Colman Domingo Reveals Denzel Washington’s ‘Great’ Awards Season Advice (Exclusive)

Colman Domingo is the first performer to score back-to-back Best Actor Oscar nominations since Denzel Washington earned the honor for Fences and Roman J. Israel Esq. in 2017 and 2018.

Colman Domingo (left) on Feb. 6 and Denzel Washington (right) in 2024.

Jon Kopaloff/Getty; Noam Galai/Getty

As Domingo — nominated last year for Rustin and this year for Sing Sing — finds himself in the midst of another competitive awards season, he can’t help but think about words of wisdom Washington, 70, once offered him more than five years ago.

Appearing in PEOPLE’s 2025 Oscar Portfolio, on newsstands Friday, Domingo, 55, recalls chatting with the two-time Oscar-winning screen legend while making the 2020 movie Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, which was produced by Washington.

“He said, ‘You know, Colman. A lot of times, for a long time, you think it’s about the awards. Then you start winning all the awards. And you’ll realize at some point it’s not about the awards, it’s about the reward,’” remembers Domingo.

“The acknowledgement, the awards are great stuff, but it’s the reward of doing good work and making good work happen, and figuring that out for yourself.”

“So I think he knew the territory that I was leaning into and he wanted to remind me what it’s actually about,” continues Domingo.

“I love the idea of being feted and winning these awards, and being acknowledged is so fantastic and wonderful, because it gives you more fuel to keep doing what you’re doing. But it is about the reward,” says the former star of Fear the Walking Dead.

Domingo says it’s why he’s grateful to be traversing new projects in the midst of this special time.

“That’s why I always love that I have some work in between during this award season, because it helps remind me what it’s really about. It’s about creating more work and creating more work for others and a new platform, so that’s where you find the joy, and it’s the truth,” he says. “So that’s a great pearl from Denzel.”

Washington, a 10-time Oscar nominee, has won twice: Best Supporting Actor in 1990 (for Glory) and Best Actor in 2002 (for Training Day). He was most recently nominated for Best Actor in 2022 for The Tragedy of Macbeth.

Domingo calls his nomination for Sing Sing — in which he plays an incarcerated man who starts an arts therapy program while serving his time — “really meaningful” because of the story the film tells.

“It’s really about the hope and the possibility of what happens when you pour art and hope and faith into a human being,” says Domingo, who played civil rights activist Bayard Rustin in Rustin.

“And especially coming off of the nomination for Rustin, which was really about amplifying that spirit of hope and courage and faith and civil rights to make sure everyone can benefit, I feel like it’s a beautiful alignment with what I care about,” he adds.

Conan O’Brien hosts the 2025 Oscars, which will air live from the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 2, at 7 p.m. ET on ABC and Hulu.