn't benefit those prisons, which is why we have to sort of do something about that. I mean, it's very brutalizing. Yes. As I understand the American prison system. Absolutely. That it's not rehabilitative. Yeah. It's more punitive in the United States. It's much more punitive than rehabilitative. Yeah. But also, don't you think that's something, maybe that's what I love, our film. Our film has so much light and joy and humor in it. And it's really showing us another path of like, how do we think about these people? One of the saddest bits I found, I mean, obviously all the relationships were so touching, but you were this man who's kind of quiet man and intellectual in many respects.

30:11And that bit where your room, your cell is searched and you. So dehumanizing. it's so dehumanizing and the man comes out and he just taps you on his shoulder as if i'm sorry i've had to do that but that's how it is and he taps you and you go back in and all your papers everything is in disarray and just thrown on the floor made me so sad because why wouldn't you respect someone's belongings or it's not like you were it was just so sad for me that particular one Thank you for mentioning that moment because I feel like there's all those key moments that we just show that really shows the dehumanization of it, of people.

30:57And also because I feel like as we, I think, are understanding more and more, we're like, you know, I think a lot of people in prison are seen sort of monolithic. Like we don't, they're locked away and we don't think about them. And not think about those individual stories of how they got there. And as we know that, like, yeah, some people have created, have done some heinous crimes. yes i won't deny that but some people are in prison that should not be in prison some people are wrongfully accused like my character yeah and then trying to find ways to hold on to their humanity and then these it's just set up to be so inhumane to just maybe that's it even a moment of like knowing that person didn't even think to be careful what the person thinks you know of that what little they have to hold on to their humanity their pictures the words their books their space there's none of that in prison you're just treated inhumane so you're like how can a person possibly be rehabilitated when the system's not set up for them to to do some deep work you know i mean so for me it's like i think maybe that's been the gift for me being a part of this film is to really examine this and think about because i don't know if i really thought about that like what society do we want to live in and be a part of was it 95 percent of the actors in the film were formerly incarcerated.

32:15Yes, and went through that program. And playing themselves and went through the program. The only professional actors are myself, Paul Racey, who was in Sound of Metal, Sean San Jose, who is actually, who plays Mike Mike, he's actually my best friend. Was he Mike Mike? Mike Mike. He's your best friend? He's my best friend on the planet. Oh, wow. We've known each other for over 30 years. I loved his part. He was wonderful. Isn't he a special actor? That conversation of you back to back, that was beautiful. All of it was, I mean, yeah. Thank you. I'm so glad. I love that people love Mike Mike because I knew that I needed.

32:49Do you want to eat something? Yeah, I do. I knew by going into this uncharted territory creating this film, I needed a friend. Like literally, you know, literally sometimes you're like, I need a friend with me. Were you quite nervous going into it? But you did a lot of prep, didn't you? I didn't do a lot of prep. I didn't have a lot of time. Of course. I was actually shooting The Color Purple right before I went into this. Right. And I only had 18 days in between Color Purple and going back for pickups for Rustin, another film I did. Oscar nominated. No big deal. But literally, that's all I had.

33:23So, you know, sometimes you, I feel like I'm a person who likes to prep a lot. But this didn't allow me to. So I had to lean into a different way of being. So how did you create this brotherhood with your actors, fellow actors and formerly incarcerated men? How did you get to know each other? Are those beats? Yeah. Good Lord. Did you do the Moroccan? It's Moroccan. It's with cumin and orange juice and things. Literally, didn't I mention cumin and orange juice? There you go. Gorgeous. Things that I love, right? It could be in like Café Morgador. Have you ever been to Café Morgador in New York? It's like a really good spot that's like, does Moroccan breakfast really well.

34:03So anyway. This is beautiful. Please start helping yourself, but tell me the story too. No, we created this bond together on Zoom. Yeah. And then by the time we got to, like again, I didn't have a lot of time to prep. Yeah. So we really went in very quickly, which was beautiful because they were very open in that way. And most of them, well, none of them have ever been on a professional set. So they were just open. Like, I would say like how children are. They were like, I don't know what this is. Let's figure it out together. And so they were, I think also because of the life experience, there was no guard up at all.

