♪ ♪ ♪ >> Stephen: HEY, EVERYBODY,
WELCOME BACK TO THE SHOW.
MY FIRST GUEST TONIGHT IS A GRAMMY AND TONY
AWARD-WINNING ACTOR.
HE RECENTLY RECEIVED TWO OSCAR NOMINATIONS FOR HIS WORK IN THE
FILM "ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI."
♪ I WAS BORN BY THE RIVER IN A LITTLE TENT
♪ OR OH, AND JUST LIKE A RIVER, I'VE BEEN RUNNING EVER SINCE
♪ IT'S BEEN A LONG, A LONG TIME COMING
♪ BUT I KNOW CHANGE GOING TO COME ♪
>> Stephen: PLEASE WELCOME BACK TO "A LATE SHOW," LESLIE
ODOM JR.!
LESLIE, THANKS FOR BEING HERE.
>> MY PLEASURE, STEPHEN.
THANKS FOR HAVING ME.
>> Stephen: I WANT TO GET TO TAT INCREDIBLE PERFORMANCE IN
JUST A MOMENT FOR THE NEW FILM "ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI."
BUT, FIRST, CONGRATULATIONS ON THE NEW BABY BOY.
ABEL FINNUOUS.
THAT IS-- THAT IS BIG NEWS.
AND A SECOND CHILD, RIGHT?
THIS IS YOUR SECOND.
>> THAT'S OUR SECOND.
HOW DO MY BAGS LOOK ON LATE NIGHT, ON ZOOM?
>> Stephen: YOU LOOK-- WE HAVE-- WE HAVE DIGITALLY REMOVED
THIM THEM.
NOBODY AT HOME WILL KNOW HOW RAGGED YOU LOOK TO ME.
>> THANK YOU.
>> Stephen: NOW, THIS IS YOUR SECOND CHILD.
HOW IS-- I THINK WE HAVE HERE-- YES.
OKAY, THIS IS LUCILLE HOLDING HER LITTLE BROTHER.
THAT'S A BEAUTIFUL SHOT.
HOW IS SHE ADJUSTING?
BECAUSE SOME OLDER SIBLINGS SAY, "OKAY, TAKE HIM BACK NOW."
HOW IS SHE HANDLING IT?
>> AS YOU CAN SEE WITH THE CROWN ON AND EVERYTHING, SHE'S TAKEN
TO IT VERY, VERY WELL.
SHE KNOWS HER POSITION IN THE HOUSE AND HIS POSITION.
YOU KNOW, SHE'S LETTING HIM KNOW EARLY WHO THE PRINCESS IS.
SHE'S DOING VERY WELL.
>> Stephen: WHAT ABOUT YOUR ADJUSTMENT AS A PARENT?
BECAUSE NOW A-- YOU AND YOUR WIFE ARE ON MAN-TO-MAN DEFENSE
HERE.
ONE MORE AND YOU HAVE TO GO TO ZONE.
>> YEAH.
>> Stephen: BUT ARE YOU-- DO YOU HAVE THINGS THAT YOU'VE
LEARNED FROM BEING A PARENT OF ONE THAT YOU'VE GOT ALL THIS
WISDOM THAT YOU CAN NOW USE TO RAISE YOUR SECOND CHILD, TO ADD
ANOTHER CHILD TO THE MIX HERE?
DO YOU HAVE PEARLS OF WISDOM THAT YOU'VE LEARNED FROM YOUR
FIRST PARENTING EXPERIENCES?
>> YOU KNOW, SPEAKING OF PEARLS OF WISDOM, I REALLY THOUGHT THAT
THAT'S WHAT FATHERHOOD WAS ABOUT.
I THOUGHT THAT'S WHAT IT ENTODAY.
I WAS GOING TO OPEN UP MY BOORK MY LITERAL-- AND I WAS JUST
GOING TO READ TO MY CHILDREN.
A COUPLE OF TIMES A DAY I WOULD SAY, "GATHER AROUND, "AND IMPART
WISDOM TO THEM, AND SAY, "THAT'S THE LESSON FOR TODAY."
