Power Book III: Raising Kanan begins its countdown to the end on Friday, when the first episode of its fifth and final season premieres on Starz. For Mekai Curtis, the final season marks the culmination of his journey bringing his title character, Kanan Stark, to life on screen.
“I’m extremely blessed that I got to take a character [through] five seasons, that I get to tell this story and represent so many different walks of life, and then so many different understandings and viewpoints and approaches to life,” Mekai tells ABC Audio. “This is something that every actor dreams of, is to have a role that has not just layers on screen, but off the screen as well.”
Over the years Mekai has helped audiences understand the origin story of Kanan, a character first introduced as an adult in the original Power, where he was portrayed by 50 Cent. However, Mekai avoided studying 50’s performance so he could deliver his own interpretation of the character.
“I kind of wanted to keep things organic, but I also didn’t want to rigidly start moving toward what that character is,” he says. “I wanted every scene, every reaction to be something that was new to Mekai and also new to Kanan.”
As the series reaches its end, Mekai says there isn’t a single moment that transforms Kanan into the man viewers met in Power. Instead, he says fans see his evolution throughout the entire show.
“I think that was the story of why Raising Kanan is a thing, is we all as people have events that we can remember that shaped how we present or move ourselves throughout the world, but it’s a culmination of all of those things … that make you who you are.”
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