Patina Miller and Omar Epps say it wasn’t a tough decision to sign on to Starz’s Power prequel, Power Book III: Raising Kanan.
For Epps, joining the cast as Detective Malcolm Howard — a corrupt NYPD cop in Queens — was an opportunity for him to learn more about of one of Power‘s most notorious villains.
“I was a fan of Power,” Epps tells ABC Audio, before noting that he was “attracted” to “the notion of how far Kanan went [to become] the monster that he was.”
Epps says he was also interested in exploring Kanan’s origin story, and how “a pimple-faced teenager” from a single parent home could “evolve” into the Kanan Stark that fans first saw in Power.
“That was really interesting to me,” he says.
Epps’ co-star, Patina Miller, who plays Kanan’s fierce and protective mother Raquel, shares similar sentiments, adding that she loved the idea of joining the wildly popular Power universe as a central figure.
“I love pressure,” she says. “But there was no pressure because we’re dealing with a really amazing piece. It’s very well written. The characters are so fleshed out. Every character in our series is three dimensional. Every character has a secret. It’s exciting. It’s fun. It’s gritty. It’s raw. It’s all the things that make for incredible television.”
The Tony-award winning actress’ excitement for the series doesn’t stop there.
“We have the best actors in my opinion [and] I love coming to work with each and every one of them,” Miller continues. “And I’m so excited for everyone to get to see some really amazing, talented people with some incredible writing. The all around production of this entire show [that] I’m so proud of.”
Power Book III: Raising Kanan airs Sunday nights at 8 p.m. ET on Starz.
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