BUT MY DAUGHTER HAS TAUGHT ME THAT IT'S JUST REALLY SO MUCH
MORE-- SHE TELLS ME WHAT SHE NEED EVENTUALLY.
YOU KNOW, YOU'RE PARENTING THE KID THAT YOU HAVE, SO THE
FIRST-- I FEEL LIKE THE FIRST PART OF THIS IS REALLY JUST
GETTING TO KNOW ABEL, AND HE'LL TELL ME WHAT HE NEED TO LEARN.
>> Stephen: NOW ANOTHER CONGRATULATIONS IN ORDER.
AS I SAID BEFORE, IN THE INTRO, TWO OSCAR NOMINATIONS FOR YOUR
PERFORMANCE AS THE GREAT SAM COOKE IN "ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI."
I LWAYS LIKE TO ASK WHERE PEOPLE WERE WHEN THEY FOUND OUT
ABOUT THE NOMINATION.
DID IT CATCH YOU BY SURPRISE?
WERE YOU HANGING OUT WAITING FOR IT?
WHAT WAS THE MOMENT LIKE?
>> I WAS ASLEEP.
VERY EXCITING STORY TO TELL YOU.
I WAS DEEP INTO R.E.M. SLEEP.
IT HAPPENS VERY EARLY IN LOS ANGELES.
>> Stephen: OF COURSE.
>> AND, YEAH, I GOT ONE OF THOSE PHONE CALLS.
MY TEAM DID LET ME KNOW.
THEY SAID, "WE KNOW WE KNOW YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHAT TOMORROW
IS.
WE KNOW YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GET UP AND WATCH BUT LEAVE YOUR
PHONE ON.
BE A GROWN-UP AND LEAVE YOUR PHONE UP IN CASE WE NEED TO
REACH YOU IN THE MORNING."
SO I DID THAT, AT THE VERY LEAST.
>> Stephen: DID YOU CELEBRATE?
>> I DID.
NICOLET WAS STILL-- SHE WAS ABOUT TO POP, SO I HAD SOME
CHAMPAGNE ALL BY MYSELF.
IT'S BEEN A CELEBRATION EVER SINCE, THOUGH.
YU KNOW, IT'S SUCH A-- YOU KNOW, THE OSHAR NOMINATION IS
JUST SUCH A MOMENT, YOU KNOW.
SO IT'S-- IT'S BEEN A CELEBRATION IN THE WEEKS THAT
HAVE FOLLOWED, REALLY.
>> Stephen: YOU'VE GOT THE GRAMMY AND THE TONY AND NOW THE
OSCAR NOMINATION.
LET'S SEE IF WE CAN GET YOU AN EMMY FOR TONIGHT'S INTERVIEW.
WE'RE GOING TO EGOT IT UP IN ONE FELL SWOOP.
I WANT TO TALK TO YOU AND I ALSO WANT TO TALK TO THE AUDIENCE
ABOUT THIS PERFORMANCE AS SAM COOKE.
FIRST TALK ABOUT THE IDEA OF THE MOVIE ITSELF.
WE HAD REGINA KING ON HERE TO TALK ABOUT IT.
AND IT'S THIS EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF FOUR GREAT BLACK
AMERICANS MEETING-- BASED ON A TRUE STORY.
TELL THE PEOPLE WHAT HAPPENED.
THE TRUE STORY IT'S BASED ON AND WHAT THE STORY THE MOVIE TELLS.
>> YES, TRUE STORY.
YOUNG CASSIUS CLAY, FEBRUARY 1964, IS GOING TO GO DOWN TO
MIAMI AND FIGHT HIS FIRST HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP BOUT
AGAINST SONNY LIFTEN.
NOBODY EXPECTS CASSIUS TO WIN THIS FIGHT, OF COURSE, EXCEPT
FOR CASSIUS.
BUT HIS THREE CLOSEST FRIENDS SHOW UP IN MIAMI TO HELP HIM
CELEBRATE THE NIGHT.
