What is the path to starring in an Academy Award-winning motion picture? Perhaps Dominique Thorne can answer. A Brooklyn, New York native, Thorne attended the Professional Performing Arts High School in Manhattan (PPAS), where she received very formal training in dramatic theater. When the time came to apply to colleges, however, she divided her applications into two categories: schools for acting and schools for academics. Having been accepted into her top choices for acting school and her top choice for an academic education, Dominique decided to go for the formal college education.
Thorne’s plans took an unexpected turn after she landed a role in Barry Jenkins’ film If Beale Street Could Talk (2018). The film won Best Supporting Actress at the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes. It was nominated for Best Motion Picture, Drama and Best Screenplay at the Golden Globes and was also nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Score. Thorne played the role of Sheila Hunt, the petulant younger sister of main character Fonny Hunt.
Thorne says, “You owe it to yourself to explore your full range of options.”
Preparing to Act
As a student attending a small Greek Orthodox middle school, Thorne had been minimally involved in performance—a few plays about Greek history. When it became time to look at high schools, Thorne made the decision to apply solely to New York City public high schools that specialized in the performing arts.
Thereafter, she became immersed in her high school’s drama program, partnering with the famed Waterwell theater company. Receiving formal training from the Waterwell and PPAS staff, Thorne acted in multiple off-Broadway productions. When she was a high school senior, Thorne won the 2015 Young Arts Award in Spoken Theater. She then won the 2015 U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts, a prestigious award appointed by White House Commission that selects one young man and one young woman from each state who demonstrate community service, artistic excellence, and leadership, among others.
“I work hard to achieve the results I want,” says Thorne.
The Academics, Not Left Behind
A first-generation college student, education has always been a priority for Thorne. Part of her decision to attend Cornell University was that she felt she owed it to the legacy of grit and determination—established by her parents, immigrants from Trinidad—to invest four years in a university education.
“While theater and acting have been a huge part of my life, I wanted to see what I was capable of academically.”
With an interest in studying immigration legislation, Thorne was a Policy Analysis and Management (PAM) major, College of Human Ecology for the first two years at Cornell. In her junior year, she switched to a Human Development major with a minor in Inequality Studies.
“While theater and acting have been a huge part of my life, I wanted to see what I was capable of academically.”
Despite her academic pathways—not majoring or minoring in Performing & Media Arts (PMA)—Thorne knew that acting would always have a place in her life. In fall of 2018, she starred in her third Cornell production, “The Awakening of Spring” at the Schwartz Performing Arts Center.
If Beale Street Could Talk
The film If Beale Street Could Talk is based on James Baldwin’s novel with the same name. Before auditioning, Dominique read the novel for the story and craft, which centers around a relationship between Tish Rivers and Fonny Hunt and the hardships they face when Hunt is falsely incarcerated.
“Baldwin puts words on paper that I feel are impossible to articulate. I tried to respect that in my acting.”
According to Thorne, the novel flows like a play, as do many of Baldwin’s works, making it easy for her to place herself in the story. Also, the story follows a young black couple who experience love for the first time, to which Thorne could easily relate.
Thorne says that her first feature film, If Beale Street Could Talk, was an exceptional learning experience. She compares the experience of working on the film to the equivalent of a first internship, given that this was her first time putting her acting skills to use on the big screen.
While the acting experience she gained on set was very important, she says working on the film also taught her how to handle herself in the film industry. She recalls an influential conversation with fellow actor Coleman Domingo in which he tells her that despite playing beautiful characters, the actor must take control of their career by advocating for the work that they want to do.
“This film taught me that I deserve to be here as much as anybody else. I have a right to do this.”
Having a role in If Beale Street Could Talk has pushed Thorne to be more intentional about auditioning and her future in acting. After graduating with her class in May 2019, she will follow a career path in theater and film acting.