Netflix has released the official Rustin photos for its forthcoming biographical drama, featuring Colman Domingo as the unsung civil rights hero Bayard Rustin. The film is scheduled to arrive in select theaters on November 3, followed by its streaming debut on November 17.
Who’s the Rustin Cast?
In addition to Colman, the photos also unveiled the first look at the main cast including Chris Rock as Roy Wilkins, Glynn Turman as A. Philip Randolph, Audra McDonald as Ella Baker, and Aml Ameen as Martin Luther King Jr. The film also stars Gus Halper, CCH Pounder, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Johnny Ramey, Michael Potts, Lilli Kay, Jordan-Amanda Hall, Jakeem Powell, Grantham Coleman, Jamilah Rosemond, Jules Latimer, Maxwell Whittington-Cooper, Frank Harts, Kevin Mambo, Carra Patterson, Bill Irwin, Cotter Smith, Adrienne Warren, and Jeffrey Wright.
Rustin. (L to R) Aml Ameen as Martin Luther King and Colman Domingo as Bayard Rustin in Rustin. Cr. Parrish Lewis/Netflix © 2022
Rustin. Colman Domingo as Bayard in Rustin. Cr. Parrish Lewis/Netflix © 2022
Rustin. CCH Pounder as Dr. Anna Hedgeman and George C. Wolfe (Director-Writer) in Rustin. Cr. David Lee/Netflix © 2022
Rustin. Colman Domingo as Bayard Rustin, CCH Pounder as Dr. Anna Hedgeman, Melissa Rakiro as Yvette, Ayana Workman as Eleanor, Lilli Kay as Rachelle, Jordan-Amanda Hall as Charlene and Jakeem Dante Powell as Norm in Rustin. Cr. David Lee/Netflix © 2022
Rustin. Colman Domingo as Bayard Rustin, Melissa Rakiro as Yvette, Ayana Workman as Eleanor, Jordan-Amanda Hall as Charlene, Jakeem Dante Powell as Norm in Rustin. Cr. David Lee/Netflix © 2022
Rustin. (L to R) Colman Domingo as Bayard Rustin, Gus Halper as Tom, Lilli Kay as Rachelle, Ayana Workman as Eleanor and Jakeem Dante Powell as Norm in Rustin. Cr. David Lee/Netflix © 2022
Rustin. (L to R) Audra McDonald as Ella Baker and Colman Domingo as Bayard Rustin. In Rustin. Cr. David Lee/Netflix © 2022
Rustin. (L to R) Glynn Turman as A Philip Randolph and Colman Domingo as Bayard Rustin in Rustin. Cr. David Lee/Netflix © 2022
Rustin. (L to R) Aml Ameen as Martin Luther King and Colman Domingo as Bayard Rustin in Rustin. Cr. David Lee/Netflix © 2022
Rustin. (L to R) Michael Potts as Cleve Robinson, Aml Ameen as Martin Luther King, Chris Rock as NAACP Exec. Dir. Roy Wilkins and Glynn Turman as A Philip Randolph in Rustin. Cr. David Lee/Netflix © 2022
Rustin. Colman Domingo as Bayard Rustin in Rustin. Cr. David Lee/Netflix © 2022
“The architect of 1963’s momentous March on Washington, Bayard Rustin was one of the greatest activists and organizers the world has ever known,” reads the synopsis. “He challenged authority, never apologized for who he was, what he believed, or who he desired. And he did not back down. He made history, and in turn, he was forgotten.”
Rustin is directed by George C. Wolfe (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) from a screenplay written by Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black and Julian Breece. The film is executive produced by Higher Ground’s Barack & Michelle Obama, Mark R. Wright, Alex G. Scott, David Permut, Daniel Sladek, and Chris Taaffe, with Wolfe Bruce Cohen and Tonia Davis producing.
It is a part of Higher Ground Productions’ first-look deal with Netflix, which they signed in 2018. The deal has previously produced the acclaimed documentary films American Factory, which earned them their first Oscar win for Best Documentary Feature.