Colman Domingo made his “Saturday Night Live” hosting debut on Saturday night. For those who don’t know where you heard about him, we have some guesses for him. There are probably several.
At the beginning of his monologue, Domingo admitted that after 30 years in the industry, his resume can be a little difficult to pin down. The answer to where you saw him is basically everywhere, he suggested. He rattles off the credits for “Fear the Walking Dead,” “Sing Sing,” “The Four Seasons,” “Lincoln,” and several other movies in which he doesn’t appear.
“I was Carly from iCarly. I was in the C-3PO suit from Star Wars. And I’m your uncle, too.” He paused. “You saw me at your cousin’s wedding in 1994.” Importantly, he said, “I participate in virtually everything, like a raisin at a white man’s cookout.”
He added that he can usually tell which projects someone knows him for. “If you’re a fellow Latina, I’d say ‘Fear the Walking Dead.’ But if it’s a girl under 20 or a creepy guy over 30, it’s ‘Euphoria.'”
With the credentials established, Domingo pivoted to the actual topic of the night: the vibes. Specifically, the kind he offers when you come to his house. “Tonight, I’m going to make you feel like you’re in my home,” he said, and then began directing the entire production to that end.
He asked for music and lighting that would be “very pleasing to the colored people.” Once satisfied, he turned to the camera and gave the following instructions: “Can I give you a slow, sexy push?” He then joked, “And I’m 56, so I should try harder.”
Cast member Jeremy Culhane was invited to give a monologue and was instructed to look into the camera. He then stared wide-eyed into the wrong camera, but once the staff found the right angle, he turned into an anxious mole.
Domingo then faced the audience and charmed them with the ease of someone who has actually been doing this since the ’90s. When I asked one woman why she came to the show, she said she got the tickets from someone who worked there. “It’s an internal connection,” Domingo said with satisfaction. “It’s hot.” He asked if it was someone from the cast. “No,” she said. “It was the writers,” Domingo jokingly turned to the audience with a disappointed look. “Please don’t tell anyone that.”
By the end, the atmosphere was clearly getting a little off him – a couple in the audience were flirting. “They’re straight,” Domingo joked. “You don’t see that every day.”
He wrapped things up the way he said he always ends the party at his house. I told everyone to go outside so I could take fiber pills and sleep, but that wasn’t the case tonight. “There’s a show coming up, so get excited!”
Watch Domingo’s monologue below.