34:35They had, they were very open. So that's how we created that. This is beautiful. Can I, can I serve you? You can. Thank you.

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36:56oh first of all wait a minute wait I just have to he enjoyed that tomato I eat like I savor like it's sex I think we should we should never just rush food we have to just like get in there oh don't look at me then I'm like that shove it in I'm not sure wham bam thank you man What's that say about you? Just get it done. Get it done, get out. Exactly. What's it taste like? Delicious, mum. Honestly. Very delicious. It's so good. It's beautiful. Good. And I'm hacking into it. Good, good. Where do you like, do you like London? Do you like coming here? I love London. Where do you hit up as soon as you get here?

37:36As soon as I get here, it's funny, I feel like I'm always pretty open. Usually the Hawksmoor, since I was living here in 2013 for like a year and a half. and at first I stayed in Kilburn. Oh, my God. And that's when I would really just go into pubs and get most of my meals. I'm like, oh, there's pub culture here. And then I moved to Borough. Gorgeous. Yeah, which is beautiful. I would always go to Borough Market. The best. Which is great. And then I lived in Holborn. Nobody lives in Holborn. No. Did you go to Lamb's Conduit Street a lot? Oh, yeah. Yeah, right. Because it's so good. Yeah, I would eat at the Hotsdam Holborn usually for breakfast.

38:17Okay, yeah. They always made a great... That's when the first time I really discovered avocado toasts. Again, this is like 2013, and avo toast was not a thing in the States. Oh, because it came from Australia, didn't it? Yeah. Oh, Bill Granger, who just passed away, yeah. Yeah, so the moment I was over here, I was like, oh, avocado toast. And my friends would be like, is that guacamole on bread? I'm like, no, it's avo toast. Oh, so you know London really well. Mm-hmm. and then and i you know it's funny i love um i guess usually when i'm here for press or something i would stay in soho but i love east london i love like bolston i love hackney i love the real neighborhoods that's why i was very excited to come down here because i'd never been down here i've been as far as brixton and i'm like what i love i don't know i just love these um these neighborhoods because they always have a good center yeah and it's very lots of green spaces which is what I love.

39:14You can always go to a park. What is that? What is it? I'll tell you what they are. These are cookies but they're more like morangs made with walnuts and cocoa. I don't ever want to leave. I don't think I'm ever going to leave. Have some cream as well. This is just no literally. Let's see what you think. They might not be as great as you think. What else is in there? Just almonds, cocoa and egg white and sugar. That's why I took a yeah. Well they're fun mum I like them Can I have some Last reach please mum What made you think of these They were in that cookbook And I just thought They're called Puan and Naughty Biscuits Or something So They're light And yeah They're really nice mum Do you have a sweet tooth I don't I used to when I was a kid But now We all say it With a cookie in our hands But sure You know I don't I feel like The one thing With my advice Is gummy bears I love gummy bears Hmm Yeah, whenever I'm on a set of the PA's, they know.

40:13They're like, oh, Coleman's working really hard. Put some gummy bears there. So it's like, is it strictly gummy bears or will it be like Harry Bow? I love Harry Bow. Yeah. The thing that I love the most is when I come here and I go to M &S. Oh, Percy Pig. Percy Pig. I love Percy Pig. I'm literally, my plan before I get on my flight tomorrow is to go by M &S and get some Percy Pig. I love that. Because we don't sell it there. and when when i ask your new friend come and visit you she'll bring oh i love that i love i've had friends bring me boxes of percy pick i love it i love just keeping it i'll bring you suitcase oh that's a good wishy's double i love it colman what would be your last supper appetizer main dessert drink of choice my appetizer because i'm this is something i've done ever since i was 21 years old every birthday i go sit somewhere and have uh by myself a glass of champagne and a dozen oysters i love oysters my appetizer would be oysters oh and i ask why you do that on your own i think it's a day of reflection something about fish i think it's connected to my mom who always said you know fish is it's abundance as well and i feel like the idea of having you need a moment by yourself i'll take myself somewhere really good this one since i was 21 i was like i didn't have a lot of money but i was like this is my own treat it's for me it's for me to sit not on a phone not reading a book and just reflect and have a simple glass of champagne toast the past and we're moving to the future but it really is just a little moment for me and i'm always telling people i'm like you need that moment for yourself and so i've always done that so it will be oysters and usually it will be what do you put in the list of i love a mignonette oh me too that's that it's like shallot vinegar or champagne vinegar and i I love, I mean, they're always doing different things with it.

