Colman Domingo‘s worked alongside mainstream actors, but in Sing Sing, out now, he joins a group of incarcerated men who’ve been flexing their acting chops behind bars.

Colman portrays writer Divine G, who was imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit. His character co-founds and finds purpose in Rehabilitation Through the Arts, a theater group that produces and acts in plays within the prison.

With his new role, Colman brings awareness to RTA and its members, some of whom co-star in the movie. But he says he didn’t feel pressured to bring their stories to the big screen.

“If anything, the pressure I had was that as one of the producers, I wanted to make sure that everyone was cared for and to make sure with my producer team … we were doing it right and making sure that everyone felt seen and heard, valued, in the work we’d done,” he says.

Colman adds it was important to him to display the brotherhood in RTA.

“That was always at the top of my brain because I think that that’s what they found,” he says. “I see these men in here … doing plays and all, but it’s also helping them have breakthroughs in their lives, become more vulnerable, deal with trauma and all that stuff.”

“For me, showing Black and brown men doing the work when there’s many obstacles, especially the container that you’re in, is a bit revolutionary,” he continues. “The idea of one man holding another man’s hand or heart … and saying, ‘You’re beautiful, king.’ We need to do that for each other. … Who else is going to look out for Black and brown men, but us? Who’s going to do work and be accountable to each other?” 

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.