Colman Domingo is having one of his busiest years in Hollywood. He plays a key role in the Michael Jackson biopic ‘Michael’, recently wrapped his turn as Ali on HBO’s ‘Euphoria’, and also stars in Netflix’s ‘The Four Seasons’, where he directed one episode as well. This weekend, he adds another major credit with Steven Spielberg’s alien thriller ‘Disclosure Day’, now in theatres.
The role and the film’s plot
Domingo plays Hugo, a corporate whistleblower who leads an underground group called the “Truth Movement” in ‘Disclosure Day’. The film is built around the premise that the U.S. government has been concealing proof of alien life and extraterrestrial visits. Domingo stars alongside Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, and Eve Hewson in the Spielberg production. The film opened this weekend to a $19 million debut at the box office.
In the story, a corporation suppresses information about alien existence for financial gain. Hugo’s character takes the opposite position, believing the world has a right to know. “Let the world judge, let the world have this information, and maybe it betters us as common humanity,” Domingo told Variety.
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How the role came about
Both Spielberg and ‘Michael’ director Antoine Fuqua asked Domingo a similar question when they met him about their respective films. They wanted to know what he felt he could bring to each role and to the overall experience. Domingo called that a meaningful question for any actor to face. “It forces you to think: Do I have something to give? What can I offer, not only as an actor and artist but as a human being?” he said.
Domingo has long applied a clear filter when choosing projects. As a young actor, he would ask directors and producers pointed questions before agreeing to work with them. He wanted to know who his collaborators would be, what the experience would look like, and whether the project could genuinely use what he had to offer.
Research and Spielberg’s involvement
Once Domingo came on board, Spielberg sent him a substantial collection of research material. This included documentaries, footage, and studies related to John E. Mack, a clinical psychologist from Harvard who documented accounts from people who reported extraterrestrial experiences. Mack believed those accounts were genuine, though Harvard later distanced itself from his work and moved to discredit him.
The research shaped how Domingo approached the character and the film’s broader themes. “I’ll send you whatever you need, so we can establish a brain trust,” Spielberg told him. Domingo’s response: “Bring it on.”
On working with Spielberg
Domingo spoke openly about what it felt like to work on a Spielberg set. He described moments of genuine awe, both while shooting scenes and in quieter moments of reflection. “At some point you do rise above your own body and the experience and say, ‘Oh my God, I’m working with Steven Spielberg on a Steven Spielberg set with these incredible actors,'” he told Variety.
He credited Spielberg with creating an environment that pushed everyone to use their imagination fully. The director, he said, set up what Domingo described as a “playground” for the actors, one that asked them to seriously engage with the idea of non-human entities and what their arrival might mean for the world.
Domingo on believing in aliens
Away from the film, Domingo said he personally believes in extraterrestrial life. When asked directly, he did not hesitate. “I absolutely do,” he said. “I don’t know what they look like, what they feel like, what their objectives are, but I do believe that there has to be more. It can’t just be us.”
He also drew a comparison between belief in the unknown and other forms of faith that society accepts more readily. People believe in magic, in God, and in things they have never seen, he noted. He said he finds it strange that belief in UAPs and UFOs is treated with more scepticism than those other forms of belief. “Why not?” he said.
Domingo added that he looks at the night sky and feels certain that something is looking back. “At some point we’ll come together,” he said. “I believe that with whatever the unknown brings to us, maybe it’ll be good for all of us.”
Year of major projects
‘Disclosure Day’ arrives at a point where Domingo is working across multiple high-profile productions simultaneously. His role in ‘Michael’, the Jackson biopic, is one of the most talked-about films of 2026. ‘Michael’ has since become the highest-grossing music biopic ever made. For Domingo, the Spielberg film represents another significant step in a career he says still leaves him in genuine awe of the people around him.