Colman Domingo previews ‘rollercoaster ride’ of “The Running Man”, teases ‘massive event in our cinemas’

Key Points

• Star Colman Domingo previews what to expect from director Edgar Wright’s The Running Man, and why he believes it will be “a massive event in our cinemas.”

• Domingo reveals what he took from the late Jerry Springer for inspiration for his game show host character, Bobby T.

• Plus, why he felt like he “totally was in a whole different film than anyone else.”

Star Colman Domingo is fresh off recording additional dialogue for his upcoming film, The Running Man, an experience alone made him feel like he was “on a rollercoaster ride.”

“I know the script and I know what’s going to happen, but I felt like with this visual language, I felt like it’s that rollercoaster ride where you are thrilled and terrified at the same time, and it’s going to constantly keep shifting,” he tells Entertainment Weekly, clearly excited from what would otherwise be a relatively tedious task.

Even still, the experience of recording dialogue is a far cry from his time actually shooting the Edgar Wright-helmed film. Based on the novel by Stephen King under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, the dystopian thriller follows Ben Richards (Glen Powell), an unemployed construction worker desperate to get money for his sick infant daughter’s treatment. He finds himself joining the murderous game/reality show The Running Man, in which contestants are tasked with surviving for as long as they can in a morally bankrupt America where anyone is allowed to kill them.

Domingo is Bobby Thompson, the larger-than-life host of the titular show. Because of his role as the face of the biggest TV program in the country, the actor admits he felt like he was in a separate world from the rest of the cast. “I totally was in a whole different film than anyone else. Completely,” he says. “I’m seen only through the free TV, which I think is very cool.”

Domingo’s first time on set was stepping onto the set of Bobby’s show, “where Bobby lived basically,” he explains. “I like the idea that we don’t take him out of the context of the show. We don’t know what his home life is. Does he have a wife or not? Does he have kids or anything? None of that, for our purposes, is important. What’s important is that you see Bobby fully in his element and how he’s operating, manipulating, charming, not only the studio audience, but the guests as well.”

With so few external character elements to pull from, Domingo had his work cut out for him. But then, he had his “aha!” moment. “Literally the night before I went to set, they released the Jerry Springer two-part documentary, and I sat up and watched it, and I thought, whoa, whoa, this is incredible,” he recalls. “And I looked at that. What I love is the idea that Jerry Springer as a host was sort of inciting and letting people — knowing the ills of our society — letting the people do what they need to do on a platform and really let them engage in the worst behavior and still feel like he had nothing to do with it. He’s just there moving the show along. I felt like, what an interesting strategic way to abstain from any responsibility of what happens on that set.”

So, from that, Domingo says his take on the character of Bobby T became about portraying the most famous television show host in the world, who exudes charm and wit and personality in spades. He is also constantly doing whatever it takes to stay on top.

“He’s thinking, what next? What will people tune into next that is the most horrific thing that we can’t even imagine? He helps incite that, and really riles people up, and that’s who he is. He’s also very stylish, and I like to believe that he is the guy that guys want to be like him, and girls fall in love with him.”

To the latter point, Domingo credits Wright and his team of costume designers with nailing Bobby T’s fabulous looks, a combination of glamorous designer clothes and fancy jewels and watches to ensure he looks “impeccable in every single way.” But, still, the actor, who is known for his own dazzling sartorial red carpet choices, can take some credit for Bobby’s flair.

“Maybe it made sense for Edgar to cast me because I think he knew I could possibly pull it off,” he says, bellowing laughter. “What I did bring into it is my sense of theatricality. I feel like I went straight into my theater roots of being able to hold an audience.”

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Much like his showman character, Domingo is sure the film, which also stars Josh Brolin, Lee Pace, William H. Macy, Katy O’Brian, Emilia Jones, and Michael Cera, will also razzle-dazzle audiences.

“The story will keep shifting in front of your eyes and you might not even believe what you’re actually seeing. It’s really cool,” he teases. “I think that we long for huge events in our cinemas these days, and I feel like this one is going to be a massive event in our cinemas.”

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