One Night In Miami marks Regina King’s directorial debut, and it is one for the history books. The film, which arrives January 15 on Amazon Prime Video, depicts a fictional gathering between some of America’s greatest black heroes in the 1960s – including Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali.
One of the less talked-out activists, though, was soul singer Sam Cooke. Leslie Odom Jr., who portrays him in the movie, spoke with Screen Rant about the impact Cooke had during his time and the intense scenes he shared with his costars.
You do such a remarkable job of playing Sam Cooke. Out of the bunch, he might be talked about the least in modern days, but his impact at the time was huge. Why do you think that his activism isn’t always at the forefront like Jim Brown or Muhammad Ali’s?
Leslie Odom, Jr.: Well, because Sam didn’t. Even in our film, it takes quite a bit of pressing from Malcolm before he lays out his accomplishments in that way. He was a singer first and foremost, that’s what he wanted to do. He wasn’t trying to be an activist. But if you pressed him, he did have a strong list of accomplishments. Namely being the owner of all his masters; he owned his own label. This predates Motown and what Barry Gordy did.
Sam was getting the gospel artists that he’d come up with – that’s the other thing. Of course, there were new singers that he’d find, but his bread and butter was going back to the people that he came up with. And he said, “We can put out some records. Let’s write some records, let’s get you some dough, let’s get you some bread.” He was like the Godfather, man. And to the black people that he came up with in the Southside of Chicago, he made a difference.
That scene where Sam and Malcolm X face off, you guys really got into it, and there was a lot of improv happening in that scene as well. Can you talk to me about working alongside this cast?
Leslie Odom, Jr.: I mean, Kingsley [Ben-Adir] was just so extraordinary. And as an actor, part of the performance is – yes, it’s your research and whatever little talent you can cobble together as you go. But that performance, when I when I see it, a great deal of the work is being done by Kemp [Power’s] script; his brilliant script. And then it is your scene partners. It was a sacred little circle that we created. It was holy ground in that in that room, and we told as much truth as we could.
Yes, we went at each other. It was tense and intense for a couple of weeks while we shot those scenes, but we knew it was worth it. We knew that it was a small sacrifice to make to honor the lives of these men.
