From Chloe Bailey to Billie Eilish to Paris Jackson to that one Rory Culkin cameo, Prime Video’s Swarm is full of recognizable faces that have us constantly clicking on the streamer’s X-Ray feature or wasting hours of our day on IMDb. After all, wanting to know if a familiar face on a TV show is indeed who we think it is is basically human nature. However, when it comes to Swarm, the person that leaves us wanting to scratch that obnoxious where-do-I-know-them-from itch the most is not a pop star making their acting debut nor a child from a star-studded family. Though Eilish and Culkin are immediately recognizable in their roles and pretty easy to place due to their overwhelming media presence or famous last name, Swarm’s own star, Dominique Fishback, isn’t as quickly identifiable. And, yet, all it takes is one look for anyone to realize that they have definitely seen her before. But where exactly?
Well, as it turns out, you might have seen her in quite a few different places. Between movies, music videos, and TV series, Fishback has been making a name for herself since the mid-2010s. As usual, she started small, in one-episode roles in shows like The Knick and The Americans. Fast-forward three or four years, and there she was in leading roles. Her first one was in the 2018 independent drama Night Comes On, directed by Jordana Spiro. In the film, Fishback plays Angel, an 18-year-old girl recently released from juvie looking to avenge her mother’s death. But though there is some chance that you might have seen this movie, it is somewhat unlikely that this is where you know Dominique Fishback from. Her claim to fame actually began one role later, in George Tillman Jr.’s The Hate U Give.
Dominique Fishback Starred Opposite Amandla Stenberg in ‘The Hate U Give’
Based on the YA novel of the same name by Angie Thomas, The Hate U Give stars Amandla Stenberg as a teenager that witnesses the murder of a friend by a police officer. Living in a predominantly Black neighborhood, but attending a predominantly white prep school, young Starr Carter feels trapped between two worlds and isn’t sure how to deal with Khalil’s (Algee Smith) death. Eventually, with the help of a civil rights lawyer, her family, and a handful of friends, she decides to testify on Khalil’s behalf and embrace activism against police violence.
Played by Fishback, Kenya is one of the people that helps Starr in her journey toward understanding what happened and where she stands. As Starr’s best friend, she sometimes resents her for acting as though she’s ashamed of her origins while hanging out with her schoolmates. Though Kenya isn’t Fishback’s biggest nor most memorable role, it sure is an important one. Kenya is an essential character in The Hate U Give for how much she keeps Starr grounded and connected to her reality. Furthermore, the role also helped Fishback gain recognition with a wider audience.
Between 2019 and 2022, Dominique Fishback Was at the Forefront of Numerous Projects
There’s also a chance that your first encounter with Fishback was during an episode of HBO’s The Deuce, in which she played fan-favorite character Donna Pickett. Starring James Franco and Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Deuce is a period drama about the porn scene of Manhattan during the 70s and 80s. Going by the name of Darlene, Pickett is a young sex worker that tries to make a life for herself in a hostile environment. Fishback was a series regular for the two first seasons of the show, which ran from 2017 to 2019.
In 2020, Fishback was one of the stars of Netflix’s Project Power, a poorly received sci-fi film about a teenage dealer, a police officer, and a soldier trying to stop the spread of a superpower-giving drug. In 2021, she was the lead of a Season 2 episode of Prime Video’s anthology series Modern Love, and, in 2022, she starred opposite Samuel L. Jackson in Apple TV+’s The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey. Based on the novel of the same name by Walter Mosley, the limited series tells the story of an elderly man with dementia that is briefly able to regain his memories. Fishback plays the role of the titular Ptolemy’s young caregiver, Robyn.
Dominique Fishback Was in Awards Conversations for Her Role in ‘Judas and the Black Messiah’
But even though all of these roles were definitely important for Fishback’s career, her actual moment in the spotlight came in 2021, when she played Fred Hampton’s (Daniel Kaluuya) partner, activist Deborah Johnson, in Shaka King’s Judas and the Black Messiah. From the trailer alone, it’s already pretty perceptible that Fishback is a powerhouse in the movie, delivering a potent and heartfelt performance. It’s a great fit for a movie with such a powerful story and an equally amazing cast.
It is no wonder, then, that there was some award buzz around Fishback at the time in which the film came out. Judas and the Black Messiah was nominated for six Oscars in 2021, including Best Picture, and took home two awards: Best Original Song and Best Actor in a Supporting Role, for Daniel Kaluuya. LaKeith Stanfield, who plays the titular Judas, Bill O’Neal, was also nominated in the same category. Sadly, unlike her fellow cast members, Fishback got no nods from the Academy. However, that doesn’t mean that the 2021 awards season was a total loss for her. Fishback was nominated for a BAFTA for her role in Judas and the Black Messiah, losing to Youn Yuh-jung in Minari. Additionally, she also won two awards from African-American associations, the Black Reel Awards and the African-American Film Critics Association Awards.
Still, Fishback’s performance as Deborah Johnson went largely unrecognized, which is a pity, to say the least. Here’s hoping that the same won’t happen to her work in Swarm. Playing Dre Greene, a pop star-obsessed young woman whose fannish ways turn dark after the suicide of her sister, is no easy task. And, yet, Dominique Fishback is capable of provoking fear and making us laugh, of evoking empathy and detachment – frequently, all at the same time. If there’s still fairness in the world, she’ll get at least one big-shot award for this role. And a lot more offers for even more amazing projects, of course.
Swarm is currently available to stream in its entirety on Prime Video.
