ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI
How a British newcomer became an Oscar frontrunner by embodying an icon in ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI
We meet Kingsley Ben-adir, who plays Malcolm X in Regina King’s directorial debut, to talk about stepping into the shoes of a real-life icon.
MALCOLM X, SAM Cooke, Muhammad Ali and Jim Brown: the thinking-person’s choice of a party you’d want to gatecrash. This irresistible concept, of four icons meeting in a racially taut 1964 America, was first realised in Kemp Powers’ 2013 play One Night In Miami. Now Regina King — one of America’s most assured, Academy winning actors — take a valiant leap behind the camera to adapt it for the screen in her directorial debut, which saw her become the first Black female director to screen a film at Venice
Channelling an actor’s eye, King summons evocative performances from Eli Goree (as Cassius Clay/muhammad Ali), Aldis Hodge (as Jim Brown) and Leslie Odom Jr. (as Sam Cooke). But it’s Londoner Kingsley Ben-adir, as the mighty Malcolm X, who’s in the eye of the Oscar-buzz storm. As the host of the party, and at a pivotal time for the troubled civilrights activist, Ben-adir shoulders the weight of X’s justified paranoia and increasing vulnerability. As he explains, it’s a nuanced portrayal that required deep immersion — and speedy preparation.
Malcolm has some pretty big shoes to fill. How do you even begin to prepare for a role like this?
I had ten or 12 days to prepare. Every hour I was awake, I was listening, watching, reading, learning or thinking in an all-immersive deep preparation. My focus was just Malcolm: who he