Summary

Columbus underwent intense training to manifest his action star destiny, landing a leading role in “Road House.”
Working with MMA fighter Conor McGregor on-screen was a respectful and fluid experience filled with love and synergy.
Despite controversy over its streaming release, Columbus believes “Road House” will be a global hit, paying homage to the original.

Watching a young actor rise to prominence can be a beautiful thing. From getting their start with bit parts here and there, to finally catching their big break, which leads to meatier roles. Dominique Columbus is one of those actors on the way up, and while audiences might not recognize the name, keen-eyed viewers will recognize his face from the Showtime original series, Ray Donovan, where he starred alongside Liev Schreiber from 2016-2017, and 2018’s City of Lies, where he shared the screen with Johnny Depp.

Next, Columbus appears in Doug Liman’s Road House, which reimagines Patrick Swayze’s 1989 classic for a new generation. It’s a role that he was preparing for long before he even knew he had it, but thanks to the power of manifestation, Columbus now finds himself in prime position to become a break-out star. MovieWeb caught up with Dominique to discuss how his part as Reef in the new film came to be and what it was like to stare down the fist of MMA fighter Conor McGregor.

Manifest Destiny

For Columbus, the role of Reef in Road House was something he was preparing for a year before he even auditioned for the part. While he’s always been a boxer, he’d turned his attention to becoming an action star in Hollywood, and decided to up his training in order to manifest his own destiny. As he put it, “It’s all about divine timing.”

“For me, it was very interesting. I think it’s all about divine timing. Synergize with manifestation. What I mean by that is this: a year before I had to audition for Road House, I had set it in my mind to focus on the lane of action. Growing up, out of all the sports I did, the sport that I excelled in the most was boxing. I love boxing. It’s just something that’s ingrained into my family. As the year went by, I had put a mission in my head. I said look, I need to gain 20 pounds of muscle. I want to prepare to set myself up to be a leading action man in this town, and I need to start putting on size and getting in shape for these types of roles.”

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His hard work paid off, and while he was training and gaining size, Dominique was presented with the opportunity to audition for Road House, a film that required a lot of physicality. He says that after he sent in his audition tape, he still continued his rigorous training schedule while waiting to hear from the casting director.

“As I started gaining size and gaining weight, I happened to get hit with this audition. I sent in a self-tape, and what was really cool is I didn’t really hear back from them for a little bit. Some time went by, about a month. At that time, I was just locked in, still just working out, just going hard. Once I found out that I had the opportunity to book it, I had another two and a half months to really get ready for this, and I just doubled down. I put on some extra size, some extra weight, and then just locked in and then got ready.”

Road House ‘Felt Like Summer Camp’

Columbus stars alongside Jake Gyllenhaal, Jessica Williams, Lukas Gage, and B.K. Cannon, who together comprise the employees of the Road House. As most people who have been at a job for any length of time know, co-workers become like family. It was that vibe that all of them brought to the set, making it feel like “summer camp” for Dominique.

“That was the best part about set. It just felt like summer camp. Me and the cast, I feel like we really clicked. The energy was so magnetic. It was just dope. I absolutely got a lot of love for a lot of cast members,” he tells us. “We actually developed some very, very strong relationships post-production, which has been the best part, because sometimes you do work and then you guys don’t talk anymore. We all still communicate and talk, check in on each other. It’s real love.”

While acting can sometimes be a cutthroat business, Dominique called his role in Road House a “blessing” thanks to the friendships he made along the way. He believes there’s no need for actors to hinder each other’s growth, but would rather see his peers elevate one another.

“It’s such a blessing, because not every production is like that. Being able to have that is a massive blessing, and it’s just cool because we’re all elevating each other. We all support each other, and that is what we want to continue to show in this business. There doesn’t have to be any animosity, just love. Let’s help each other out.”

On Going Toe-to-Toe with Conor McGregor

Prime Video

There are some people whose reputation precedes them, and MMA fighter Conor McGregor is one of those people. The 35-year-old makes his film debut in Road House, and while he has a history of being a rough and tough guy both in and out of the octagon, Columbus was able to tap into his boxing training when it came to sparring on-screen with McGregor. Contrary to what others might believe, Dominique described the energy with the notorious fighter in just one word: “love.”

“Conor was dope. The energy on set? Love. For me, it was so fluid when it came to the stunt work and choreography. It helps that we both had fight experience. Yes, Conor is on a much higher level than I am in terms of the fight game, but at the end of the day, the first half of my life was boxing. Everything that was surrounding my life and my family was boxing.”

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Despite the brawls that are seen in Road House, Dominique would go on to say that everything during filming was very respectful, even during the rehearsal stage. He called his opportunity to work with McGregor a “huge blessing,” adding, “There’s this synergy we understood. Even in rehearsal when we were throwing shots and practicing, everything was so on the money with timing. It was very respectful.” He continues, “Even when we had certain stunts, things where it was him having to kick my leg. It was like, ‘let’s make this dance happen, and let’s make this work.’ It was a pleasure.”

Should Road House Have Been a Theatrical Release?
While Road House might be embroiled in controversy, especially when it comes to its streaming release rather than a theatrical presentation, Columbus is looking past all that, and is excited for the world to see it. He believes it’s going to be a “global hit,” and that the movie does a good job paying homage to the original.

“At the end of the day, I’m just excited for the world to see it. It’s gonna be a global hit. There’s a lot of homage in the new version of
Road House
that I think people are really going to be happy about. It’s action packed. It’s just such a fun movie to watch. So for me, I’m just excited for the world to see it.”

Road House made its world premiere at South by Southwest on Mar. 8, 2024, and hits Prime Video on Mar. 21, 2024. Audiences can check out Dominique Columbus’s YouTube podcast, ‘Inspire to Inspire,’ where he sits down with other creative artists to talk about the process of art and life.