UB Spotlight: Colman Domingo + George C. Wolfe Talk ‘Rustin’

Rustin,” starring Colman Domingo and directed by George C. Wolfe hits Netflix on November 17th – Playing in select theaters now.

The architect of 1963’s momentous March on Washington, Bayard Rustin was one of the greatest activists and organizers the world has ever known.

He challenged authority, never apologized for who he was, what he believed, or who he desired. And he did not back down. He made history, and in turn, he was forgotten.

“Rustin” spotlights the man who, alongside Martin Luther King Jr., dared to imagine a different world and inspired a movement.

In our UB Spotlight, star Colman Domingo and director George C. Wolfe talk about the new film “Rustin.” Plus Lenny Kravitz speaks on how the film inspired his original song, “Road to Freedom.”

Colman Domingo Talks “Rustin”

Why do you think now is the right time for Rustin?
I think the time has been coming for a very long time to make this movie. To take Bayard Rustin out of the shadows of American history, and to look at his profound impact on so much when it comes to our culture and our politics and our policies and our activism. He believed in the promise of America, he believed in the principles that were laid out and he just wanted the country to actually put them into practice. I think we’re ready for Bayard Rustin’s story because the LGBTQIA+ community has been marginalized for so long and our stories are coming to the light as we have stepped out of the darkness and demanded that you see us for exactly who we are — and see all of us. It’s important, especially because every time I turn around, I would tell someone I’m playing Bayard Rustin, and they would say, “Who?” It’s shocking because this man was so significant to everyone’s struggle — women, the LGBT community, the black community. How is it possible that we don’t know his name? After this film comes out, I would like to never hear, “Who was Bayard Rustin?”

What was your initial reaction to being cast in the role of such an important American figure?
It’s an extraordinary honor. When I knew that I was going to be part of this, I felt that I had been given such a tremendous opportunity to shed a light on one of my personal heroes, someone that I discovered many, many years ago outside of high school and college finally, as a performer. There was a production I took over for an actor about Bayard Rustin and that was the first time I knew about him. For many years after that people kept saying, ”Oh, that’s a role that you should definitely play when they do the movie of his life.” As I took deeper dives into his legacy and his history, I thought I would be completely honored to play him because I would want to truly make him as complex and human and interesting as the man himself. He was just really prolific and profound. He also was an accomplished singer and a sportsman. He was pretty unique.

Where do you think he got his strength from?
Bayard seemed to have gotten his strength from his grandparents who raised him, Julia and Jennifer Rustin who were Quakers and very active. They helped him become who he is. Even when he came out to them at a young age, it was never met with any judgment. It was like, “well, that’s who you are, and who you are is good.” So I think he learned those lessons early on in his life that gave him strength and fortitude to be exactly who he was at a time when the world was definitely trying to tamp that down.

The film also has several love scenes that are a step forward for onscreen representation for the LGBT community.
The beautiful thing is that we have these incredible love scenes with Bayard Rustin, and they’re done with grace and integrity and joy, and they’re sexy and classy too. There’s something about the way George is handling the sexual nature of Rustin that is quite beautiful. And I’m so glad it’s here because I think it’s necessary for the fullness of this human being. It would be a shame to just go around the historical figure and shy away from that. That was also part of who he was and made him a full human being.

You have done several period pieces, what do you love about them?
One thing I love about period pieces are the costumes. I think this body was always made for things before 1980. I love high-waisted pants and ties and all the detail and tailoring. I also love the music of the period. I always make a great playlist for myself for every character so I’ve been living in the world of 1950s and 1960s music and it’s been gorgeous.

What was it like working with this exceptional cast?
I am working with the cat’s meow of actors. A few of us have some history together, like Aml Ameen, who plays Martin Luther King, was in The Butler with me, and we just became brothers shooting in New Orleans, truly. And so the idea that he’s playing Martin Luther King is just a joy to me. And then we have people like Glynn Turman and Michael Potts, who we are true bandmates because we did Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. George builds his core company and we all sort of float in and out of George’s worlds now, which is great.

We also have people like Audra McDonald. Who doesn’t want to work with Audra McDonald? I’ve known Audra for so many years and we never had the opportunity to work together, so it was a gift to have her on this set. She’s the best in the business. We have CCH Pounder who is a legend. We have the extraordinary Chris Rock. Working with Jeffrey Wright has been a dream come true because he is one of my heroes. I’ve watched his work for years and he’s always such a detailed craftsman. I’m over the moon with this cast.

Director George C. Wolfe Talks “Rustin”

Why is now the right time for a film about Bayard Rustin?
Because I think he is, in some respects, the quintessential American. Everything is a muscle. Your heart is a muscle. Your brain is a muscle. Democracy is a muscle, and if you don’t exercise it regularly, it gets flaccid and it ceases to function. He was an American, who actively, every single day of his existence, worked the muscle of belief in this country, of challenging this country, of demanding this country transform, of supporting this country. So there’s something about him that I think is unique and extraordinary. He is a role model for what it means to be an American, what it means to daily, moment-to-moment, commit to democracy, commit to freedom, commit to possibility, commit to discovery, commit to passing on that which you know to other people. At a time where you look around and wonder, “Is that leadership? Is that being responsible?” It’s so wonderful to celebrate somebody for whom that was their life.

Also, he’s a complex figure. He’s from Pennsylvania and he was fully committed to the civil rights movement. Many people were from the south and he was not. Many people were Baptist, he was Quaker. Many people were straight — or so they said — he was gay. So, there are these wonderful contradictions and anomalies that make him the perfect study.

