Leslie Odom Jr
Leslie Odom Jr
as James

Actor Biography

Leslie Odom Jr. stars as James on Freeform's highly anticipated limited series "Love in the Time of Corona." James is married to Sade. The couple, who have been living somewhat separate lives, are forced back under the same roof after the pandemic puts James' work travel to a halt. With headlines mounting, they begin to reevaluate their family's priorities.

Odom Jr. is a multifaceted Tony® and GRAMMY® award-winning performer, spanning Broadway, television, film and music. He has released his third full-length album and first of original material, entitled "Mr," and starred alongside Cynthia Erivo in the Academy Award®-winning Harriet Tubman biopic, "Harriet."

Currently, Odom Jr. voices the character of Owen Tillerman in Josh Gad's new animated musical-comedy series "Central Park" on Apple TV+, for which he received an Emmy® nomination. He also stars in the newly released filmed performance of the original Broadway production of "Hamilton" on Disney+. Other upcoming projects include the film adaptation of the Olivier Award-nominated play "One Night in Miami," directed by Regina King, as the legendary singer Sam Cooke; the feature film "Music," written and directed by singer-songwriter Sia; and "Needle in A Timestack," written and directed by John Ridley. He will also star in "The Many Saints of Newark," a prequel to David Chase's award-winning HBO series "The Sopranos." Additional film and television credits include "Murder on the Orient Express," "Only," "Red Tails" and "Smash."

Best known for his breakout role as Aaron Burr in the smash-hit Broadway musical "Hamilton," Odom Jr. won the Tony for Best Actor in a Musical and a GRAMMY as a principal soloist on the original cast recording. He made his Broadway debut in "RENT" at the age of 17. He also starred opposite Lin-Manuel Miranda and Karen Olivo in a 2014 City Center Encores! revival of Jonathan Larson's "Tick, Tick…Boom!"

In December 2017, Odom Jr. returned to the New York City stage in a solo concert at Jazz at Lincoln Center. The cabaret-style performance was crafted around signature songs and music that shaped this artist's journey, all performed with a world-class band in front of a live audience. The show was filmed for broadcast as an hour-long PBS special as part of the Emmy Award-winning series "Live from Lincoln Center" and premiered in April 2018.

A GRAMMY award-winning recording artist, Odom Jr.'s self-titled debut album was part-funded by a successful Kickstarter campaign and released in 2014 by Borderlight Entertainment, Inc. In June 2016, the album was re-released with additional material and charted at No. 1 on the Billboard Jazz chart and No. 147 on the Billboard 200. In winter 2017, he re-released "Simply Christmas" as a deluxe edition with new arrangements and new songs. The holiday album hit No. 1 on iTunes and Billboard Jazz Charts.

In March 2018, Odom Jr. added the title of author to his resume with the release of his book, "Failing Up: How to Take Risks, Aim Higher and Never Stop Learning." Written in the style of a commencement speech, the book brings together what Odom Jr. has learned in life so far, tapping into universal themes of starting something new, following your passions, discovering your potential, and surrounding yourself with the right people. The book was published by Feiwel & Friends, an imprint of Macmillan Publishers.