Why did Leslie Odom Jr. leave Hamilton? Exit explored as actor announces return to Broadway

Almost a decade after his last performance as Aaron Burr in Hamilton, Leslie Odom Jr. is returning to the Broadway stage that helped make him a household name.

The Tony Award-winning star will take on the iconic role again in a limited run from September 9 through November 23, 2025, at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, just as Hamilton nears its 10-year anniversary.

Odom’s exit in July 2016 signaled the close of a major chapter of his life. After over 500 performances as Aaron Burr, he knew it was time to go. In several post-exit interviews, Odom explained that he had come to terms with the cyclical nature of show business, embracing both beginnings and endings. Addressing his departure in an interview with Variety, he said:

"I love a beginning and I love an ending. I really am usually ready to let the character and the project go. Even something like with Hamilton, which was the most dear to me."

After leaving Hamilton, Leslie Odom Jr. turned to other artistic endeavors. He released a self-titled debut album and played several film roles, such as Sam Cooke in One Night in Miami.

When an actor plays the same character over and over, as Leslie Odom Jr. did with Aaron Burr, he or she gets more connected to the character or gets bored eventually. Odom also talked about the repetitive nature of theater, where he would have to perform the same scene every day. According to Cinema Blend, this is how Burr put it:

"With film, you really do leave every day in the rear view. With theater, I always had another day to get the scene right. I always had another day of working for it. I had always another day of “Room Where It Happens." He said in a statement.

A look into Leslie Odom Jr.’s career before joining Hamilton

Leslie Odom Jr. grew up in Philadelphia, where he started singing as a kid in the church. At 13, he won an oratory competition on African American history and earned a scholarship to the Freedom Theatre, where he first acted.

He joined the cast of the Broadway musical, Rent, when he was 17, which inspired him to continue working as a performer. After high school, Odom studied drama at Carnegie Mellon University and graduated with honors in 2003. Talking about his time with the Rent, he said:

"It was trippy because I went straight from community theater to Broadway... Then my parents very wisely helped me take a step back from the professional world and go to Carnegie Mellon University."

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Leslie Odom Jr. soon became part of the Los Angeles TV scene, appearing on shows like CSI: Miami, Vanished, and Big Day. He later moved back to New York for the musical series Smash and also appeared in shows like Person of Interest and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

At the same time, he secured a role in Hamilton, which opened off-Broadway in January 2015 before quickly going to Broadway, where it won 11 Tony Awards.

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