42:02What else? I also love it with horseradish as well. The spiciers are better. Yeah, I like a little, you need a little kick to open up your nose. Horses will do good oysters. They do great oysters. Yeah, they do. Are you a hot sauce guy? I am a hot sauce. I love sauces, period. I love condiments. So much so, I pack little bits of condiments with me on a flight. Because you never know what food you want to get. And you're like, I need to spice it up. I need to spice it up. So what are your sauces that you're definitely traveling? Barbecue sauce. Oh, I love it. Where from? McDonald's barbecue sauce is my favorite.

42:32No, not McDonald's barbecue sauce. I do like that. Although I do like it. I like it. I do like it. But, you know, it can be any kind of specialty barbecue sauce that has a little kick to it. It can be a peach barbecue sauce. Peach barbecue? Where are you getting that from? You get it from like these fancy little, you know, places. Love that. I'll take you to it in Malibu. Exactly, right? So things like that. I love hot sauces. I have, literally, I have a shelf. Thank God this lovely woman came and organized my sauces in my new house. Oh my God, there's a woman that does that? There's a woman who comes and organizes your stuff.

43:02She's not the one that did Chrissy Teigen's. No, but there's many people. And she did her larder. Oh, yeah. And it was like, oh my God. This woman put Lazy Susans that I know in my cabinet that has all my sauces. Oh, so you can spin it around. You can find everything. And so it starts just rooting through. You know, I didn't even know you were going to organize that way. My spices are organized in the drawer. Stunning. Instead of, you know, I'm just just reaching in and you're always searching. and don't know what you have, but everything's very open. I love organizers. I've just gotten into that because I need that.

43:34I need that. It saves time. That's your entree. My entree. My entree, I would say. It's going to be steak. No, we don't. I've known yet. Or roast. Okay. I'm guessing now. I think it's something that I know I can't live without. This is my last supper, right? Yeah. But you're not going to heaven or you're not going to be executed. I don't know. It can be interrupted. We're definitely not going death row. Well, given that we're not... Do they have a death row at Sing Sing? I don't know. I'm sure they do. Did you actually go in the prison, I meant to ask you? We didn't go in there. We actually shot the exteriors there, but we shot the interiors at a decommissioned prison.

44:14Okay, okay, okay. So they never let you inside? No. No. I'm sure I don't want to go anywhere. So your main? My main, I think... Is it main with sides or...? Whatever you want. Okay, my main is probably, it's a thing that I do very well, which is in the summer, for six hours, I smoke ribs. I smoke pork ribs. And I do it really beautifully with brown sugar and a little apple cider vinegar, maybe a little pineapple juice. And it takes its time. You start with, you know, putting it in foil, put it in the smoker for two hours, pull it back out. Then the butter goes on. It's all this nurturing. So you've got your own smoker?

45:03I have my own smoker. Is it a green egg? It's not a green egg. I don't know. I have an electric one, one of those master-built electric ones with a timer. But it's fantastic. And you put wood chips in there and everything. But I can smoke them for six to seven hours. It would be smoked barbecue pork ribs. Wow. What are the sides? Besides, you've got to go with collard greens. What are collard greens? They're like this stewed, they're gorgeous. You mean like spring greens? They're like kale. They're closer to kale. Kale or chard? They're a bit more like chard, no? No, it's more like kale. But they take the flavor in a great way.

