The British actor reveals he spent days isolating himself in his room before auditioning for the role of the civil rights icon in Regina King's directorial debut 'One Night In Miami'.
- January 2, 2021
AceShowbiz - Actor Kingsley Ben-Adir locked himself away for three days to clear his mind as he prepared to audition for the role of civil rights icon Malcolm X in "One Night In Miami".
The rising British star wanted to fully focus his attention on bringing Malcolm to life onscreen in Regina King's directorial debut, so he stayed put in his room before putting his performance on tape - and the "Watchmen" actress loved it.
"Regina and I spent two weeks going back and forth on Skype," he told The Hollywood Reporter of their rapport. "We had some really long conversations about Malcolm."
However, Ben-Adir reveals that wasn't the role he was initially approached for - King had originally wanted him to try out for the character of Cassius Clay before he became Muhammad Ali, but the part just didn't speak to him.
"I didn't respond to him," he explained. "But the debate between Malcolm X and Sam Cooke really jumped off the page, and I said to my agent, 'If anything happens and Malcolm becomes available, I'd love to put that on tape.' "
"Riverdale" star Eli Goree was subsequently cast as boxing great Clay for the movie, which co-stars Leslie Odom Jr. as soul singer Cooke and Aldis Hodge as American football legend Jim Brown.
The forthcoming film is an adaptation of Kemp Powers' acclaimed stage play of the same name, and is set in February, 1964, on the night Clay became world heavyweight champion following a shock victory over Sonny Liston.
