MLK Jr. and Malcolm X series will ‘highlight the humanity’ of civil rights leaders

The latest season of the Nat Geo channel drama "Genius" focuses on the parallels of the lives of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X and their fights for civil rights.

Actors Kelvin Harrison Jr, who plays King, and Aaron Pierre, who plays X, spoke with ABC News Live's Linsey Davis about taking on the iconic roles in "Genius: MLK/X" which premieres Tuesday.

ABC NEWS LIVE: Gentlemen, thank you so much for coming on the show. I kind of want to start out with a question for both of you. Obviously, these are two of arguably thee most well-known men in American history, and they've also been portrayed by some really phenomenal actors. And so I'm curious when you take on this assignment, is it daunting?

AARON PIERRE: Absolutely. I think, and we appreciate you highlighting that. I remember when I was first contacted by Gina Prince-Bythewood and Reggie Rock Bythewood, the executive producers on this limited series, and they offered me the role of portraying Malcolm X, and I was terrified. I questioned whether I had the capacity. I questioned whether I had the endurance, the stamina, the emotional intelligence to portray the great Malcolm X.

ABC NEWS LIVE: How about for you Kelvin?

KELVIN HARRISON JR.: I definitely was terrified. But you know Aaron and I talked about taking that that feeling of imposter syndrome, which is what I talked to the executive producers about, that maybe we hadn't earned this moment, but turning it into something that was useful for the show. This is a show that really likes to highlight the humanity of these guys and like how they actually were just humans.

ABC NEWS LIVE: And how did you prepare for the role?

PIERRE: Extensive research. I can only speak from my own perspective. I can only speak from my viewpoint subjectively. I believe that there be a considerable amount of misinformation about Malcolm X. So for me, my starting point was seeking out information that I believed to be as close to the source as possible. Whether that be Malcolm X's autobiography or retelling and recounts of that time in history from his loved ones and his community.

ABC NEWS LIVE: And, Kelvin, how about for you? How did you go about preparing to be Martin Luther King?

HARRISON: I mean, it's very similar to Aaron. I traveled. I went to Memphis, I went to Birmingham, I went to Atlanta. I went to [Washington] D.C. I tried to read as much as I could. I mean, I think I read every book he wrote. But there's also this big book of all his sermons and speeches, and that's where I spent most of my time, because I got to see his works from when he was in seminary school all the way to his passing.

And you kind of get to see the evolution of a man. And so when you're dealing with someone that we get to craft from probably 20 years old all the way to 39, you're looking for all the different shifts and nuances and how the thoughts are changing, [and] what philosophers he really was he really relying on in these moments of his life.

ABC NEWS LIVE: I should have started here, but I want to commend you. I think that you both really nailed it, which was a really high bar to get to. And I thought it really came across well. And the other thing that I thought was interesting is the parallels, how you have two men, who I didn't realize only ever met one time, but how they always seemed, at least in the press, so adversarial. But there are so many things that are congruent in their lives that we see reflected in their childhood early on. And one thing that I was curious about, do we know that their fathers played such a significant role, not just in in creating who they were, but basically telling them, as young men, as we see depicted here, that you're going to be great, that they were destined for greatness at an early age? Is that something that they revealed in real life in books or any interviews?

PIERRE: I think, yes, they are often depicted as diametrically opposed. And I think in my discovery… in my research, in my exploration as opposed to being opposing forces, they are actually two forces that are running parallel towards the same objective, towards the same end goal. They just have different perspectives of which route is most conducive to that end.

ABC NEWS LIVE: And lastly, so many people are going to think, I already know so much about these two guys. What could I learn? What would you tell that person who may be skeptical about what this can offer them?

HARRISON: I mean to go back to what you were saying about these fathers, basically bestowing this huge responsibility on them so early. Martin's pivotal moment to me is when he's a young kid and he finds out that his dad wants to rename Mike. His name is Michael and rename him Martin Luther, because he went on a trip to Germany and met a theologian named Martin Luther. And he said, "Now you're chosen." And that's the individuation that both of these boys are having to process when you're trying to form your identity and still being told that you're distinct from others.