- Jon Higgins is a podcaster, entertainment consultant, and freelance journalist.
- Higgins was the executive assistant for "Euphoria" actor Colman Domingo for a year.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jon Higgins, the former executive assistant to "Euphoria" actor Colman Domingo at Edith Productions. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I've been a freelance writer for the last seven or eight years across TV and film. I do pretty well as a critic, often contributing reviews for Rotten Tomatoes.
In my second year, a friend of mine asked if I'd ever thought about writing a TV pilot. The question struck a chord with me, so I started writing pilots and dreaming up ideas.
I wanted to learn more, so in 2018 I applied and was accepted into the first iteration of the Hillman Grad Mentorship Lab program, run by Lena Waithe's production company, where I learned more about writing for TV and film.
My hunch is that the program really liked my response on the application as to why I wanted to be in the program — which was that I'm very passionate about representing Black, queer people's humanity in the media. I think that spoke to Waithe and the work she does.
I made a few friends in the Hillman Grad program, and one of my connections there told me about an opportunity to be an executive assistant at Colman Domingo's production company, Edith.
I thought: I love what he stands for, and I love that he's openly Black and queer. I would love to work with another Black and queer individual and see what I could learn.
At this time, I'd already been a fan of Domingo. I knew his work as Victor Strand on "Fear the Walking Dead," and I was excited to see him as a lead in the "Candyman" film, which had just been announced. When Domingo won an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for "Euphoria," all I could think was that it should have come sooner.
I sent over my résumé, had a meeting with two executives at AMC and its streaming service AMC Plus, then I landed the call with Domingo and Raúl Domingo, a producer and cofounder of the company.
That all happened within a week, and then I was hired.
I learned Domingo's preferences right away
When I started working for Domingo, my job was to keep tabs on his calendar, set meetings for him, read and give feedback on scripts, and support any development projects he had.
Since he was traveling a lot but mostly on Eastern time, while I was on Pacific time, I had to constantly be on point with the hours. Domingo is very much a morning person, so he loved for all of his meetings to be in the morning. He also hates back-to-back meetings — I did my best to start his day around 8 or 9 a.m. and have him wrapped by around 4 p.m.
That being said, he loves in-person meetings — he doesn't let his stardom dictate how he interacts with others. He'd often ask me to set coffee or dinner dates with other actors so that things didn't feel so formal.
Domingo was really good about not calling me outside work hours. I'd usually get texts and emails from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Pacific time. There were still times when I had to be up late working on things for him, like setting meetings for the next day. It didn't happen a lot, but it did happen.
As an assistant in entertainment, your life stops when your boss needs help
I've had to excuse myself at a breakfast meeting when Domingo was having flight issues. Other times, I've been at events where I've had to step away because Domingo was calling me. He might just need to ask about an email, or a contact, or where we were on a project — and as his second set of eyes, I'd be the person to call.
I was fortunate to have Domingo as a boss because a job like that can be really stressful if you're not valued at work.
I read a lot of projects for Domingo, and he trusted my opinion
There were a lot of projects that came across his desk that he just didn't have time to read or engage with, so he would say to me, "Hey, read this and let me know if this is something I should be interested in." I was basically his second set of eyes.
I once read a project for him about a queer youth and an alien donut shop. It was really interesting, but it didn't have what I felt Domingo would want in order to produce it. He took my word for it, as he did a lot of the time on projects he'd have me read.
Domingo made me feel appreciated by making sure I had time to grow my career
There were times where Domingo gave me time off to do other things, like attend panels about the industry, and he'd always encourage me to make time to do things that would grow my career. He believed in me and often told me that he couldn't wait to see what the universe did for me in my career.
I don't think people recognize how important executive assistants are in the entertainment industry. Similarly, I also don't think executive assistants usually get the appreciation they deserve for how much time and energy it takes to keep someone's calendar and meetings together.
Domingo wasn't a typical entertainment-industry boss. I felt really blessed to have a job where I was affirmed for how hard I was working.
I admire that Domingo is a queer Black man who helps other queer Black men
It's very rare in the entertainment industry that you see successful, marginalized people really support other marginalized, up-and-coming artists in a substantial way.
There are a lot of folks out there saying, "We love and support LGBTQ+ people, Black queer people, yada, yada," but to really say, "Hey, let's take a meeting," or "Hey, here's some funding to do this" — that's a hard thing to find. And that's exactly what I witnessed Domingo do.
He's an influential Black queer man who uses his influence to help other people like him break into the industry. One example was his work with the guys behind a YouTube series called "For the Boys" toward the end of my time as his assistant. Domingo supported their project with funds from his company, helped them build their deck to pitch the TV version of their series, helped them with their pitching, and connected them with executives to help them find even more support.
Domingo also taught me how to slow down and get things right
I worked in higher education for 10 years before I started my writing and entertainment career, and that previous role required me to do things very quickly, usually for liability reasons. I took that same rushed mentality with me into my assistant job with Domingo, and he helped me learn how to be more effective by just slowing down.
Domingo noticed how fast I was sending emails back to him and people who were reaching out to him. I think he could tell I was rushing, because I was on edge about wanting to do a good job. He started to say things to me like, "This is super important, so please take your time with it," or "Give this some time to breathe."
I think he understood I wanted to make him look good but wanted me to learn to take a breath and get my mind together before making decisions.
Now, years later, I've started to notice that when I'm working on documents, I'm slowing down to really read them. When I'm sending emails, I'm rereading the email to make sure it says what I wanted it to say. He taught me to make sure that my decisions aren't informed with hurry, and I'm grateful to him for that.
My day-to-day relationship with Domingo was comfortable, but I definitely knew my place
I was his executive assistant, but I know that Domingo saw me as a whole person. He'd chat with me about my own career, or where his career was going.
I definitely perceived a boundary between us like, "I'm still your boss, don't fuck it up," but at the same time, he left plenty of space for me to ask questions and speak freely. He wanted to be sure that when I left the company and put his company on my résumé, that I had a lot of skills and knowledge to talk about for my next opportunity.
He's always told me that if I ever needed references for anything to always put his name down first.
He was the best boss I've ever had
When I was hired in the role, I knew it would only be for a year. The role wasn't extended for logistical reasons, but I would've happily stayed longer.
I really believe that he crossed my path for a reason — I was able to learn about the entertainment industry in an empathetic environment that let me bring my whole self to work. A lot of people don't get that opportunity.
When I win my Emmy, Colman will be one of the people I thank.
If you work in Hollywood and would like to share your story, email Eboni Boykin-Patterson at eboykinpatterson@insider.com.