A Broadway actor performs a lot—and needs to eat well. The Tony Award–winning star Leslie Odom Jr. has a busy, luminary career onstage, appearing in musicals such as Hamilton, Leap of Faith, Rent, and, currently, Purlie Victorious. Beyond the stage, Odom has also acted in the TV series Smash, released jazzy Christmas albums, and even ventured into the food world with a recent Kinder Chocolate collaboration.
On a visit to the Bon Appétit test kitchen, Odom discussed a day in the life with editor in chief Jamila Robinson. Food fuels his intense schedule, which sometimes calls for two shows in one day. (Spoiler: Egg wrap sandwiches get him through.) It doesn’t allow for much time off right now, but as Odom describes, “You’re a part of other people’s holiday traditions.” Odom also shared some of his own holiday food traditions, featuring an (extra-large) helping of muddled apple cider, lush macaroni and cheese, and spoonable corn pudding.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
Jamila Robinson: When you’re performing, do you have any eating rituals before and after a show?
Leslie Odom Jr.: On this particular schedule of Purlie Victorious, we frequently perform two shows in one day. Two-show days are a trip because they’re so long. But there’s an egg wrap sandwich that I like that I’ll add chicken or sometimes even bacon or potatoes to. I eat half before the first show and half after the show. In between shows I’ll take my nap. And then after the second show, I’m hungry again. I’ll typically have some Greek yogurt and trail mix, but for a special treat, we go to Bar Centrale in the Theater District, where I get my fish tacos and chickpea fries.
JR: We heard that you like to get pizza every Friday.
LOJ: That was my thing during Hamilton. That show was even more of a cardio bomb than Purlie Victorious. After Hamilton, I’ll tell you, I gained 30 pounds because I didn’t have those 24 hours a week of low-level cardio.
JR: When you’re not working, what do you like to cook for your family?
LOJ: My kids are very picky. They love a turkey skillet—ground turkey, sweet potatoes, spices like oregano, parsley, garlic, salt and pepper, and butter. You can have it with eggs, or finish it with cheese and let that melt on the top.
JR: And now that we’re going into the holiday season, how do you holiday?
LOJ: The truth is, when you’re a part of a show in New York during the holidays, it’s almost like working at a theme park. You’re a part of other people’s holiday traditions and barely get any time off, just Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. But my family will still come visit, and my father-in-law will cook. He makes all my favorites, and one thing he makes that I didn’t have as a kid is corn pudding—which is kind of incredible. And, of course, my mom makes baked macaroni and cheese.
JR: The most important dish on the holiday table.
LOJ: Straight up!
JR: Any other holiday traditions?
LOJ: Apple cider is what makes my house smell like the holidays. You get as many different types of apples, a couple of oranges, lemons, cloves and muddle it down and strain it.
JR: What’s the dish that changed your life?
LOJ: The dish that changed my life was probably the first time I could afford to take myself out to a nicer restaurant, and there was something fancy on the menu, called duck. I ordered myself duck prepared two ways, and this meal changed my life. I learned that cuisine could be even more than comforting; it could be this fine dining experience.
JR: You still like to eat duck?
LOJ: Every time I see it on the menu, I order it.