From co-creators Josh Gad, Loren Bouchard and Nora Smith, the Apple TV+ original animated musical comedy series Central Park follows the Tillerman family and their life in the world famous park. Park manager Owen (voiced by Leslie Odom, Jr.) and his journalist wife Paige (voiced by Kathryn Hahn) love their life and their family, which also includes kids Molly (voiced by Emmy Raver-Lampman) and Cole (voiced by Tituss Burgess), and their bonding is often highlighted by some really catchy tunes.
During this 1-on-1 interview with Collider, actor/singer Odom Jr. talked about how he loves everything about the fun and quirky show, the freedom you get from animation, that the role was tailor made for him, what he most loves about his character, and how satisfying it is to see the episodes come together in their final form. He also talked about what’s it like to realize that you’ve achieved a certain level of success, and his favorite type of project to do.
Collider: This is such a fun, odd, quirky show. Did you know that it would be so fun, odd, and quirky, when this whole thing started?
LESLIE ODOM JR.: Yeah, those are the three adjectives that I use to describe my friend, Josh [Gad]. I knew that if he was a part of it, that it was gonna be fun and quirky, and it’s been that, absolutely.
What have you most loved about being a part of this show, getting to do these songs, and playing this character? Is there one thing that stands out for you, or is it the whole thing together?
ODOM: I love all of it, but the thing that I probably love the most is the music. Music makes everything better. I love the music and I love seeing how it comes together in post. It’s not live-action, so there’s so much that the animation brings to it. I don’t record with my other castmates, so hearing their work after the fact is like unwrapping a little present.
One of the things I love about the show is that no matter what you’re singing about, you’re singing it full out and it’s just fantastic. Is it fun to just really get to enjoy and embrace the music, no matter what the subject is that you’re singing about?
ODOM: Yes, it is. Animation gives you that freedom, not having to have my face attached to it and not having to be limited by the laws of physics or of what my body can and can’t do. I can just really be expressive in a way that might be hard to justify in live-action.
When Josh Gad presented this character to you and told you that he’d created and written it for you and that it was tailor made for you, was there anything about the character that surprised you at? Were you like, “How did you see me in this guy?,” or did you see why he wrote this guy for you?
ODOM: I could see why Josh thought of me for it. From there, it was really just a starting point. You start somewhere with animation, and then the situations allow everyone, including the writers, to discover who these characters are. They’re still out who Owen is too. As we put him under pressure, we put him in different situation, and we test him, we discover who the guy is. We had a couple of loose ideas about who he might be at the beginning, but Owen continues to surprise all of us, and we’re making it. We are discovering him, as we go.
What have you found yourself most loving about Owen and getting to bring him to life and exploring who he is through his life, through his relationships, and through song?
ODOM: I love his kindness, his ridiculousness, his willingness to make a fool of himself. I love his dorkiness. He’s not a guy that is concerned about looking cool or being cool much in his life. And so, there’s a tremendous freedom that comes when that’s no longer a concern of yours. You can be your authentic self, in a new way. Owen is free from that.
Are there any ways that the visual of the character and looking at him influences your performance and the way you approach bringing him to life?
ODOM: Yeah. He’s gangly and there’s something about the voice, where I’m thinking about and imagining the way he might move. That’s affected by the way he’s drawn.
You’ve talked about how, throughout the first season, you got to keep coming back to the episodes to do some revisions. Did you do that more or less or exactly the same for the second season? Is that a process that has changed at all, from season to season, or is it something that you’re still doing?
ODOM: It’s almost exactly the same. I haven’t done a ton of animation, but I think that’s just the process of animation. They get to rewrite in that way and touch everything a few times, as it’s drawn. When (show co-creator) Loren [Bouchard] talks about the reason why he loves animation, that’s one of the things that he loves about it. That’s built in.
When you watch these episodes, are there things that surprise when you see what everyone else brings to this little family, from Kathryn Hahn to Emmy Raver-Lampman to Tituss Burgess?
ODOM: Yes. It’s so satisfying. It’s like unwrapping a little present, from week to week, as I see what everybody has brought to their roles and the ways that they’re flushing out their characters and the things they’re discovering about these characters. Like me, they’ve gotten to live with them for a couple of years, and introduce them to new parts of the characters. It’s like a little gift, getting to unwrap that, from week to week.
Do you have a favorite song that you got to do in Season 2?
ODOM: I don’t remember all of the ones that I did. I think it’s in Episode 2, the Mother’s Day episode, there’s a song that opens that episode that was a lot of fun to sing.
Do you ever get completely bummed that you don’t get to record with this cast, in the same room? Is that the one disappointing thing about this project?
ODOM: We’ve gotten used to it. We look forward to the press days that we all get to share together. Life keeps conspiring for ways to make us all hang out together. I’m gonna be with Kathryn in Greece for the summer (for Knives Out 2). Life keeps figuring out ways to get us together. Daveed [Diggs] and I are working on a project together too. So, we figure out how we can share actual space together. I’d love to do a Comic-Con, or something like that, with the cast. Maybe as things open back up, we can figure that out.
It’s been so cool to watch the successes that your career has been having, especially lately, from Hamilton to One Night in Miami to Central Park, but everybody’s career starts in a very different place. Did you have a moment where you thought to yourself, “Wow, I’m not a struggling actor anymore”? Is that something that you’ve been able to acknowledge to yourself?
ODOM: Wow, what a great question. Yes, I just had that moment, not too long ago. I was at the Billboard Music Awards. That sounds very fancy, so forgive me. They asked me to present one of the awards and I was honored to be asked to be there. And there’s a part of me that feels that still feels like that 22 or 23 year old kid that moved out here thinking, “I’m gonna get to this thing. I’m not gonna know anybody. So, I’ve gotta be prepared to have those awkward, uncomfortable moments, where I’m standing off to the side and watching other people have a good time. But I’m there to do a job, so I’m gonna do my job and go home. I’m not necessarily gonna have all that much fun tonight, but I’m gonna do my job and go home.” And I get there, and I know some of the press people because of the work over the past few years. And then, the first person I see is Kathryn Hahn. And then, as I’m talking to Kathryn, I run into Cynthia Erivo. And then, my stylist was there, but he hasn’t just done me. My stylist and my whole team of people for wardrobe is there because they’re dressing Nick Jonas. It was this wonderful moment. After the show, I went and had a drink with Renée [Elise Goldsberry] because Renée was also presenting. It’s just one of those things that happened where, before I knew it, I realized that not only had I been climbing and taking steps this whole time, but the people that I care about the most have been too. I’m not standing off to the side. My friends are there, so we get to share that together.
Do you have any plans to record new music soon? Are you someone who’s always working on music, whether we know about it or not?
ODOM: I don’t have any plans to do that right now. I’m gonna do my best to get some live performances in, in the fall and in the winter, but I don’t have any plans for recording right now. It’s amazing to work on Central Park because I get to scratch that itch, getting to be in the studio, singing and making music, in that way.
If you could develop a project that utilizes what you’re capable of doing in its entirety, and the budget was unlimited and nothing was off limits, is there a type of project you would love to have the opportunity to do? Is there a time period, a person from history, or a character in some sort of source material that you’d want to play?
ODOM: Good question. Thank you for asking that. I really like bringing as much of myself to these projects as possible. I really dig working in the musical space, with projects like Central Park and One Night in Miami and Hamilton, but they don’t grow on trees. Maybe that makes them more special, the fact that they don’t come along often. But the projects that ask the most of me are my favorite, whether it’s a little bit of music, a little bit of singing, or they want me to write a little bit. Those kinds of things are my favorite.
Central Park is available to stream at Apple TV+.
