PROMO: Honda’s 'Uncharted Legends': How Lee Daniels Went From Homeless to 'Empire'

One of Hollywood’s hardest working talents on how it all came to be.

If you’ve been keeping up with Honda’s inspirational series Uncharted, you’ve experienced some deeply moving stories about artists who are on the cusp of stardom. Now, Honda is presenting a new spin on the series, Uncharted Legends, which focuses on several big name talents who have already become stars, and are now looking back on how in the world they got there.

The newest episode focuses on the multi-talented Lee Daniels—writer, director, producer, and co-creator of the biggest TV phenomenon in recent memory, Empire. But while Daniels is now one of the most revered and sought after figures in film and television, his beginnings were incredibly humble. The son of a policeman father who was tragically killed in the line of duty, and a hard-working mother who raised him and his siblings on her own, Daniels, as a child, was inspired by the iconic movie musicals of the 1960s. Before he even fully understood what directing was, he knew that’s what he wanted to do. But the big question, as always, was: how?

Without knowing the answer, Daniels headed to LA with $7 in his pocket. Even back then, that was certainly not enough to live on, so he wound up finding himself living on the streets. But after a fortunate encounter with the kindly pastor of a church that Daniels often slept behind, everything started to change—particularly once Daniels discovered that this church had one very important feature: a theater.

To hear more about how Lee Daniels built his way from the LA streets to Hollywood royalty, be sure to check out the latest episode of Uncharted Legends in the video above, brought to you by Honda.

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