In Michael, the man with Hollywood’s biggest smile plays the King of Pop’s domineering father. He’s also back for the final season of Euphoria. And he’s in the upcoming Spielberg movie, Disclosure Day, and the new Tina Fey show, The Four Seasons. Oh, and he also says he should run for president. (He’s just kidding about that last one—or is he?)
Read on for his take on the secret to a happy marriage, what his mother taught him, and whether it’s ever okay to lie.
Your performance in Michael is triumphant, and the music in the movie is fantastic. What music played in your house growing up?
The Spinners. The Temptations, Donna Summer, Diana Ross, Teddy Pendergrass. Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes. Nat King Cole and Sammy Davis Jr. Lena Horne. Lots of soul music. But also Michael McDonald. And Kenny Loggins! Lots of yacht rock. This is a thing many people don’t know: Dude, Black people love yacht rock. If you’re with a group of more than three Black people, put on “Sailing…take me away….” We’ll know every lyric because it’s soul music! Those dudes were singing.
You play Michael Jackson’s father, Joe, as a tough man who seems hurt when people stand up to him. How do you stand your ground when it’s hard?
You have to find a way to do it with grace. Grace is a choice—because I also have that fuel and fire of being a Black artist, so you’re navigating how to be heard with your convictions and also be kind at the same time. You can get anything done with kindness. But I’m also clear about things. I have to be. Deep down, I have a sense of diplomacy.
The film depicts Joseph’s marriage to Katherine Jackson as unrelentingly strained. You’ve been with Raul for 21 years, married for 10. What’s your secret?
The thing that we keep investigating is how close friends we are. Not just partners, but friends—and I mean real friends. To have conversations where we say, “Hey, talk to me as your friend, not your partner. I want to hear about you and your evolution, what you need.” It’s that question: What do you need? Where are you right now? Without judgment. I think that’s the staying power. With long-term relationships, people think you’ve got to give up something. I don’t think you do. I think you lean into something.
What has Euphoria taught you?
My character was very clear about his perspective, but life has done what it’s supposed to do, which is to help you reexamine those thoughts. I feel like that’s what we’re all going through right now. Life will always have hard times; it’s just how you manage it. That’s what the show ultimately is about.
Courtesy of HBO
Colman Domingo and Zendaya in a scene from Euphoria season 3.
You come across as the most open, honest person alive. In life, is there ever a time when lying or deception is actually a good thing?
The truth shouldn’t be argued. One plus one is two—you can’t make it four. You can’t rewrite the truth. People try, and they’ve been succeeding lately, which is disturbing. But truth is truth and fact is fact.
That’s very diplomatic.
I should probably run for president. I think I’d be pretty good.
You’ve got my vote. You’ve often spoken about your mother’s influence. What did she teach you?
So many things that I take into my life, into my art, into my work, I learned from my mother. She taught me to be interested in people. I learned how to carry myself in any room. I know how to dress smart. She was also a very elegant lady, so elegant that she wouldn’t eat outside in cafés. When I took her to Paris, I said, “Mom, do you want to sit and eat at one of these cafés?” She said, “Oh, no. I don’t like people to watch me eat.”
How does all of this show up in your work?
Most of the work I have right now is leaning toward the subject of faith in each other. How do we hold on to each other in this world? Because at the end of the day, it’s just about me and you loving each other.
A version of this story appears in the Summer 2026 issue of ELLE.
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