45:41You usually put them in a pot and you start with some chicken stock. And you're always going to have a piece of smoked meat. Yeah, it's like ham. But then it's like a cabbage. Like a ham hock or something. You put it in there as well. Let it all stew in there with garlic and whatever seasonings you want. A little sugar is the secret. That's what my mother used to always do. And also, yeah, some of you have to smoke me all of it, and you just let it simmer and boil down until it gets a little soft. And it's really, really beautiful. So I will have that as well. You just got to have some choices of hot sauce there.

46:12You got to put a little vinegar in there as well. Have that on the side. What's your carb? My carb. The funny thing is I'm not a carb-heavy person yet. I would go for some, like a seven cheese mac and cheese. Oh, what do you mean seven cheese? Let me tell you something. Okay, mac and cheese. Mac and cheese. You have some macaroni noodles, whatever that is, with butter. And you just, you may get some cheddar and some Colby and some, all these different cheese mutton, some mustard, whatever. So whatever you've got in your fridge. Layer it with some cheeses. It's the best thing of the world. Okay.

46:47And don't pass by it. So you don't make it into. Put it in a skillet. Put it in a skillet. Okay, so you just grate the cheese in rather than make a cheese sauce. Yeah, grate the cheese in. Okay. So it all bakes together. You put some breadcrumbs on top because you want a little crust as well. Oh, my goodness. Think about seven cheeses at least. No less than seven. Seven cheese. And you put that baby in there and you bake it. And it's all oozing and melting together. And you take it out. One of the things that's the best thing in the world. That's what you will have. Okay, seven cheese mac. I'm just thinking maybe you should be the new voiceover for M &S.

47:18There we go. You do have the greatest voice in the world. I feel like you'd be like, this is not just. This is not just mac and cheese. A pig. This is seven cheeses. Seven cheeses at M &S. Also an individual singleton. That's the thing that I love the most about M &S is when I lived here, I can always just get like half a sandwich or just a little bit. Oh yeah, you can. You can get that in America. You've got to buy the whole goddamn thing. Who fucking wants a half sandwich though? You know when you don't want the full sandwich, you're like. Who wants the fucking full sandwich? I know. Now, do I have dessert?

47:50Yes. Dessert would have to be. I'm not a huge chocolate fan. I'm very traditional when it comes to desserts. I like a very simple. I think it would be a very simple apple pie. I love an apple pie. A la mode, absolutely. With like French vanilla or something like that. And even maybe like a piece of cheddar cheese on the side. Because I don't know what it would have. I'm not sure. Goes well. Exactly. Goes well. So I feel like it would be apple pie. That's my favorite. Did your mom make? My mother made sweet potato pies. Never pumpkin. Something about it seems like in African-American culture, sweet potato was more the standard for pies.

48:31Did she put marshmallow? Yes, she put the little baby marshmallows on top. Yeah, exactly. And cinnamon? Absolutely. It's enough to give you a heart attack. Absolutely, yeah. So, yeah. I was going to do it for Christmas Day. Do it. Sweet potato pie? I just thought it would be nice. Well, I guess I'm coming back. Sweet potato pie, do it. Before we let you go, and I don't really want you to go. No, please stay forever. I would love to. Can you please give us a nostalgic taste that can transport you back somewhere? Because how you're sad. A nostalgic taste. Here's the nostalgic taste. I have a picture of my mother, who was truly my best friend.

49:11And it's her in the kitchen. and she I remember this image too because she's wearing sort of like a tank top I remember she got up we went to church or something came home and she would usually strip down to her slip you know back when women wore slips and then she was like it was really hot yeah she was cooking and then she got out of it and literally my mother is in her bra bra in shorts because it was so hot but you know so she's wearing like you know one of those cross your heart bras yeah there's nothing sexual about it whatsoever but she's standing in the kitchen and she is with a fork frying chicken and I remember her sitting she told me come come come in I want to I'm going to show you something and she was showing that with care how you fry chicken because it was very important for her her kids to learn how to cook and take care of themselves And I remember just sitting there and I was like, it's such a happy memory of just watching the grease pop a little bit and just my mother with the rack over her shoulder and turn the fried chicken and take it out when it's hot and put it on some paper towels.

