Leslie Odom Jr. to Play Singer Sam Cooke in Film One Night in Miami Based on Stage Play

Leslie Odom Jr. is headed back to the big screen. The Tony-winning original star of Hamilton most recently seen on-screen in Harriet will portray the late legendary singer Sam Cooke in the upcoming film One Night In Miami, according to Deadline. Regina King will direct the motion picture based on the Olivier-nominated play by Kemp Powers, who wrote the screenplay.

One Night In Miami centers on the rise of Cassius Clay (to be played by Eli Goree) before he became Muhammad Ali. Set in 1964, the film follows him alongside three of his close friends, including Cooke, civil rights activist Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir) and former professional football player Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge), as they begin to assert themselves in the Civil Rights movement.

The film will feature Odom performing songs made famous by Cooke, including the powerful "A Change Is Gonna Come."

The play One Night In Miami was first staged in 2013 at Los Angeles' Rogue Machine Theatre. A European premiere was mounted at London's Donmar Warehouse in 2016.