Philadelphia's Leslie Odom Jr. nominated for historic pair of Oscars for 'One Night in Miami'

PHILADELPHIA -- As the countdown continues to the 93rd Academy Awards on Sunday, so does shining a spotlight on the stars going for Oscar gold.

This year, a Philadelphia actor and singer is up for not one, but two Oscars. The pair of nominations marks a career first for East Oak Lane's Leslie Odom Jr.

Odom, 39, is also making history as the first male performer to be nominated in both acting and songwriting categories.

He is nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of singer Sam Cooke in "One Night in Miami."

"The beautiful exterior he gave us was of virility and manhood and sensuality and affability," Odom said. "Underneath that, Sam wasn't nothing to play with."



The film tells the story of a fictional encounter in Miami between Cooke, Muhammed Ali, Jim Brown and Malcolm X, ahead of the civil rights movement of the 1960s.
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Odom also co-wrote and performed the film's main song "Speak Now," which is up for Best Original Song.

Back in 2016, he won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his role as Aaron Burr in "Hamilton." He also won a Grammy Award when the show won Best Musical Theater Album.

In an interview earlier this year, Odom and his wife Nicolette Robinson talked about how his roots shaped his art.
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"I love Philly, it's everything to me," Odom said. "Philly gave me not only my formative training but my eyes and my ears, my taste, everything. What I think is good, what I think is professional, what inspires me, I got on the streets of Philadelphia. It's my home forever."

The couple also just welcomed their second child, a son named Able.