Colman Domingo has broken his silence on his high-school run-ins with Will Smith.
The “Euphoria” star, 56, sat down with Benny Blanco, Lil Dicky and Kristin Batalucco for the November 3 episode of their video podcast “Friends Keep Secrets,” where he traced his Philadelphia roots and the classmate who would become one of Hollywood’s biggest names. Domingo was born and raised in West Philly, and he told the hosts he shared gym and science classes with Smith, who graduated one year ahead of him. But any hope of a friendship never materialized.
“He was the cool kid and I was the nerd,” Domingo admitted on the podcast. “I was trying not to get beat up the whole time.”
That divide ran deep. Smith already commanded West Philadelphia as a rapper performing with DJ Jazzy Jeff at the Wynne Ballroom, drawing what Domingo described as “all the cool kids.” Domingo, by contrast, stayed away. “Because I wasn’t a cool kid,” he explained. “But I heard about it. I was too busy, you know, doing school work.”
The transportation arrangements at their high school only underscored the gap. Domingo rode the bus. Smith, he recalled, arrived in wealthier style. “I went to a high school which was like we either had kids who came in on the bus which was me, and you had kids you know, wealthy or middle-class kids that came in with their parents BMW. I think he was on that side,” Domingo said. “So he was very much like, you know himself, charismatic, wonderful.”
Smith’s social dominance extended to dating. Domingo noted that the future “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” star went out with his friend Gina Cooper.
Lil Dicky, himself a Philadelphia native, pressed Domingo on whether Smith reigned as the school’s undisputed king of popularity. “He was,” Domingo confirmed. When Lil Dicky theorized that Smith “must’ve been the coolest guy of all time,” adding “I can’t picture a more, like, he defined my definition of cool with The Fresh Prince,” Domingo made clear the cool factor predated any NBC sitcom or the hit single “Summertime.”
The two future actors crossed paths just once after graduation, when Domingo was waiting tables at El Torito restaurant in Philadelphia and Smith returned from Los Angeles already riding a wave of success. Domingo served a large party that included Smith and his friends. Smith looked at him with what Domingo interpreted as faint recognition—”somewhat familiar”—but Domingo reminded the podcast hosts of his own invisible status back then: “a nerdy kid who was really good friends with his girlfriend.” The exchange ended at a hello and a hug. “That was it,” Domingo said.
Since both men found their way to acting, Domingo revealed they have “never” run into each other, a fact he finds “really rare and weird.” He predicted on the podcast that their paths will eventually cross again, and when they do, “there’ll be a warmth and shared history from Philadelphia.”
Domingo currently stars in “Euphoria” and earned an Oscar nomination this year for his role in “Rustin,” while Smith, 56, continues to film projects following his 2022 Academy Awards controversy.