50:21And she said, you remember you have to make sure the grease all runs off there or whatever. And then she would, she says, you want a taste? Because, you know, it was a thing like you didn't eat until you were at the table. I said, you want a little taste? and so she would give me a little chicken a little a little chick she would give me the wing which is why i naturally gravitate toward the wing at all times i love wings they're sweet they're sweet yeah it holds all the flavor so yeah she would give me the wing and i sat there and i just felt like i was getting a little treat because i was the first person get a little a little bit of the chicken so it's always fried chicken so i think that's why i even love when i usually go home and i have i've been working for a long time and more than likely i probably maybe that's what I'll do this Christmas.

51:01I'll go into the kitchen and I'll fry some chicken so I feel close to her. When did she pass away? In 2006. Oh Colman I'm sorry that's such a beautiful memory thank you for sharing that with us. Oh of course of course I mean I think and I think maybe that's also the draw of me wanting to come here I see how close you are and how you cook together and And it's inspiring for people, especially for people who have had losses. And they long for that sometimes. Yeah, I think that's true. And you find ways, I'm sure, as we, you know, we won't all be here forever. But you find ways to, I have my mother's name tattooed on my arm.

51:43What was her name? Her name was Edith. Edith. And my production company is called Edith. So I like to say her name all the time. It's because I know she still lives. and by having a practice, especially when it comes to food. I have these little moments, even mentioning ribs. My mother made the best ribs, and she taught me how to make all the things that I love to cook for people. And for me, that memory is fried chicken and watching her in a hot summer afternoon in a bra and shorts. And she took her wig off as well, and her hair is just natural, and she looked her most beautiful. I always thought she looked her most beautiful when she wasn't in a wig and makeup.

52:24You know? Did she always wear a wig? She only wore a wig when she went out because she just wanted to. She was such a lady. And she just wanted everything set. Everything was very set. My mother was a pure lady in many ways. Were you a churchy family? We were not a churchy family. She came from a churchy family. But she inspired us to find our own path when it comes to religion or anything like that. So she encourages us to do what makes you feel good. Was she just incredibly proud of you? I mean, did she see you? Everything about this whole journey has been because of her. And it's funny, I think I'm not a person that likes to sort of angelicize people or say, oh, that they were this.

53:08But she really was my greatest influence. She taught me how to be curious. She taught me how to try new things. and she wanted me to dream and just like, you know, hey, do whatever, do what makes you feel good as long as you're being a good person, you know. So I feel like everything that I have is because of what she poured into me and believed in me. But she's still there. Always. Always in your heart. She's so close to me. Yeah. So close that I know that she's with me. I do believe that. I do believe she's with me. And I feel it. And that's why I feel it so strongly sometimes. In the new year, will everything be focused on the awards season now?

53:45No, because I also have to go to work, too. It's like awards season, it's funny, it takes up a lot of your life. But I also work in between, like even last year when I was on this awards campaign, I also had to go back to finish The Madness. And I started a movie about Michael Jackson at the same time playing Joe Jackson. So I was doing that and then going to award shows and doing press. So it's kind of, I wish I had the luxury to just do one, but it doesn't seem to be my makeup. And I know how to manage it. And at some point you're going to be exhausted. That's just the truth. But next year I start a few films.

54:20I'm doing one with Mr. Steven Spielberg, which is great. He's a beautiful human being. And we're going to do a film. I start that at the top of the year. I go back to my show Euphoria. I wanted to ask, so it is coming back. Yes, it's coming back. Have you read any of the... I haven't read, but he's told me about some of it. And it's really, it's going to be groundbreaking. Mom, I mean, you haven't watched it. Oh, it might be triggering for the first episode, but you've got to keep going. It's like, when I watched it, I was like, oh my God, I have a daughter and I have two sons. This is really, is this how it's going to go?