AND THEY HAPPENED-- THEY JUST HAPPENED TO BE MALCOLM X, JIM
BROWN AND SAM COOKE.
THAT'S THE STREW STORY.
THEY SPENT THE ENTIRE EVENING AFTER CASSIUS WON.
THERE'S NO VICTORY PARTY PLANNED FOR YOUNG-- FOR YOUNG MUHAMMED.
SO THEY SPEND THE EVENING PALLING AROUND IN MALCOLM'S
HOTEL ROOM, ONE OF THE ALL-BLACK MOTELS DOWN IN MIAMI.
AND THIS MOVIE-- NOBODY KNOWS WHAT THE GENTLEMEN TALKED ABOUT
IN THE HOTEL ROOM WHERE IT HAPPENED AS IT WERE.
BUT KEMP POWERS, OSCAR-NOMINATED KEMP POWERS, RECEIVED A
NOMINATION FOR THIS BEAUTIFUL SCRIPT.
HE SUPPOSES WHAT THESE MEN MIGHT HAVE TALKED ABOUT ALL NIGHT
LONG.
>> Stephen: IT-- THE-- YOUR PERFORMANCE, EVERYONE'S
PERFORMANCE IS INCREDIBLE ON THIS.
BUT, ALSO, POWERS' WRITING IS AMAZING, THE SORT OF WRITING I
ASSOCIATE WITH PATTY CHAIFSKY.
EVERY CHARACTER SAYING WHAT THAT MOMENT IS ABOUT.
AND WHEN THEY DO, YOU THINK I AGREE WITH THEM.
IT'S VERY BALANCED.
AND THERE'S A GREAT TENSION BETWEEN THE CHARACTER OF SAM
COOKE AND THE CHARACTER OF MALCOLM X ABOUT WHAT THE
POSITION IS.
WHAT A BLACK MAN OF NOTORIETY IN THE 1960s SHOULD DO TO BETTER
HIS OWN PEOPLE.
AND, TRAGICALLY, BOTH OF THOSE MEN-- I DON'T BELIEVE-- SURVIVE
ANOTHER YEAR, OR MAYBE BARELY MORE THAN A YEAR FOR ONE OF
THEM.
I KNOW SAM COOKE DIES WITHIN THE YEAR OR JUST SHORTLY AFTER,
CORRECT?
>> SAM DIES IN DECEMBER, AND MALCOLM DIES, I BELIEVE, IN--
MALCOLM WAS ASSASSINATED IN FEBRUARY.
>> Stephen: BESIDES THE HUMAN TRAGEDY OF ANYONE'S DEATH, SAM
COOKE HAS BEEN ONE OF-- THE GREAT LOST VOICE, IN MY OPINION,
OF THE 20th CENTURY.
AND I NEVER THOUGHT I'D HEAR ANYTHING LIKE THAT AGAIN.
AND WHILE YOU STILL SOUND LIKE LESLIE ODOM, YOU HAVE CAPTURED
THIS EXTRAORDINARY TONE AND STYLE AND SOUL OF SAM COOKE.
WHAT WAS THAT PROCESS LIKE TO BECOME-- TO EMBODY THAT VOICE?
BECAUSE I NEVER THOUGHT I'D HEAR IT AGAIN.
AND I GOT CHILLS EVERY TIME YOU WOULD START SINGING IN THAT
MOVIE.
WHAT WAS THE PROCESS?
DID YOU GO ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE SOULSTERS?
WHAT DID YOU DO TO GET ACCUSTOMED TO HIM?
>> YES, I WENT IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER.
I'M A FAN, TOO.
AND IN MANY WAYS, SAM IS ONE OF MY TEACHERS.
SINGING IS AN ORAL TRADITION.
IT'S PASSED DOWN FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION.
WE LEARN THE WAY WE'RE SUPPOSED TO APPROACH A SONG AND WHAT IS
REQUIRED OF US AS STORYTELLERS.
