Colman Domingo reveals conversation with Jordan Peele that created 'Candyman' role
"The beautiful thing is that Jordan Peele wrote this role for me," he said.
Colman Domingo knew he had to dig deep when he took on the role of William Burke in the Nia DaCosta-directed supernatural horror flick "Candyman."
Domingo's character is a resident of Chicago's Cabrini Green neighborhood, who relays the Candyman legend to the main character. The actor told ABC Audio that his "complex" character came from a simple conversation with the film's producer.
"The beautiful thing is that Jordan Peele wrote this role for me," he shared. "I met up with him for like 45 minutes and we just talked about everything under the sun -- art, culture, society, Blackness, horror. And he wrote this role for me about this storyteller, this guy who was the keeper of this beast [and] this ... generational trauma in this neighborhood."
Domingo said his candid conversation with Peele helped him find an authentic backstory for William, whom he described as a "complex human being who possibly had a mental illness."
"He was also triggered by so much," he explained. "And he felt responsible."
While the actor calls William an "ordinary brother in the community," whom "most people" walk by and "don't even see," Colman notes that the character is someone who has "always been there."
Still, Domingo believes that the real challenge in portraying the "tricky character" of William was showing his vulnerable side.
"I want to make sure that we still found his heart and soul," he said. "And even as he went and did some off-the-wall stuff, you still understood that he was human."
"Candyman," also starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, hits theaters Friday, Aug. 27.
