Colman Domingo Is Seeking An Oscars Accomplishment Denzel Washington Last Did 7 Years Ago

Colman Domingo is in the Oscars 2025 Best Actor race, and he could accomplish something that hasn’t been done since Denzel Washington did it seven years ago. While Denzel is firmly entrenched as a contender for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 2025 thanks to his Gladiator II performance, his absence from the lead category leaves room for other actors to shine. The predicted 2025 Oscars Best Actor nominations include past winners and nominees, and Colman Domingo counts among the latter group.

Domingo finds himself in the middle of awards season conversations thanks to his performance in Sing Sing. The prison drama from A24 and director Greg Kwedar is based on a true story, and sees the actor play John “Divine G” Whitfield. Critics have raved about Domingo’s performance in Sing Sing, so much so that he is expected to be in the mix for a Best Actor Oscar nomination. It won’t be until January 2025 that we know if Domingo gets the nomination or not, but that recognition will give him a rare Oscar accomplishment that Denzel Washington did last.

Colman Domingo Could Get Back-To-Back Best Actor Oscar Nominations With Sing Sing

He Was Nominated The Previous Year For Rustin

Thanks to the strength of his Sing Sing performance, Colman Domingo could earn Best Actor Oscar nominations in back-to-back years. He was previously nominated for Rustin for the 2024 Oscars, which was the first nomination of his career. Although he lost the award to Cillian Murphy’s Oppenheimer performance, Rustin still helped Domingo break through with Academy voters and gain some recognition ahead of Sing Sing‘s release, which arguably has an even better performance from him.

Colman Domingo is squarely in the race for Best Actor at the 2025 Oscars, as he could even win the award potentially if A24’s campaign picks up. The complication for him could come down to which movie and performances A24 backs the most, as the studio is also responsible for Queer and The Brutalist, which could put Daniel Craig and Adrien Brody in the race too. Even if he does not win, Domingo’s back-to-back nominations in Best Actor would be an accomplishment in and of itself.

Best Actor Hasn’t Had A Back-To-Back Oscar Nominee Since Denzel Washington In 2017

The Gap Is A Record For Best Actor

Should Colman Domingo get an Oscar nomination for Sing Sing, he will be the first back-to-back nominee in Best Actor since Denzel Washington did it in 2017. Two of Denzel Washington’s Oscar nominated roles came in consecutive years with Fences and Roman J. Israel, Esq. However, he did not win either time, losing to Casey Affleck for Manchester by the Sea in 2016 and Gary Oldman for The Darkest Hour in 2017. The Academy has not taken the opportunity to nominate leading actors in back-to-back years since, which is a big break from tradition.

The 2025 Oscars will mark eight years since Best Actor had the same actor nominated in back-to-back years. That is a record-long gap for the category in the nearly 100-year Academy Awards history. Previously, the longest the Oscars ever went without having a consecutive nominee in Best Actor was six years. That happened three times: after Johnny Depp’s nominations in 2003 and 2004, after Tom Hanks’ nominations in 1993 and 1994, and Marlon Brando’s nominations in 1953 and 1954. With the Academy forgoing back-to-back nominees in Best Actor for so long, Colman Domingo’s Oscars 2025 nomination could end the streak.

Director

Greg Kwedar

Release Date

July 12, 2024

Writers

Clint Bentley , Greg Kwedar

Cast

Colman Domingo , Clarence Maclin , Sean San Jose , Paul Raci , David Dap Giraudy , Patrick Preme Griffin , Mosi Eagle , James Big E Williams , Sean Dino Johnson , Cornell Nate Alston , Camillo Carmine LoVacco , Dario Peña , Pedro Cotto , Miguel Valentin

Runtime

107 Minutes

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