Colman Domingo shares valuable advice he receives from Denzel Washington

Colman Domingo has recently shared valuable advice he received from fellow celebrity Denzel Washington.

Appearing in PEOPLE’s 2025 Oscar portfolio, Colman, who was nominated for Sing Sing this year, recalled words of wisdom from Denzel, who is the two-time Oscar-winning actor.

“He said, ‘You know, Colman. A lot of times, for a long time, you think it's about the awards. Then you start winning all the awards,” continued the Rustin actor.

Colman mentioned, “And you'll realise at some point it's not about the awards, it's about the reward.’”

“The acknowledgement, the awards are great stuff, but it's the reward of doing good work and making good work happen, and figuring that out for yourself,” explained the North Star actor.

Therefore, Colman pointed out, “I think Denzel knew the territory that I was leaning into and he wanted to remind me what it's actually about.”

“I love the idea of being feted and winning these awards, and being acknowledged is so fantastic and wonderful, because it gives you more fuel to keep doing what you're doing. But it is about the reward,” stated the actor.

Sharing more from Denzel, Colman stated, “I always love that I have some work in between during this award season, because it helps remind me what it's really about.”

“It's about creating more work and creating more work for others and a new platform, so that's where you find the joy, and it's the truth… So that’s a great pearl from Denzel,’” added the Selma actor.