Watch the full Awardist Around the Table special above, and read on for excerpts of the fascinating conversation.
LESLIE ODOM JR. (SAM COOKE): I always stopped at the death.
Sam died [that] December.
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I never, ever wanted to deal with December because December was not present in February.
That is the great tragedy.
There’s so much that I want to accomplish.I never wanted that tragic coda to be present.
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KINGSLEY BEN-ADIR (MALCOLM X): I agree.
What made you choose those specific things?
BEN-ADIR: It’s all the vibe of the man.
There’s definitely a lightness and slenderness about him.
There’s a different pace with everything.
ELI GOREE (CASSIUS CLAY): I was really influenced by [Aldis'] physicality.
I even mentioned it to Regina.
ODOM: A key piece in my education was Sam at the Harlem Square in 1963.
GOREE: [My] second audition scene, I had to do it a couple of times.
The note I believe was about not trying to do anything in the scene.
Now, how do these words come out?
I remember it was difficult for me at the time.
I took the note, but not quite the way I wanted to.
You maybe saw that I had the potential to get there.
It was after George Floyd and all these things happened.
Everything I was saying in that now felt different.
I was able to say those words in that scene… because I was living it now.
HODGE: When coming to the film, I knew that [it] had potential for purpose.
Watching the film later, the conversations hit so much differently.
Having you, Regina, as our leader on this is the most appropriate way to go about it.
It’s not singularly just the Black men; we are led by a Black woman.
So for our sisters, this film is about y’all, too, an acknowledgment of y’all, too.
The strength that we exhibit on screen, part of that is the strength that we get from y’all.
One Night in Miami…hits select theaters Christmas Day, and launches Jan. 15 on Amazon Prime Video.
(you could also pick up the full set of six covershere.
