Mekai Curtis Looks Ahead to ‘Power: Origins’

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At the start of the final season of Powerbook III: Raising Kanan, boss Sascha Penn told The Hollywood Reporter the “whole reason the series exists is to deconstruct Kanan as you met him in Power and explain how he became who he became.”

Given Kanan’s big presence in Power, it’s only natural that Kanan plays a big role in Power: Origins, which is the next series in the franchise that Penn is also spearheading. So far, most of the reports about the show largely regard it as the genesis of Tommy Egan and James “Ghost” St. Patrick, conveniently ignoring that it’s also a continued look at Kanan and his evolution beyond Raising Kanan. So while young Ghost and Tommy, played by Spence Moore II and Charlie Mann, respectively, keep getting all the buzz for the highly anticipated prequel series, Mekai Curtis is far from done as Kanan Stark. Considering Kanan didn’t die until deep into the next-to-last season of Power, there’s a lot for him to do, especially since the original series hints at a much closer relationship between the three in the very beginning.

Kanan Stark is not the role a young actor previously known for voicing Zack Underwood in Disney’s Milo Murphy’s Law, and also playing Fish Fisher in Disney XD’s Kirby Buckets, typically lands. When Raising Kanan debuted July 21, 2021, Curtis was roughly three months shy of his 21st birthday. After five seasons, however, there’s no denying that Curtis has made it his own.

Confirming Kanan’s strong presence in Power: Origins with THR, Penn praised Curtis’ work: “What Mekai has done on Kanan is spectacular. He’s taken this this guy from a wide-eyed kid to somewhat of a shaded, grizzled veteran. Working with Mekai is truly one of the joys of my career. You can throw anything at him. His performances are incredibly nuanced and layered. I think he’s one of the best young actors working today, hands down.”

Tony winner Patina Miller, who starred as Kanan’s mother Raquel “Raq” Thomas, recalled the big impression Curtis made on her during their first chemistry read. “I saw the hunger. I saw his ability. I saw what he would do with this role,” she says. “I saw someone not afraid knowing he had big shoes to fill. He took it and welcomed it with open arms, and this shit is not easy.

“I’m grateful that I was given the space to do the thing and be bold and scared and fearless, because you throw caution to the wind and do the thing and it turned out beautiful,” adds Curtis. “I’ve gotten to grow as an individual, as a person, and I’ve gotten to grow in my artistry. I’ve gotten to grow at my craft. I’ve gotten to grasp a deeper understanding of it, a deeper love for it. This has been the breeding ground for what will be a very long and fruitful career. I’m excited I was given the space for it.”

Careful not to say too much more about Power: Origins, Penn delivered the sad news that Tony Danza’s Stefano would not appear, and teased that Breeze would also be with Kanan. “That’s part of the Power lore, right? Which is that there’s tension between them. And the dynamic between [Breeze] and Kanan is absolutely complicated.”

THR spoke to Curtis, revisiting key moments from Raising Kanan‘s series finale, along with pulling whatever we could from him about the upcoming Power: Origins, which wrapped filming months ago.

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Let’s reflect on the big endings in Power Book III: Raising Kanan. How do you view the beatdown Marvin gave Kanan?

It was justified. I think that’s part of the reason Kanan doesn’t necessarily fight back. Aside from the intensity of the beatdown and how vicious every punch has been, he has no room to rest. I think Kanan again just realizes this has been coming. Everybody up to that point thinks Kanan has no remorse or regret for what happened, but in reality, I think he’s just so overwhelmed with everything he’s feeling [that] he doesn’t necessarily know how to go about it or what to say [or] how to say it.

Kanan clearly kills Marvin, but was it fair for Kanan to be blamed for Lou’s death when it was accidental?

I mean he pulled the trigger. He didn’t mean to, but when you look at the amalgamation of everything happening, there’s pressure on everybody. Everybody’s world is kind of crashing down. And then what happens with Lou-Lou — because he’s he mediator and the glue in the family. That’s what him and Juke connect[ed] on a lot.

Why did Raq finally tell Marvin that Kanan killed Lou?

She holds on to information and uses it when she needs to. And that was the time for that to come out. She didn’t know what else to do. She felt like her back was against the wall. She’s hearing that her son and his organization are climbing up the ranks and breathing down her neck. So now it’s time to get things back in control, and that’s what happened with that scene.

Talk about your process of taking Kanan from likability to villain.

For me it’s never been about likability, [but] more relatability. I think that’s why people “liked” Kanan at first, because you can see a lot of the innocence and naivete, things that we all go through, wanting to experience [life] for yourself and bumping your head a few times in X Y Z. Now the person you turn into after these hard lessons, that’s two different sides of the coin. It depends on how you want to play the deck. Kanan is just going the way that anybody who has been in this environment and experienced what he’s gone through would. In so many ways, you become a product of the things you’re seeing and are around. So that’s what’s happening with Kanan. For me as the actor, it’s not about making sure he’s likable; it’s making sure you understand why he is the way he is at this point.

So, is Raq to blame for who Kanan becomes?

I think she’s partially to blame, but again, Raq is doing what she can with what she has, as all parents do. And you don’t always get it right. You don’t always have all the answers. You may think you do. You may know what you want or what you think is the best for your child, but your child is a person themselves, and they’ll experience things and make their own choices and decisions based off that. You’re just seeing two people deal with that. You’re seeing a mother protect her son, and a son trying to protect his mother in the way he knows and has been shown.

Do you think [Hailey Kilgore’s] Jukebox chose the right route to make Kanan really suffer by killing Raq?

Kanan was already suffering. Juke has been so stoic throughout the entire show [that] it makes sense it happened that way. It’s justified, but not justified. When I was reading the script, as Mekai, I understood Juke saying, “Now you’re gonna be alone, like I’m alone.” Revenge feels good for the moment. I think she did accomplish that, but we all see how that turned both of them even worse.

In the very last episode of Raising Kanan, a baby Jamie and baby Tommy were introduced; how excited are you to continue this character going into Power: Origins?

It’s been fun. I’m excited. What we got to do with the last season of Raising Kanan was to bridge the gap even more, because people got to see an entirely different Kanan at the very beginning of Raising Kanan. So from there to season five of Raising Kanan, you see a slight part of his life and what turns him into that. Then going into Origins, you’re going to see how he took everything he learned in Raising Kanan and applies it to life now, and the people who are now his community that he’s trying to protect and love in the same way that Raq did for everybody in Raising Kanan.

Speaking of that, what did Shameik Moore coming on as Breeze mean to Kanan, and what does it mean to you Mekai?

It was exciting. I had been a fan of his work for a while, so it was exciting that I was going to have somebody to actually spar with for a little while. So, yeah, it was a good time watching him come in and fall into the fold and figure out his footing and see how this shit goes. It was dope. I enjoy getting to watch dope artists do their thing, so I’m glad he had fun.

From the last couple of episodes of Raising Kanan, it looks like there might be tension for Kanan and Breeze in Origins.

I can’t give too much away just yet. But it’s been fun to continue to craft the brotherhood and love of all this in the middle of there being drugs and guns and everything else.

And now you’re going to be No. 1 on the call sheet, right?

Oh yeah, it’s a blessing. I think the reps and the 10,000 hours have prepared me for it. So yeah, it’s been cool to step into that spot and be trusted to helm a ship that way.

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All five seasons of Power Book III: Raising Kanan, as well as all six seasons of Power, are streaming on Starz. Currently there is no official release date for Power: Origins.