Local actor sees Hollywood success with new film

Halifax-raised Eli Goree is enjoying some recent accolades for his One Night In Miami.

In the hotly-tipped Amazon Prime release, he plays Cassius Clay – the boxer later known as Muhammad Ali – in a fictionalized account of four charismatic, brilliant men who would define the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s.

The film features portrayals of Ali, Jim Brown, Malcolm X and Sam Cooke, and has been in the Oscar discussion since its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2020.

“I’m feeling great. The response has been amazing. People are really resonating with it, saying they love it, and saying how much it meant to them,” said Goree.

The film, recently nominated for three Golden Globes – one for Best Director for Regina King, for Best Supporting Actor for Leslie Odom Jr. as Sam Cooke, and Best Original Song – is on every critic's Oscar list right now.

Odom Jr. and the entire ensemble also received nominations from the Screen Actors Guild just last week. It was the winner of Best Movie of the Year at the AFI Awards, and Goree himself won the Robert Altman Award with the ensemble cast at the Film Independent Spirit Awards, as well as the special award for ensemble performance at the San Francisco Film Awards.

He was also nominated for Best Actor by the Indiana Film Journalists Association. He pushed himself to prepare for his portrayal of the boxing legend.

“I had a whole team of people help me. This just isn’t a role you prepare for yourself. I had a dialect coach, a boxing choreography, a personal trainer and I dove on my own into all the information that’s available on his life. It’s quite a treasure trove,” said Goree.

With so much of Miami set in one hotel room, Goree got a chance to really know his co-stars Odom Jr., Kingsley Ben-Adir, and Aldis Hodge.

“It was an actor’s dream. It was so much fun to get out there, be free and spar and joust with one another. We went back and forth and got to play out these characters’ dreams and motivations,” he said.

Goree said having Regina King – an Oscar winner for her role in 2018’s If Beale Street Could Talk and an Emmy winner for Watchmen, Seven Seconds and American Crime – was incredible.

“She’s been in so many pivotal films as an actress. She was in Ray with Jamie Foxx, Poetic Justice with Janet Jackson, and Jerry Maguire with Cuba Gooding Jr. She really knows what it takes to get the most out of an actor on set,” he said of King, making her feature directorial debut here.

“She gets authentic, grounded performances and combines them with the technical expertise she’s gained from directing television for years. She put it all together into a substantial film.”

Goree is best-known for 2016 film Race, as well as roles in TV shows Riverdale, Ballers, and The 100. He takes on a huge role in one night in Miami.

“This feels great right now. I’m having conversations with filmmakers, creative people and artists I really respect. It’s a great position to be in. You never know how long these times in a career last and how often they’re going to come, so I’m really enjoying it,” he says.

Though Goree no longer lives in the area, the Prince Andrew High School graduate’s mom, nephews, sister and extended family are still in the area.

“I’m so proud to be from Halifax. It was a great place to grow up. It’s small enough that you felt safe. As a kid you could play outdoors later at night, and you can’t do that these days in cities,” he said.

“There are a lot of universities there, there’s a lot of diversity and great thinkers who’ve been through Halifax. We have the ports. There is a history of racial inequality with Africville and things like that, but it was a big part of my life.”

He is grateful for all the praise heaped on himself, his co-stars and the film, and he’s taking things one day at a time. But he’s already working on some interesting new projects.

“I just finished a film with Jake Gyllenhaal and (director) Antoine Fuqua called Guilty. It has a great cast, including Peter Sargaard, Paul Dano, and Ethan Hawke,” he said.

“I’m meeting some great filmmakers and creators, and I might have some more great news really soon.”