Leslie Odom Jr.


Leslie Odom Jr. is an American actor and singer. He has performed on Broadway and in television and film, and has released three solo jazz albums. He is known for originating the role of Aaron Burr in the Broadway musical Hamilton, a performance for which he won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album as a principal vocalist. His television roles included Sam Strickland in the musical series Smash. He is also the author of the 2018 book Failing Up.

Early life

Odom was born in Queens, New York. His family later 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. He 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

Acting career

Theatre

Odom attended Freedom Theatre in Philadelphia, PA where he studied theater and performed in musicals. He then went on to study musical theatre in college. At the age of 17 he made his Broadway debut as Paul in Rent. In 2000, he appeared in the ensemble of the one-night Broadway concert version of Dreamgirls.
He spent much of his time doing theatre in LA, 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.
After starring Off-Broadway in Venice, and in Witness Uganda 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.
Odom was nominated for a 2015 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical for the role of Aaron Burr in the off-Broadway production of Hamilton at The Public Theater. He continued in the same role at the Richard Rodgers Theatre after the show transferred to Broadway later that year. He also won a 2016 Grammy Award for the cast album, and won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical.
Odom's final appearance in the role of Aaron Burr in Hamilton occurred on July 9, 2016.

Television

Odom had a recurring role on ' which began in 2003. He appeared as Joseph Kayle in nine episodes before leaving in 2006.
He followed with a recurring role on Vanished, appearing in 10 episodes as Maliko Christo. From 2006 to 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 TV movie Poe in 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.
In late 2013, Odom was offered the leading role of Lucas Newsome on State of Affairs. He accepted the role, 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 ' between 2013 and 2015.
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. Odom was also set to play Jimmy Jam in a 2017 miniseries about New Edition, but ended up leaving the project.
He has made guest appearances on several shows including Gilmore Girls, Grey's Anatomy, Supernatural, and The Good Wife. In 2016, Odom was also featured in a commercial for Nationwide Insurance.
On February 4, 2018, Odom sang "America the Beautiful" during the NBC broadcast of Super Bowl LII.

Film

Odom has appeared in short films, and had a supporting role as Declan Hall in the 2012 war film Red Tails.
He played Dr. Arbuthnot in Kenneth Branagh's 2017 adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express. He also starred as abolitionist William Still in the 2019 film Harriet, about abolitionist Harriet Tubman. In 2019, Odom starred in Only, a post-apocalyptic romance.

Recording career

In 2014, Odom self-released his debut album as a jazz singer, Leslie Odom Jr. on CD and SoundCloud, and promoted the album with several concerts at The Public Theater. In February 2016, he released a version of Selena Gomez's "Good For You" featuring his Hamilton castmate Daveed Diggs.
Odom was signed to a four-album deal with S-Curve Records in 2016. He and producer Steve Greenberg narrowed down 200 potential tunes to ten tracks, and Odom recorded an updated and improved version of Leslie Odom Jr. during days off and afternoons before Broadway performances, in order to release the album before Odom left Hamilton. Released in June 2016, the album charted at No. 1 on Billboard Jazz and No. 147 on Billboard 200.
On November 11, 2016, Odom released his second album, Simply Christmas, which featured jazz interpretations of Christmas standards. A deluxe edition of the album was released in October 2017, with four additional songs.
Odom tours to promote his albums, performing concerts backed by a jazz quintet that includes a drummer, percussionist, bassist, guitarist, and a pianist who is also Odom's musical director.
In September 2019, Odom released the song "Under Pressure" from his upcoming album Mr.

Writing

In June 2017, it was announced that Odom had a book deal for Failing Up: How to Take Risks, Aim Higher, and Never Stop Learning, which he was writing with the intention to inspire younger readers. The book, by an imprint of Macmillan in March 2018, "outlines the setbacks and rejections that preceded his success." Odom modeled his writing on the style of a commencement speech, exploring what he had learned throughout his life and the importance of pursuing passions.

Personal life

Odom has been married to actress Nicolette Kloe Robinson, since December 1, 2012. Their daughter, Lucille Ruby, was born on April 23, 2017.
The couple met in 2008 while Robinson was a student at UCLA and auditioned for Once on This Island in Los Angeles. When she replaced a cast member who left unexpectedly, assistant director Odom became responsible for bringing her quickly up to speed, and a romantic relationship ensued. Robinson has since appeared in the off-Broadway musical Invisible Thread and the television series The Affair, and played the lead role in the Broadway musical Waitress from September 4 through December 9, 2018.

Theatre credits

;Workshops

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
2007Scarecrow JoeJoeShort
2012Red TailsDeclan 'Winky' Hall
2015Luna Goes CruisingOscarShort
2017Murder on the Orient ExpressDr. Arbuthnot
2019OnlyWill
2019HarrietWilliam Still
2020HamiltonAaron Burr
2020One Night in MiamiSam CookePost-production
2020MusicCompleted
2021The Many Saints of NewarkPost-production
TBANeedle in a TimestackPost-production

Television

Discography

Studio albums

Soundtrack albums

Other appearances

Awards and nominations

In 2019, Odom was conferred an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts by his alma mater, Carnegie Mellon University, at its 122nd Commencement where Odom was also the keynote speaker.