SO-- BUT I WENT BACK TO THE BEGINNING, AND I REALLY KIND OF
TRIED TO UNDERSTAND THE EVOLUTION OF HIS SOUND, AND TRY
TO UNDERSTAND-- YOU KNOW, KIND OF LIKE THE PSYCHOLOGY OF IT,
YOU KNOW, FOR MAYBE WHY HE WAS MAKING THE CHOICES THAT HE WAS
MAKING.
I HAVE TO TELL YOU, I DID NOT-- FOR REAL, TRUE STORY-- I DID NOT
THINK THAT THE PERSON THAT THEY HIRED TO PLAY SAM COOKE WAS
GOING TO SING THE SAM COOKE SONGS.
WE'VE SEEN-- WE'VE SEEN LOTS OF ACTORS, YOU KNOW, RAMI MALIK,
BEAUTIFULLY, HE PLAYS FREDDIE MERCURY, AND NOBODY ASKS HIM TO
SING THE FREDDIE MERCURY SONG.
SO I DID NOT THINK THAT WAS GOING TO BE A PART OF MY JOB.
>> Stephen: LISTEN, BUT THEN AGAIN, NOT EVERY PERSON YOU ASK
TO PLAY A PART IS LESLIE ODOM JR.
I HAVE SEEN YOU SING IN PERSON BEFORE.
I WAS THERE EARLY ON IN "HAMILTON."
I WAS IN THE THIRD ROW IN THE CENTER, AND WHEN YOU CAME OUT TO
DO "RUMOR IT HAPPENS" I TURNED TO OUR MUTUAL FRIEND CAREY AND
SAID, "WHO THE ( BLEEP ) IS THAT?"
REGINA KING WAS ON, AS I SAID BEFORE, TALKING ABOUT THIS FILM
A LITTLE OVER A MONTH AGO, AND I WAS ASKING-- I WAS TALKING ABOUT
YOU AND YOUR PERFORMANCE.
AND SHE SAID, YOU KNOW, I WASN'T REALLY THAT FAMILIAR WITH
"HAMILTON."
AND SHE GOES, "REALLY IT WAS THAT NATIONWIDE COMMERCIAL THAT
SOLD ME."
ADMITTEDLY, THOSE ARE FINE COMMERCIALS AND YOU DO A FINE
JOB IN IT.
DOES IT SURPRISE YOU AT ALL THAT THAT'S WHAT PUSHED YOU OVER THE
TOP FOR HER?
>> CAN I TELL YOU, NOT AT ALL.
BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A GOOD PARTNERSHIP.
THAT'S A GOOD BRAND PARTNERSHIP, WHEN A COMMERCIAL-- WHEN AN
INSURANCE COMMERCIAL IS GETTING YOU ROLES OF A LIFETIME AS SAM
COOKE, THAT'S A GOOD BRAND PARTNERSHIP.
BUT AT MY CONCERTS, I WOULD SOMETIMES DO A POLL OF THE
AUDIENCE AT THE END, YOU KNOW, AND I'D SAY, "WHO IS HERE FOR
'HAMILTON'" AND OF COURSE 85%, 90% OF THE PEOPLE ARE CLAPPING.
5% OF THE PEOPLE ARE THERE BECAUSE OF SOME OTHER TV SHOW
THEY SAW ME ON IN THE EARLY 2000s-- "GREY'S ANATOMY" OR
"GILMORE GIRLS--" AND 5% OF THE PEOPLE WERE THERE BECAUSE OF THE
NATIONWIDE COMMERCIAL.
ALL THESE YEARS LATER AND...
♪ NATIONWIDE IS STILL ON MY SIDE YOU KNOW.
>> Stephen: CUT HIM A CHECK, NATIONWIDE!
THAT'S INCLUSIVE SPONSORSHIP.
LESLIE, GREAT TO SEE YOU AGAIN.
THANKS SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
>> THANKS FOR HAVING ME.
>> Stephen: "ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI" IS AVAILABLE NOW ON AMAZON
PRIME.
LESLIE ODOM JR., EVERYBODY!
WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK WITH PHYSICIST MICHIO KAKU.
♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