Leslie Odom Jr.

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.

In 2001, he appeared in the ensemble of the one-night Broadway concert version of Dreamgirls.

He earned a degree with honors at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and then moved to Los Angeles in the summer of 2003.

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 Rent.

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 2006 to 2007, he held a recurring role as Freddy on Big Day, appearing on nine episodes prior to its cancellation.

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.

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.

He also had a supporting role in the television film Poe in 2011.

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).

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 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit between 2013 and 2015.

Odom has released five albums: Leslie Odom Jr. (2014), Simply Christmas (2016), Mr. (2019), The Christmas Album (2020), and When a Crooner Dies (2023).

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.

He has made guest appearances on several shows including Gilmore Girls, Grey's Anatomy, Supernatural, and The Good Wife.

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 released his autobiography, Failing Up, in 2018.

Odom returned to Broadway in 2023, playing the title role in Purlie Victorious.

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.

For his role as singer Sam Cooke in One Night in Miami... (2020) he earned nominations for the Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor.

He was also nominated for the Oscar and Golden Globe for writing the film's original song "Speak Now".

Odom currently voices 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.