Regina King says she passed on casting big-name actors for her new film 'One Night in Miami' because they refused to audition
- Regina King told Insider that famous actors were interested in starring in "One Night in Miami," but they didn't want to have to audition for the roles.
- "And I was not interested in seeing anyone that didn't want to audition," King said.
- "One Night in Miami," starring Leslie Odom Jr., Eli Goree, Kingsley Ben-Adir, and Aldis Hodge, is now available on Amazon Prime Video.
Though Regina King has been working in Hollywood since she was a child, and has Oscar and Emmy statues to show her rise, with her first feature film directing effort, "One Night in Miami," she admits it was like she was starting all over again.
"I have a lot riding on this," she told Insider.
And because of that pressure, she was not going to cast her film based on relationships with famous friends: If you were cast in "One Night in Miami" it's because you earned it. That's evident in her casting of the lead roles.
In the movie, based on the Kemp Powers stage play, we follow a fictitious night out with titans from the Civil Rights era: Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), Cassius Clay (Eli Goree), Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge), and Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.).
Some may think it was a conscious decision by King to cast actors who weren't neccesarily household names (yet) to keep audiences focused on the performance and not be distracted by Hollywood stars. However, the director said that wasn't the case.
It's a testament to King's trust in the material. Stars in movies lead to bigger exposure and a wider release, however, King pushed all that aside and was still able to land Amazon Studios to release the movie, which is already getting Oscar buzz. In fact, the streamer is campaigning the movie for award season.
"What I did believe was the dialogue was the star and that the right actors would make this dialogue just sing," she said. "I knew that it took actors who truly understood that they were not doing an impersonation. All four of these actors knew that."
And expect to hear more about these actors King eventually hired.
Leslie Odom Jr., who is the most well known of the foursome thanks to his work alongside Lin-Manuel Miranda in "Hamilton," is growing an impressive filmography and is gaining Oscar buzz for his role as Cooke.
Aldis Hodge already wowed audiences in "The Invisible Man" last year and will play Hawkman in the upcoming "Black Adam" DC Comics movie, starring Dwayne Johnson.
Kingsley Ben-Adir is also generating Oscar buzz for his role as Malcolm X. And Goree, who's best known for his roles as Quincy in HBO's "Ballers," rounds out the cast.
"One Night in Miami" is now available on Amazon Prime Video.