Get to know the cast of Netflix biographical drama movie Rustin

Euphoria star and Emmy winner Colman Domingo stars as the political activist Bayard Rustin in the new biographical drama aptly titled Rustin premiering on Netflix on Friday, November 17. Directed by George C. Wolfe and written by Julian Breece and Dustin Lance Black, Rustin, and Domingo, in particular, are already receiving high praise from critics and debuted with an 86% approval score on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes after making its limited theatrical debut on November 3.

Rustin focuses on the true story of Bayard Rustin, an openly gay man who lobbied heavily for civil rights and social justice. He worked alongside people like Martin Luther King Jr. to orchestrate the 1963 March on Washington.

Get to know more about Domingo and the rest of the Rustin cast below.

Colman Domingo as Bayard Rustin

Colman Domingo stars as civil rights activist Bayard Rustin, one of many who helped Martin Luther King Jr. organize the 1963 March on Washington. As a gay man (Domingo is openly gay himself), Rustin also frequently spoke out in support of gay rights and other important social movements.

Domingo is an acclaimed Emmy Award-winning actor, writer, and director with several prestigious award nominations under his belt, including Tony Award, and Olivier Award noms. He got his start on Broadway, earning acclaim for his performance in The Scottsboro Boys before going onto play Victor Strand on The Walking Dead spinoff series Fear the Walking Dead.

In 2022, he won his Emmy for his phenomenal performance in the standalone Euphoria episode “Trouble Don’t Last Always” where he plays Rue’s mentor, Ali. You’ve also seen him in movies like Selma, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Zola, If Beale Street Could Talk, and Candyman. He’ll next appear in The Color Purple and Drive-Away Dolls.

• Instagram: @kingofbingo

Chris Rock as Roy Wilkins

Chris Rock is something of a controversial figure these days, but perhaps his performance in Rustin will earn him some good favor with fans. The Emmy and Grammy Award-winning actor plays civil rights activist Roy Wilkins, the previous leader of the National Association for the Advanced of Colored People (NAACP). Wilkins served as the NAACP’s Executive Secretary, and later the Executive Director, from 1955 to 1977.

While better known for his comedy career, Rock has acted in many films, both dramatic and otherwise. Most recently, he appeared in the Saw film Spiral: From the Book of Saw and David O. Russell’s Amsterdam. He also lent his voice to the 2023 PAW Patrol movie and in 2020, headlined the fourth season of the FX anthology series Fargo.

Earlier this year, he released a new stand-up special on Netflix called Chris Rock: Selective Outrage that addressed the infamous Oscars slap moment involving Will Smith.

• Instagram: @chrisrock

Jeffrey Wright as Adam Clayton Powell Jr.

Westworld star Jeffrey Wright plays the Baptist pastor and United States Representative Adam Clayton Powell Jr., the first African American to get elected to Congress from New York where he went on to represent Harlem.

Apart from Westworld, Wright is known for playing James Gordon in The Batman, Valentin Narcisse in Boardwalk Empire, and Beetee Latier in The Hunger Games films. Some of his other notable projects include the Broadway production of Angels in America, a performance that earned him a Tony Award. He also starred in HBO’s adaptation of the play and won an Emmy and Golden Globe for his work as Belize.

Wright has had a busy year, appearing in Rustin and other films like American Fiction, Atrabilious, and Asteroid City, in addition to voicing The Watcher in Marvel’s animated projects What If…? and I Am Groot. He will return as James Gordon in The Batman Part II, due out in 2025.

• Instagram: @jfreewright

Audra McDonald as Ella Baker

Ella Baker was a civil rights activist from Virginia who worked alongside many high-profile leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., Thurgood Marshall, A. Philip Randolph, and more. In Rustin, she is portrayed by six-time Tony Award-winning actress Audra McDonald, who many fans know for her prolific Broadway career.

Besides her many Tony Awards, the American actress and singer has also won two Grammys and an Emmy. On screen, you might recall her playing Naomi Bennett in the Grey’s Anatomy spinoff series Private Practice, Dorothy Scott in HBO’s The Gilded Age, or Liz Lawrence in The Good Wife and The Good Fight. She’s also appeared in movies like Annie, Beauty and the Beast (2017) Respect, and Ricki and the Flash.

She’ll next star in the Ava DuVernay-directed biographical drama Origins, based on Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson.

• Instagram: @audramcdonald

More Rustin cast members and who they play:

• Glynn Turman as civil rights activist A. Philip Randolph
• Aml Ameen as civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
• Carra Patterson as Martin Luther King Jr.’s wife Coretta Scott King
• Lilli Kay as political activist Rachelle Horowitz
• Johnny Ramey as fictionalized pastor Elias Taylor
• CCH Pounder as civil rights leader Anna Arnold Hedgeman
• Jeffrey Mackenzie Jordan as Courtney
• Michael Potts as labor organizer Cleveland Robinson
• Da’Vine Joy Randolph as gospel singer Mahalia Jackson
• Bill Irwin as political activist A. J. Muste
• Jamilah Rosemond as activist Dorie Ladner
• Jules Latimer as activist and sister to Dorie, Joyce Ladner
• Frank Harts as civil rights activist James Farmer
• Kevin Mambo as Whitney Young
• Adrienne Warren as Claudia Taylor

Rustin starts streaming on Netflix on November 17.