Leslie Lloyd Odom Jr. (; born August 6, 1981) is an American actor, singer and songwriter. He made his acting debut on Broadway in 1998 and first gained recognition for his portrayal of Aaron Burr in the musical Hamilton, which earned him a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical and a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album in the same year. His performance was captured in the Disney+ live stage recording of Hamilton which earned him a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor in a Leading Role in a Limited Series or Movie nomination.
Odom is also known for his roles in the television series Smash (2012–2013) and Person of Interest (2013–2014) as well as the films Red Tails (2012), Murder on the Orient Express (2017), Harriet (2019), The Many Saints of Newark (2021), Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022), and The Exorcist: Believer (2023). For his portrayal of singer Sam Cooke in the semi-historical drama One Night in Miami... (2020) he earned nominations for the Academy Award, Actor Award, BAFTA Award, Critics' Choice Movie Award, and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. He was also nominated for the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Original Song for writing the film's song "Speak Now".
Odom voiced the character of Owen Tillerman in the Apple TV+ animated musical-comedy series Central Park, for which he was nominated for an Primetime Emmy Award in 2020. Odom has released five albums: Leslie Odom Jr. (2014), Simply Christmas (2016), Mr. (2019), The Christmas Album (2020), and When a Crooner Dies (2023). He released his autobiography, Failing Up, in 2018. Odom returned to Broadway in 2023, playing the title role in Purlie Victorious for which he earned a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play nomination.
Early life and education
Odom was born in Queens, New York City. His father, Leslie Lloyd Odom, worked in sales. One of his maternal great-grandfathers was from South Africa, and a maternal great-great-grandfather was from Bridgetown, Barbados. Odom's family moved to the East Oak Lane section of Philadelphia, where he grew up. He attended Julia R. Masterman School for middle school and Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts for high school. Odom and his family attended Canaan Baptist Church in the Germantown section of Philadelphia, where he sang solos in the church choir.
He earned a degree with honors at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and then moved to Los Angeles in the summer of 2003.
Career
1998–2013: Broadway debut and early roles
Odom attended the New Freedom Theatre in Philadelphia, where he studied theater and performed in musicals. He then went on to study musical theater in college. At the age of 17, he made his Broadway debut as Paul in the 1998 musical Rent. In 2001, he appeared in the ensemble of the one-night Broadway concert version of Dreamgirls. He has made guest appearances on several shows, including Gilmore Girls, Grey's Anatomy, Supernatural, and The Good Wife. Odom had a recurring role on CSI: Miami, appearing as Joseph Kayle in nine episodes between 2003 and 2006. He followed with a recurring role on Vanished, appearing in 10 episodes as Maliko Christo. From November 2006 to January 2007, he held a recurring role as Freddy on Big Day, appearing on nine episodes prior to its cancellation. He also had a supporting role in the television film Poe in May 2011. In the musical television series Smash, Odom had a recurring role as Sam Strickland in 2012 and was promoted to a starring role for the show's final season in 2013.
He spent much of his time doing theater in Los Angeles, including in 2010 with Leap of Faith, which moved to Broadway in 2012, with him starring as Isaiah Sturdevant. When the show closed shortly afterward, he relocated to New York City, where he appeared in short films and had a supporting role as Walter Hall in the 2012 war film Red Tails. After starring Off-Broadway in Venice and in Witness Uganda (later retitled Invisible Thread) at A.R.T. and in workshops, Odom worked with Lin-Manuel Miranda in the Encores! Off-Center production of Tick, Tick... Boom!, playing Michael. Odom also played Nat King Cole in the 2015 one-night Actors Fund of America benefit concert of Bombshell. In late 2013, Odom was offered the leading role of Lucas Newsome on State of Affairs, which he accepted but ended up backing out to take the part of Aaron Burr in the workshops of the musical Hamilton. In 2013 and 2014, he had a recurring role on Person of Interest as Peter Collier, appearing in eight episodes. He also played Reverend Curtis Scott in seven episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit between 2013 and 2015.
2014–2019: Stardom with Hamilton
Odom reunited with Lin-Manuel Miranda portraying Aaron Burr in the workshop production of Hamilton at the 52nd Street Project in 2014. Odom returned to the role in the off-Broadway production at The Public Theater in 2015 and the Broadway production at the Richard Rodgers Theatre from 2015 to 2016.
Odom Jr. acted alongside Miranda, Phillipa Soo, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Daveed Diggs, Christopher Jackson, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Anthony Ramos, Ariana DeBose and Jonathan Groff. Ben Brantley of The New York Times labeled the play a "Critic's Pick", describing Odom Jr. as "suavely brooding" citing his performance of "The Room Where It Happens" as being a "full-fledged showstopper". Marilyn Stasio of Variety wrote that he is an "irresistibly charming villain" citing Odom as being "charismatic perfection". For his performance he was nominated for a 2015 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical and won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. Odom's final appearance in the role of Aaron Burr in Hamilton occurred on July 9, 2016, being replaced by Brandon Victor Dixon.
Beginning on May 19, 2016, Odom hosted the Broadway.com web series Aaron Burr, Sir: Backstage at Hamilton with Leslie Odom Jr., with a new episode being uploaded every Thursday for eight weeks. He played Dr. Arbuthnot in Kenneth Branagh's 2017 adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express (2017). He also starred as abolitionist William Still in the historical drama film Harriet (2019), about abolitionist Harriet Tubman portrayed by Cynthia Erivo. The film received respectable reviews with critics praising Erivo's lead performance. Odom Jr. was nominated for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture at the 51st NAACP Image Awards. In 2019, Odom starred Only, a post-apocalyptic romance alongside Freida Pinto. The film received negative reviews with critics citing its poor direction and writing while also praising the chemistry between the two leads. Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "It's not the fault of Odom and Pinto, who essentially carry the film with their intense performances".
2020–present: Career expansion
In 2020, Odom starred and executive produced the four-part television miniseries Love in the Time of Corona opposite his wife Nicolette Robinson. Love in the Time of Corona follows four interwoven stories about the hopeful search for love and connection during the quarantine as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Production began virtually on June 29, 2020, in Los Angeles using remote technologies. The limited series premiered on Freeform on August 22, 2020. Odom voiced the character of Owen Tillerman in the Apple TV+ animated musical-comedy series Central Park, for which he was nominated for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance at the 2020 Primetime Emmy Awards. He also guest starred on the Disney+ The Proud Family continuation The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder in its second season as Kwame.
In 2020, Odom was cast as soul singer Sam Cooke in the Regina King–directed film adaptation of One Night in Miami, which was released in theaters and Amazon Prime on January 15, 2021. Odom received rave reviews from critics…