Leslie Odom Jr. Reveals Documentary About His ‘Hamilton’ Return & Talks Original Cast Reunions

EXCLUSIVE: The inimitable, original Leslie Odom Jr. could be found in London this summer for his West End debut, where he reprised the role of Aaron Burr in Hamilton at the Victoria Palace Theatre for nine weeks – and now we can reveal he’s making a documentary about his return to Broadway version. Odom Jr. is the only original cast member from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Pulitzer Prize-winning musical to perform on the UK side of the pond. Deadline was in the room where it happens on August 6, which was coincidentally the star’s birthday, as well as the 11th anniversary of Hamilton’s official opening on Broadway in 2015. I was sat two rows behind Scary Spice aka Mel B, who told me that she’s seen the show “loads of times,” and had a great time with her daughter that night. She wasn’t the only one. As soon as the Tony and Grammy Award-winner walked on stage to start off the show, the energy in the theater shifted. The applause barely stopped, and the crowd sang along to every word as well as danced in their seats throughout the entire two-and-a-half-hour show. “Normally, you’re opening a new show and you’re worried before the curtain goes up, said Odom Jr. about the West End audience. “But in this situation, the people are as excited as I am, if not more.” A few weeks later, after a matinee performance, the Oscar-nominee joined a Zoom call from the Victoria Palace stalls to chat about the West End experience, his willingness to be vulnerable to tap into Burr, a new “really beautiful” documentary about his return to Hamilton on Broadway, original cast reunions and more. “There was a little film crew that made a documentary about me going back into the show in New York, which will be out soon enough,” revealed Odom Jr. during our call. “I’m pretty proud of it and the way it’s coming together. Ten years is a special marker.” The film is set to be submitted to film festivals in the fall. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. DEADLINE: You’re now eight weeks into your nine-week run in the West End. How would you reflect on your experience? What were the highlights and the challenges? LESLIE ODOM JR: It was everything that I hoped it would be. These are hallowed spaces. They’re legendary houses, and to get to have nine weeks at the Victoria Palace was everything I dreamt it would be. I have loved every single moment. I couldn’t have asked for a better debut than Hamilton. Normally, you’re opening a new show and you’re worried before the curtain goes up. But in this situation, which is maybe once in a lifetime, the people are as excited as I am, if not more. So, it’s been wonderful. For challenging moments, I’ll say eight shows a week ain’t for punks. It is more than a notion. That is always challenging, and the West End was no different. I did get ill during one show and it made headlines, which I hated. I’ve never had that happen before. Other than that, I’ve been able to be here every show and that is always the greatest challenge. With this show in particular, it is a crazy equation. You get even more than you put into it. Somehow, at the end of every week, I am more filled up than when I started. I’m exhausted, but I’m also exhilarated. DEADLINE: I watched the show on your birthday a few weeks ago, and the reaction in the room was electrifying – especially when you walked in during “Wait for It,” and “Room Where It Happens.” After performing in hundreds of Hamilton shows, do you always know what to expect from the audience reactions, or do they sometimes surprise you? ODOM JR: Never. I try not to expect anything from an audience. My philosophy is that the collective is always correct. Whatever is in the room for them, however they respond, it is always right. I don’t blame them, I don’t judge them, that’s not my business. I asked them to be here. I said I was coming, and they showed up. That’s the contract. I show up, you show up, and whatever happens in the room is okay by me. They surprise me all the time with the things that they do and don’t respond to. They’ve taught me how to perform this material. They’ve taught me about love and acceptance. They’ve been a sort of guide as I have developed a deeper relationship and love for myself over the last 10 years. I’m so thankful to these audiences. DEADLINE: Speaking of the past 10 years and how things have evolved, I’m curious about how your approach to playing Burr has changed. I’ve watched the show on Disney+ many times, but I noticed that you’ve added some extra humor to the character in certain scenes during the live show. Did you consciously want to make those changes this time around, or did it come naturally? ODOM JR: It’s all coming up naturally. I am in a more joyful space in my life, and the show is worth celebrating. It started out with a very small group of us that loved this show before anybody had even heard it, and now it has rang out around the world. It connected with audiences, people young and old, the world over. That’s worth celebrating. It is so joyful. I don’t step on this stage most nights without thinking of the first time I stepped on a professional stage, which was with the Broadway company of Rent. I think of that kid and how proud he is of the life we’ve built, and that a way has been made for him to exist in the world just as he is. An audience has accepted him, lifts him up each night, and applauds some nights just because he came to work. He is so proud every single day, and so filled with gratitude. I’m in touch with him, so I can tell you. You feel the joy emanating off me because joy is the only thing that is left 10 years later. DEADLINE: Let’s talk a bit about the cultural impact of Hamilton. When it first debuted, Lin-Manuel Miranda described it as “The story of America then, told by America now.” But after all these years, it has surpassed that and has become even more significant globally. Why do you think it affects people so much? Especially the non-Americans? ODOM JR: There is a mystery to it that humbles me, and I think that it’s always meant to. If I came on here and told you exactly what it is about this show that has moved audiences in this way, then it’s something that can be replicated, once or twice a year. There would be more Hamiltons. There’s something miraculous about it. I don’t totally understand what people see when they watch us performing this work. Maybe they see something that makes them feel a little more alive. I’m kind of applying what meaningful theatrical experiences have done for me. They made me feel more alive. They made me feel more seen. They made me feel like I wanted to be a better version of myself. Maybe that’s what people are getting. DEADLINE: How do you make the so-called villain of Hamilton’s story become one of the most loved characters in theatre? ODOM JR: I don’t judge him for his humanity. It’s his ridiculousness, short-sightedness and willingness to be vulnerable. Lin wrote him that way – vulnerable. When I step on a stage, I start telling a story, right? There’s vulnerability in that. It’s counterintuitive. In life, sometimes vulnerability is the last thing we want to be because it’s scary. This is yet another thing that I’ll take with me from this experience. Because at the beginning, I too was worried that people would hate me. I was like, ‘My God, I’m gonna stand on stage with Lin-Manuel Miranda and people are gonna despise me, and that’s gonna be so hard to feel every night.’ But my willingness to be despised and to be true led to this warm embrace that I get now all over the world, not just in New York. It’s a profound lesson that I’ll be able to teach my kids. I can be more vulnerable and honest in my life. I will find people for whom that’s okay. You can find your room, the places in this world where people might just applaud for it. They might encourage that and love you exactly for who you are. DEADLINE: When you came back to this role after such a long time, were there any songs that required more preparation than others in rehearsals? Or any that threw you off a little bit? ODOM JR: Oh, for sure! I have a lot of those moments. (Laughs and hums the first beat of “Alexander Hamilton”). If I mistakenly go to a wrong rhythm or insert a wrong word; it’s a hard train to get back on once you’re off. It’s just the way Lin wrote it. That was difficult. Breath control and conditioning took a little while. Actually, there was a little film crew that made a documentary about me going back into the show in New York, which will be out soon enough. I’m pretty proud of it and the way it’s coming together. Ten years is a special marker. The director that made the film said something like, ‘We change far less in a year than we think, and in 10 years, we change more than we realize.’ DEADLINE: When is the film going to come out? ODOM JR: We’re submitting to festivals this fall. So, hopefully we’ll do the festival circuit, then somebody will be interested, and it’ll be on a streamer somewhere or in a movie theatre. It’s really beautiful. It’s a beautiful time, a beautiful season, and somebody sat outside of it and put a frame around it. There are moments that I’ll cherish from that film. Moments with me and my kids, and the new cast. They turned it into art. It was these beautiful moments in my life that they made into something more than that. DEADLINE: Does it have a name yet? ODOM JR: We’re going back and forth about names. It doesn’t have a name that we can all agree on yet. DEADLINE: You’ve come back to Hamilton twice in the past year, and Christopher Jackson is reprising his role as George Washington on Broadway soon. Have there been any discussions about bringing back the full original cast for a couple shows or a tour? ODOM JR: We have legitimate stars in our cast now. There’s Academy Award winners and nominees, so, I think that the scheduling would be too insane at this point. The best we can hope for are these little step-in moments, when people can clear their schedules to come in the show and revisit. I’ll certainly be going to see Chris and whoever else steps into the role. Maybe some people will go into different roles. I’ve always wanted to see [Anthony] Ramos as Hamilton. I think he would be insane. Wouldn’t he be great? DEADLINE: That would be a great casting, actually! You’re also going on tour in Europe for the first time, and working on a horror movie about Sammy Davis Jr. How are you managing your time with everything coming up? ODOM JR: We’re getting ready for the Christmas tour. We’ll start rehearsals for that in November. But before that, I’m going to come back and do some European dates. We’ve never done that before. It’s solely based off the strength of Hamilton and the response that these eight or nine weeks have had in Europe. It’s made it possible that when tickets went on sale in Paris, they were sold out in 10 minutes. I’ve never played Paris so, that is deeply meaningful. They added a second show here in London, in Paris and some other places. We want to build that relationship. We want to come back to Europe for Christmas. They have Christmas all over the world. This is just the beginning. It’s probably the last time I’m going to do Hamilton in London, but I hope it won’t be the last time that I come to London. We’ve got music, movies and lots of stuff. We want to continue to serve and tell great stories.