The film eschews the traditional biopic route and instead gives us a key slice of Rustin’s life, organizing the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. How did you decide to narrow
the focus?
Because of the miraculous nature of it all, and the fact that it almost didn’t happen, and the fact that there were so many obstacles, and the fact that it was done in such an incredibly intense short amount of time points to the leadership. But even more so the organizational brain of this man is astonishing. It’s understanding that it’s the details. It’s the moment-to-moment. It’s having a vision and thought process: “What are the goals? What are we attempting?” Doing all of that very hard, smart, tedious work is what allows something to spring forth and grow.

Rustin himself clearly was a witty, funny man. Was it important to make sure that aspect of his personality came out?
Yes, because he was very smart and knowledgeable and lived in the moment. He was of the time. He was of the moment. People have talked about how charismatic he was. He was in a Broadway show with Paul Robeson. He recorded an album of Elizabethan songs and Negro spirituals. Well, okay, when is that going to happen again? So that eclectic understanding and that interest in all these varied things make him a really, really fun and fascinating person.

Do you think the primary reason people are less familiar with him than other figures from the movement is because he has been marginalized out of history due to being gay?
I think it has something to do with that. But also, one of the dynamics I just think is really fascinating, of the story is that in addition to Bayard’s’ journey, you’re also seeing on a certain level, the journey of Martin Luther King from a human being to an icon. By the time that speech is over, he’s an icon. That speech, hundreds of people spoke that day. But after that monumental speech, one of the greatest speeches in the history of American language, elocution, and storytelling, he became this iconic figure. That’s another thing that I think that is what people miss about history is it’s very easy to focus on one person. So Rustin’s gayness was definitely a part of it, but it was also the ascendancy of this phenomenal human being, which was Martin Luther King. Frequently when somebody ascends, historians find it’s much easier to focus just on the one instead of the totality. Or focus on the person who does a lot of the hard rigorous work, which is not to say that King didn’t, but that’s part of it as well. Also, the desire to sanitize is interesting, because anything involving people is not precise or simple. It’s complicated. Sometimes if we don’t know how to sanitize, we eliminate.

Music is also always crucial to your work and you reunited with longtime collaborator Branford Marsalis on this one and enlisted Lenny Kravitz for the original song “Road to Freedom.”
What was it like working with them?
I knew I wanted jazz driving us through New York City because the sound would instantly put us in the time period. I wanted something that felt New York and sharp and cerebral and visceral all at the exact same time. One of the things that’s really glorious about working with Branford is, in addition to being an incredibly gifted musician and incredibly gifted composer, he’s a musicologist and he knows who was on the edge in 1963. I will call him up with a question and say, “I’m looking for somebody who was a combination of this, this, this and this.” And then like two hours later, I’ll get six samples. It’s really thrilling to work with him. I first met Lenny Kravitz very early in both of our careers and the first time I heard him sing was acapella — I remember the sound quite vividly —and there was something about the quality of his voice that seemed viscerally perfect for the end of the film. The one note I gave him was that the song needed to help deliver us as an audience, from feeling to action. And trombones, I begged for trombones. Ever since Branford introduced me to a recording of the holy trombone choir from the United House of Prayer, I’ve been mesmerized. Lenny took my request to the next level and brought on board the legendary Trombone Shorty. “Road To Freedom” captures both 1963 and 2023; a bold celebration, as Lenny’s voice sermonizes and soars.

“I drew my inspiration from the story of Bayard Rustin and the period in general,” stated Lenny Kravitz of “Road to Freedom.” “The civil rights movement has always been important to me as my mother educated me on it since I was a child. Then I let go, got out of the way, and let God inspire.”

“Working with George was intense and beautiful. He has a clear vision of what he wants. There was a lot of back and forth, lyrically and musically. For instance, he was very much inspired by the sound of the trombone choir and how that felt for him and the feeling of his images.” For Lenny the song represents, “the path that my ancestors have been walking for so long. It is the path human beings have been walking since the beginning of time. We are all looking to be free mentally, physically, and spiritually.”

“Most people don’t know it and it is beautiful and important. What he accomplished helped to change the situation in the most major way. Not only was he fighting for civil rights as a black man, he was also fighting to be accepted as a black gay man. His story deserves our attention and respect.”

Emmy winner Glynn Turman portrays A. Philip Randolph, a labor leader and civil rights activist and a principal organizer of the March on Washington.

“This is probably the best time Rustin’s story could have ever been told because so many lines have been drawn in the sand. His story probably couldn’t have been told with any degree of comfort years ago. But now people have claimed who they are, have marched and seen what the civil rights movement is all about, and now see those same civil rights in danger once again. So many groups have formed and drawn sides. People are struggling to listen or not listen to each other, and all different groups of people are claiming their power now.”

Tony, Emmy and Golden Globe winner Jeffrey Wright portrays Adam Clayton Powell Jr. who represented the Harlem neighborhood of New York City in the United States House of Representatives from 1945 until 1971.

“George and I have worked together over many years since Angels in America on Broadway. I think he is one of the most insightful thinkers in our business. To see him translate what he’s done in the theater to the work that he’s now doing on film is really exciting for me, personally. I just love him to death. I love his enthusiasm, his drive, his intellect and his passion for stories, particularly stories about the American experience through an historical lens, like the one through which we view the story of the Civil Rights Movement here. I think it’s always the right time to revisit our history.”

Full cast includes; Colman Domingo, Chris Rock, Glynn Turman, Aml Ameen, Gus Halper, CCH Pounder, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Johnny Ramey, Michael Potts, Lilli Kay, Jordan-Amanda Hall, Jakeem Powell, Grantham Coleman, Jamilah Ros mond, Jules Latimer, Maxwell Whittington-Cooper, Frank Harts, Kevin Mambo, Carra Patterson, Bill Irwin, Cotter Smith, Adrienne Warren, with Jeffrey Wright and Audra McDonald.