Doobie Doo
Veteran
Leon Reveals This Iconic ‘The Temptations’ Line Was Unscripted
Twitter
March 04 2020
In a recent podcast episode of Netflix's Strong Black Lead, Leon revealed that the iconic line from the 1998 miniseries The Temptations--“Ain't nobody coming to see you, Otis"--wasn't initially in the script.
“We were in rehearsals and I was David Ruffin the entire time. And I found out later my costars didn't particularly care for me," he joked to host Tracy Clayton. “But I stayed in that role the entire time so I was always thinking of things and telling the director and producers and stuff and things that I had researched and the way things were."
“...I just said that line in rehearsal and [director] Allan Arkush came and whispered in my ear, and said, 'You know, he [Charles Malik Whitfield, who played Otis Williams] doesn't really like it when you say that,'" he continued. "And I turned to him and said, 'He's not supposed to...Did you see the reaction on his face when I said it? Isn't that what you want?'"
“I just improvise a line and next thing I know, it's like, that line follows me around the world," he added.
You can watch a clip from the taping of the podcast below.
Leon Reveals This Iconic ‘The Temptations’ Line Was Unscripted
March 04 2020
In a recent podcast episode of Netflix's Strong Black Lead, Leon revealed that the iconic line from the 1998 miniseries The Temptations--“Ain't nobody coming to see you, Otis"--wasn't initially in the script.
“We were in rehearsals and I was David Ruffin the entire time. And I found out later my costars didn't particularly care for me," he joked to host Tracy Clayton. “But I stayed in that role the entire time so I was always thinking of things and telling the director and producers and stuff and things that I had researched and the way things were."
“...I just said that line in rehearsal and [director] Allan Arkush came and whispered in my ear, and said, 'You know, he [Charles Malik Whitfield, who played Otis Williams] doesn't really like it when you say that,'" he continued. "And I turned to him and said, 'He's not supposed to...Did you see the reaction on his face when I said it? Isn't that what you want?'"
“I just improvise a line and next thing I know, it's like, that line follows me around the world," he added.
You can watch a clip from the taping of the podcast below.
Leon Reveals This Iconic ‘The Temptations’ Line Was Unscripted
I wonder why they didn't like him prior to the rehearsal tho
