One of my favorite films of 2020 was Regina King’s fantastic directorial debut One Night in Miami. Based off the award-winning play of the same name by Kemp Powers, the film imagines a fictional night in 1964 where Muhammad Ali (Eli Goree), Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.), and Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge) discuss race, religion, and their personal responsibility to the civil rights movement. Loaded with some of the best performances you’ll see in a movie this year, I cannot recommend this film enough. In addition, Regina King shows she is a real talent behind the camera and I would imagine she is being offered a number of other projects to direct this year.

Shortly after seeing the movie I got to speak with Aldis Hodge. He talked about how he prepared for playing Jim Brown, why watching Regina King work was an education, if he knew early on the film would turn out so great, if he stays in character on set, the impact of the Black Lives Matter movement and what has been happening the past year in our society, and more. In addition, he talks about why he’s so excited to work with Dwayne Johnson on Black Adam (he will be playing Hawkman).

Check out what he had to say below and further down the page is exactly what we talked about followed by the official synopsis. One Night in Miami is now streaming on Amazon. For more you can read Matt Goldberg’s glowing review.

Aldis Hodge:

  • Did he think this would be a special film after reading the script?
  • The impact of the Black Lives Matter movement and what has been happening the past year in our society.
  • Did he stay in character on set?
  • How did he get ready to play the role?
  • How much did they tell him about the arc of his character in the DC universe?
  • Why he’s so excited to work with Dwayne Johnson on Black Adam.

Here's the official synopsis:

On one incredible night in 1964, four icons of sports, music, and activism gathered to celebrate one of the biggest upsets in boxing history. When underdog Cassius Clay, soon to be called Muhammad Ali, (Eli Goree), defeats heavy weight champion Sonny Liston at the Miami Convention Hall, Clay memorialized the event with three of his friends: Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.) and Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge).Based on the award-winning play of the same name, and directed by Regina King, One Night In Miami... is a fictional account inspired by the historic night these four formidable figures spent together. It looks at the struggles these men faced and the vital role they each played in the civil rights movement and cultural upheaval of the 1960s. More than 40 years later, their conversations on racial injustice, religion, and personal responsibility still resonate.

one-night-in-Image via Amazonmiami-2