--- description: Find out why Leslie Odom Jr. is one of the 100 most influential people of 2024. title: Leslie Odom Jr.: The 100 Most Influential People of 2024 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt907ff74fe8fa4e18/698a55ba47ca382fd83bd690/time-100-2024-leslie-odom-jr-social.jpg?branch=production --- Apr 17, 2024 # Leslie Odom Jr. by Kate Hudson  LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 25: Leslie Odom, Jr. is seen in his award show look for the 93rd Annual Academy Awards on April 25, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Austin Hargrave/Austin Hargrave 2021 via Getty Images) LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 25: Leslie Odom, Jr. is seen in his award show look for the 93rd Annual Academy Awards on April 25, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Austin Hargrave/Austin Hargrave 2021 via Getty Images)Austin Hargrave—Getty Images I didn’t know Leslie Odom Jr. the night I watched him take the stage as [Aaron Burr](https://time.com/4292836/forget-hamilton-burr-is-the-real-hero/ "undefined") in _Hamilton,_ but his performance hit me like a ton of bricks. I was hypnotized. Little did I know that years later I’d get to work with him, and that we’d become friends—family, even. Leslie is committed to the arts and gracefully moves between music, theater, and film. His performances—including his recent Broadway run in _Purlie Victorious_—are palpable. It feels like a matter of life or death, the way he gives his absolute all to every character. Leslie’s just as committed to his friends and family. No one is more serious about holding close the people who are important to him. He’s passionate, honorable, a man of faith, a loving father, and an amazing partner to his wife Nicolette. I don’t think there are many humans walking this earth who are as good as Leslie. I can’t wait to see what kind of beautiful art he creates next. _Hudson is an Oscar-nominated actor_ _Order your copy of the 2024 TIME100 issue_ [_here_](https://magazineshop.us/TIME%5F100 "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6964735/leslie-odom-jr-2/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6964735/leslie-odom-jr-2/"},"headline":"Leslie Odom Jr.","datePublished":"2024-04-17T11:10:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:29:36.245Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6964735/leslie-odom-jr-2/","keywords":["TIME100","franchise","Magazine","Special Project","sponsorshipblock","Accolades","2024TIME100","T100Artists2024"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt907ff74fe8fa4e18/698a55ba47ca382fd83bd690/time-100-2024-leslie-odom-jr-social.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt907ff74fe8fa4e18/698a55ba47ca382fd83bd690/time-100-2024-leslie-odom-jr-social.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6964735/leslie-odom-jr-2/","name":"Leslie Odom Jr."}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"See Everyone on the TIME100 2024 list","description":"","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/73p9kgIN/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2024-04-17T11:00:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/73p9kgIN.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6964735/leslie-odom-jr-2/","duration":"PT1M59S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6964735/leslie-odom-jr-2/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```