54:52It's about young people in high school. Oh no, I'd love it. But you. But it's a little racy. It's a little racy. It's about a young addict played by Zendaya. Who you have a direct relationship with. And I play her sponsor. Yeah. Okay, I must watch it. You've got to watch it. Yeah, I definitely will. Binge that next. Binge that. Which one is it? It's a challenge. Oh, God. It's quite... Well, I would not like it. I think you may just be like... Too much sex. Upset at the world. Too much sex? Or is it a lot of sex? It's beyond. It's quite... There's like brutalizing. But there's a reason for it. You'll get to it.

55:30And then you'll get to some special episodes in the center where it's just like me and Zendaya sitting in a diner talking. Okay. And that won't be triggering at all. You can even watch that out of context. If you want to get some contextualization of the show, watch the special episode with just me and Zendaya in a diner. It's called Trouble Don't Last Always, the episode. Okay. And is this on Netflix? No. It's on HBO in the States. So what is that here? I think I watched it on Sky. I think it's Sky Atlantic. What's it on, darling? It's Sky Atlantic. Oh, I'll watch it then. You are fantastic in it.

56:00Thank you. You're fantastic in everything. You are. Thank you. Do you think the film will be nominated for an award? You know what? When do you find out? You know, you find out. You know, it's funny. I keep dates out of my head because I just try to deal with what's in front of me. But I know, I think in January, the beautiful thing is I have hopes for the film because I think of the messages of the film. I don't feel this way about everything. But I feel like if this film gets a nomination or even a win, it's incredible for everything about it. the way we've made the film when it comes to the financial parody because everyone in the film owns the film equal pay I feel like it'll tell it'll tell the the universe and the industry about what we want to amplify and stories about people like this hanging on to hope in a place like prison for me it's like it all goes towards all the messages of the film if my work's honored Clarence's work our ensemble you name it so I'm one of those people I will never be an actor who said, you know, I think a lot of people will sit here and say, oh, they don't matter.

57:00I'm like, it does matter because it matters for more amplification of more stories like this. You know, so, you know, it's recognition so you can keep singing songs and playing music and you're like, there's analytics and acknowledgement that means something to systems. And if it helps amplify and push it forward, I say, why not? I'm very proud of the work. I just didn't even know about the RTA till I saw the film. Did you know about it? No, I didn't. But I know that there was a, was it a Rolling Stone article or something? Esquire, like years ago about it. But I mean, you know, it's important stories like that that need to be told.

57:36And it's such an honour to meet you, but also just, I'm thrilled for you that everything, it feels like it's your world and we're all going to be a part of it. And we can't wait to see everything else that you're in. And you're just a superstar. So thank you for taking the time when it's so close to Christmas and you have much better things to do. over here and you're going home tomorrow. Thank you, but this is a perfect send-off and a perfect way to go into the new year. This is Deal With You and Brink Bread. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you.

58:18Well, Mum, are you in love? Completely, besottedly in love. I feel, I kind of feel I've adopted him as my son I'll be rooting for him now For every award And if he doesn't win, I'll have the disappointed face Coleman Domingo is, that is generosity with the answers And just the way that he came in He's at the end of a mad, gruelling press tour And he's made time to come over here So close to Christmas He's just completely adorable I absolutely loved it, I love him I think that, you know the work he's put in at the end he told us he was 55 and we were like sorry what? He's timeless He's a working actor that is now finally getting his flowers I mean he's been getting them for a while but it's just and it's so deserved and it's really exciting to see where he goes next but Sing Sing, please go and watch it it's an incredibly tender beautiful, powerful film And it's an important film It's really important.

59:21And you know how... What are you doing with your phone? Coleman's like, text me. But I've just looked at the picture of him for his text message. How cute. Him as a little kid. Looking pretty dandy and stylish then. A smile. So cute. Coleman Domingo, you're my new best friend. You can watch Coleman Domingo in Sing Sing or The Madness on Netflix. Or Rustin. Or Euphoria. He will definitely win an Oscar. He's just wonderful. Anyway, thank you for listening. We love you, Colman Domingo, and we'll see you next week.

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