“Rustin ”Star Colman Domingo Makes Oscars History as First Afro Latino Nominated for Best Actor

This year marks only the second time more than one Black actor who wasn't Denzel Washington or Will Smith has been nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars

Colman Domingo has made history with his nomination at the upcoming Oscars 2024.

The Rustin star, who has Belizean and Guatemalan heritage, is the first Afro Latino to ever be nominated for Best Actor. He is joined in the category by fellow Black nominee Jeffrey Wright, who is up for his lead performance in American Fiction.

And according to The New York Times, Domingo is only the second openly gay man to earn an Oscar nomination for playing a gay character. The last to do so was Ian McKellen, who in 1999 was nominated for his performance in Gods and Monsters.

The 96th ceremony also marks only the second time more than one Black actor who wasn't Denzel Washington or Will Smith has been nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars, per Variety. (The first time was in 2004, when Jamie Foxx [who won for Ray] and Don Cheadle were both nominated.)

Domingo, 54, and Wright, 58, are nominated alongside Bradley Cooper for Maestro, Paul Giamatti for The Holdovers and Cillian Murphy for Oppenheimer.

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Related: 2024 Oscars: All the First-Time Acting Nominees

In Netflix's Rustin, Domingo plays the titular Bayard Rustin, the man who worked as one of the main organizers for the August 1963 March on Washington.

He was previously nominated at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards earlier this month for his performance in the film, and is also up for a Screen Actors Guild Award and BAFTA Award.

Domingo, who won an Emmy Award in 2022 for his performance as recovering addict Ali on HBO's Euphoria, is getting more attention for his critically acclaimed turns in Rustin and The Color Purple, the latter as the charismatic but abusive Mister.

“I recognize that I’m having a moment,” Domingo, who could potentially be the first out gay Black man to take home an acting Oscar, told PEOPLE earlier this month.

Related: Everything to Know About the 2024 Oscars

If he does triumph the Academy Awards or any of the other events, his trophies will likely stand alongside the Emmy he keeps in his office.

“I like it in an enclosed space," the actor said. “I can't walk into my house and feel like, 'Oh, I'm Emmy Award winner Colman Domingo.' ”

“I look up from my desk and I'm like, 'Oh, that's beautiful,' ” he continued. The only thing keeping it company is his recent Toronto International Film Festival Tribute Award.

“There's lots of room for one or two Oscars. I am in two films. I'm going to make room for two Oscars. Why not?” Domingo quipped.

The 96th Academy Awards, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, will air live on Sunday, March 10, from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California, beginning at 7 p.m. ET.

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