Colman Domingo Says He Went to High School With Will Smith, and No, They Weren't Friends

Colman Domingo has an Oscar nomination and a spot on“Fear the Walking Dead.”Will Smith has a shelf full of blockbusters. Apparently, they were both walking the halls of Overbrook High School in West Philadelphia before any of that happened. Domingo shared the connection on the“Friends Keep Secrets”podcast, saying the two shared gym and science classes back in the day, but they were never friends. His memory of that time is refreshingly blunt: Will was the cool kid, already rapping around Philly with Jazzy Jeff, and Colman was the nerd trying to keep his head down.

The story took a bittersweet turn years later. Smith, already a star, returned to Philadelphia and walked into the El Torito restaurant where Domingo was waiting tables. According to Domingo, Smith looked at him like he half-recognized him, and that was the extent of their reunion. Two people from the same school, one already famous and one still working shifts.

Overbrook’s star alumni list keeps growing from there, with the story also noting Jada Pinkett Smith and Tupac Shakur as part of that era’s universe, plus Busta Rhymes and Jay-Z coming up together in their own school years. Domingo and Smith both eventually climbed to the top of Hollywood, just on very different clocks. Who from your high school class do you think is going to make it big? Let us know in the comments.