Oprah Winfrey Praises Colman Domingo’s Raw and Vulnerable Performance in ‘Sing Sing’: ‘I Was Looking at Part of His Own Soul Up There’ (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Angelique Jackson Oprah Winfrey spent her Valentine’s Day celebrating a different type of love — the kind between longtime friends and creative partners — as she saluted Colman Domingo for his acclaimed performance in “Sing Sing.” “This is an invitation I could not pass up,” Winfrey said as she strutted onto the stage at the Arlington Theatre in Santa Barbara to present Domingo with the Montecito Award at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Friday night.

And Winfrey didn’t have to travel far. The broadcast legend is a longtime Montecito resident, so the festival practically takes place in her backyard.

Plus, Winfrey is also a previous recipient of same prize, awarded in 2014 for her work in “The Butler,” which is where her friendship with Domingo began. “I’m here by divine order,” Winfrey told the crowd about the full-circle circumstances. “Because his mother, Edith, knew that her son was gifted.

She didn’t just tell him that; she knew it inside her soul. She knew that he had talent, and that talent deserved attention — so much so that, during the years of ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show,’ Edith Bowles used to watch faithfully every day and she would write me letters telling me how talented her son was.” Though Bowles’ letters didn’t reach Winfrey at the time, and Bowles passed away in 2006, “Edith Bowles is still working it on the other side, and has brought us together for such a time as this,” Winfrey said, as an tearful Domingo looked on.