Shameik Moore talks highly anticipated new role in 'Raising Kanan': 'I definitely knew what needed to be done'

Another episode of Power Book II: Raising Kanan aired Friday, bringing fans one step closer to the end of the series. While this fifth season continues to show how Kanan Stark became the man audiences see in the original Power, it also introduces Breeze, a character frequently mentioned but never seen in the original series.

In the Power universe, Breeze is the drug kingpin who became a mentor to Kanan, Ghost and Tommy before the events in the original series. Shameik Moore, who takes on the role, tells ABC Audio he wasn't pressured by fans' expectations of the character.

"I definitely knew what needed to be done," he says, noting he took time to understand his character because "it's in the peak of the show, like the bang moment."

Shameik's biggest adjustment was getting used to how things worked on set. "I didn't realize it would be as strict on the lines that it was ... 'welcome to thee restaurant instead of welcome to the restaurant.' If I said the wrong version, we was gonna have to get it the right way," he explains. "My style has always been a little bit more — I don't wanna say loose, but I've always digested the scripts and like spit out what felt natural with the character and whatnot."

Viewers may recognize Shameik from his portray of Raekwon in Wu-Tang: An American Saga, but he says they shouldn't expect the same performance.

"That's not what they get," he says.

Describing Breeze, Shameik says, "Breeze's a monster with a smile. He's not coming in like, you know, 'I'ma snatch your chain, grr, what's up man?'"

He adds that portraying Breeze was "just really an opportunity to come in and do what ... the people familiar with my work know that I'm capable of in this role." 

Raising Kanan season 5 episode 4 is now streaming.

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