As only the second openly gay man to be nominated for an Academy Award for portraying a gay man, Domingo is receiving well-deserved accolades that are decades in the making.
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While the journeyman actor sees himself as a regular guy in Carhartt coveralls making trips to Home Depot, Out contributor Tre'vell Anderson points out in the interview that there's nothing regular about him.
Anderson writes, "Even beyond the designer fashions he dons, a certain je ne sais quoi oozes from his pores; it's the stuff trailblazers and household names are made of. Behold, I think, the blossoming of, perhaps, one of our first Black openly gay movie stars. Finally."
In his more than 30 years in the entertainment industry, Domingo has been in a wide range of roles. His most recent polar opposite characters in "Rustin" and "The Color Purple" have been garnering attention this award season.
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"And it wasn't even designed that way," he said in the interview. "Though it is something I've just been trying to do my entire career, which is I need you to see me the way I see myself. I need you to see me without limitation. I want you to see me as an artist, as a thinker, as a creator."
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When it comes to representation and his impact in Hollywood, the interview features a revelation from Domingo: many people still don't know he's gay.
"There was never a big coming-out story and a heroic rise to finally being on the cover of Out magazine because of that," Domingo said in the interview. "No shade, but for me, it's like the people who've been in the trenches doing the work and being exactly who they are and authentic, I think we need to amplify them as well."
The Out cover story is available now online. The January/February issue will be available on newsstands starting on Feb. 6.