It’s still a political statement to stand on stage as a person of color and be excellent. We still need those images to combat the narrative we’re often fed – as someone innately inferior or inexorably linked with lack. – Leslie Odom, Jr.
You must be an artist and a citizen of the world. You must speak to this stuff that’s happening. You must do what you can to shine a light on it, help people through it. – Leslie Odom, Jr.
There’s this Frank Wildhorn tune ‘Sarah’ – it’s not a widely known tune, but it’s my favorite song to sing. – Leslie Odom, Jr.
You go see a great production of ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ where those kids are full of life and love, you hope and forget. – Leslie Odom, Jr.
I got my Equity Card with my Broadway debut when I did ‘Rent.’ I was in high school, and I came to New York to do that show. – Leslie Odom, Jr.
I started out with this ‘La Boheme’ fantasy, but as you get older, the ‘La Boheme’ fantasy becomes less sexy, believe me. – Leslie Odom, Jr.
I wanted to make an album that was hopeful and encouraging and inspiring. That was the goal. – Leslie Odom, Jr.
That was the bat signal for me – ‘Rent’ changed my life. It took me years before I got beyond that show. – Leslie Odom, Jr.
For most of your career, what you’re trying to do is to step into other people’s shoes. – Leslie Odom, Jr.
I’ve realized along the way that a lot of things that I do as a performer are about waiting for somebody to write something for me or develop something for me, but music, music was the thing that I don’t have to wait for anybody’s permission to do. – Leslie Odom, Jr.
When I see the black experience – there’s not one, but it is specific, and you can’t ignore it. – Leslie Odom, Jr.
I remember Ella Fitzgerald sort of coming into my life like a bolt of lightning – like, what is that? It was one of the purest examples of God in art that I’d ever seen. – Leslie Odom, Jr.
I’ve been involved with ‘Hamilton’ for about two and a half years. I’ve learned so much. I came into it a young man. Now I’ve dropped the ‘young.’ – Leslie Odom, Jr.
I feel like every night, when you see a really good production of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ or something, you should hope that it ends differently. That’s why we watch our favorite movies again and again. – Leslie Odom, Jr.
I know what not being able to pay your bills feels like real well… I know that way better than a room full of beautiful people and Tony awards and Grammy awards. – Leslie Odom, Jr.
It’s not about doing something that’s as big as ‘Hamilton.’ That may never happen again, and that’s okay. – Leslie Odom, Jr.
As an artist, I’m very used to waking up and sort of not knowing what my day’s going to be and not knowing where my next paycheck is going to come from. – Leslie Odom, Jr.
I’ve done a lot of translation in TV, and I can do it. I’m trained to do it. I know how to inject a certain amount of my naturalness into that and where I come from into those things, but it helps if somebody’s writing with my experience in mind. – Leslie Odom, Jr.
None of us wants to be judged by our worst act on our worst day, and we consistently judge Burr for that. He was not a perfect man, but he’s not a villain. He’s a dude, just a guy. – Leslie Odom, Jr.
The record company felt wisely that we should get something out before I left ‘Hamilton’ or around awards time, and that deadline was not easy. – Leslie Odom, Jr.
My dad was always in sales. My mom had a heart for the ages. Worked in recreation, doing rehabilitation in nursing homes. Very nice, practical folks who were very proud of me but had no inclination toward the stage in any way. – Leslie Odom, Jr.
At 14, 15 years old, I started reading ‘Backstage’ regularly. Eventually, I got enough courage to look at the auditions section. – Leslie Odom, Jr.
I’ve been fortunate in my life. It hasn’t been easy, but there has been a focus on the positive, and it has reverberated. Eventually, the outlook mirrors itself back to you in the friends you have, in the partner that you choose. – Leslie Odom, Jr.
You gotta love this thing. Whatever you choose to pursue – medicine, law, writing, you have to love it. You study it, you eat it, you drink it, you try it, you do it, you love it in every way. – Leslie Odom, Jr.
I’ve been in a long-term relationship, and I’ll tell you, it’s never boring! People trying to merge their lives together always run into challenges. – Leslie Odom, Jr.
If I’m allowed it, I’m really looking forward to a little time on the couch and a little time on a beach in Brazil. – Leslie Odom, Jr.
It is said an artist spends their whole life trying to get to the place where their heart was first opened up. ‘Rent’ was that place for me. – Leslie Odom, Jr.
