Colman Domingo leaned into his Philly roots to make Netflix’s ‘The Madness’ more authentic

Colman Domingo knows Philadelphians don’t like to be inconvenienced. The prolific actor’s latest show, The Madness, filmed in West Philly earlier this year, bringing camera crews to the very neighborhood where he was raised — but they received a rocky welcome. Residents complained on social media about parking restrictions and others refused to stay quiet when the cameras rolled.

Undeterred, Domingo called the experience a “beautiful challenge” and encouraged his showrunners to lean into the noise because it would make the Netflix series, which drops on Nov. 28, more authentic to Philly.

“Yes, those people on that corner are going to be loud and noisy and things like that,” he told The Inquirer in a recent interview. “We need to work with it, because they’re noisy. Let it be noisy … Don’t fight it. Let it in. Let Philadelphia work on you.”

After starring in major films, including Sing Sing, The Color Purple, and Rustin (which earned him an Oscar nod), Domingo was thrilled to come home for The Madness, a conspiracy thriller set mostly in Pennsylvania. He plays Muncie Daniels, a CNN pundit and Penn professor from West Philadelphia who is framed for the murder of a white supremacist influencer in the Poconos.

When Domingo first read the script, he thought, “Who else could do this role? Oh no, this is made for me.” The actor and the character aren’t just from the same neighborhood — Domingo also dabbled in journalism when he was an undergraduate at Temple.

While most filming was done in Toronto, Domingo relished the opportunity to shoot exteriors in his hometown. Philadelphians will recognize a ton of local landmarks on screen, including Reading Terminal Market, Philly AIDS Thrift, Malcolm X Park, and the African Cultural Art Forum.

“I literally was in my showrunners’ ears, telling them exactly where to shoot,” said Domingo.

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Montages show his character running through University City and along the Schuylkill. He even got to run by his childhood home near 52nd and Chancellor Streets. Recounting the story to Jimmy Kimmel last week, Domingo said he visited the house to say hello to the current residents, who didn’t know who he was.

“I knocked on my door, but the funny thing about people in Philly, they actually don’t care so much,” he said, adding, “they were lovely, but they were very private, and just like, ‘Get off my steps.’” Kimmel quipped, “I guess, you know, in Philly if they don’t throw batteries at you, you’re in good shape, right?”

Whether Philly audiences recognize their homegrown celebrity or not, the actor hopes they will appreciate the effort to portray the city as “complex and as salt of the earth as possible,” he said.

Domingo was so committed to making the show feel real that he got his niece to help coach actor Gabrielle Graham, who plays Kallie, Muncie’s estranged daughter. Her character knows where to get the best steaks — and gives her dad a gun when things get chaotic. (When Muncie’s surprised that she’s carrying, she simply replies: “I’m a Black girl living in North Philly.”)

“[Gabrielle] and my niece would get on Zooms and talk, and work through her dialogue … and I think that Gabrielle, who is a Canadian girl, shows up truly as a girl from Philly,” he said.

Domingo’s childhood friends and family often visited him on set, bringing cheesesteaks and keeping him company. Some of them appear as extras, too.

» READ MORE: Colman Domingo’s cheesesteak order: messy, gooey, ‘falling out of my mouth and out of my hands’

“I hope it shows that my intention of even bringing some of our production to the streets of Philadelphia shows how much I want to bring work to Philadelphia,” said Domingo. “I don’t get to these spaces alone. I have Philadelphia with me at all times.”

When the show releases on Thanksgiving, Domingo won’t just be celebrating premiere day — he’ll also be ringing in his 55th birthday. Maybe he’ll get a cheesesteak with the “full jawn” (like in the show) with everything on it; messy and gooey, and falling out of his mouth, just the way he likes it.

“The Madness” will be released on Nov. 28 on Netflix.