Colman Domingo earned an Oscar nomination for his performance in the A24 film Sing Sing. It’s his second straight nod in the Best Actor category after getting nominated for his role in Rustin last year.

“I hugged my husband and we continued to have coffee, and then all the calls came in…,” he told Extra’s Mona Kosar Abdi of his reaction to the Oscar nod, noting he even went on with his plan to go to the gym. “I really do believe that like people at the gym thought it was surprising to see me there. I was like, ‘No, no, I need to do something to ground me for the day.'”

“I’m a little more measured, instead of being shot out of a cannon,” he said. “I feel like I just want to take it in a different way and make sure I’m absolutely present for every moment to remember what the moon and the stars look like, to remember everyone’s sound, and read every single text… I don’t want to be overwhelmed by it. I want to be in it.”

Domingo portrays the role of Divine G in Sing Sing, a story that brings awareness to the Rehabilitation Through the Arts program in Sing Sing Correctional Facility. His character co-founded the program, which helps people in prison develop critical life skills through the arts.

“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,” Colman told ABC Audio of his role as producer. 

Sing Sing is also nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Song for “Like a Bird.”