SEASON 4 POWER UNIVERSE | POWER BOOK III: RAISING KANAN LONDON BROWN, HAILEY KILGORE, MALCOLM MAYS

We're a few days out from S4 of Power Book III: Raising Kanan with its season premiere on STARZ on March 7th. The Power Universe is always pulling us in as we see how they navigate in their world, new faces, and the importance of family dynamics. If you have yet to catch up on the season, now is the time! There are no spoilers here if you have already watched the series; however, if you haven't there may be references in previous episodes.

We sat down with 3 members of the cast London Brown (Ballers, American Soul, Back to the Good Life) who plays Marvin Thomas, Hailey Kilgore (Amazing Stories, Respect, Cinnamon) who plays Laverne "Jukebox" Ganner, and Malcolm Mays (Southpaw, Snowfall, Them) who plays Lou-Lou Thomas. We wanted to know more about their characters, how they see them, where we find them, and chat about what we can look forward to as we get ready for the upcoming episodes.

ATHLEISURE MAG: It’s so great to connect with you all. London, we have talked ahead of every season and it’s so good to check in with you again. Hailey, I had the pleasure of chatting with you prior to S2 I believe which was great. Malcolm, it’s nice to connect with you! What do you enjoy about playing your characters Marvin, Jukebox, and Lou Lou before we delve into the season?

LONDON BROWN: For me, it’s been fun for them to allow me to play the character my way. The fact that they were open and willing to hear the ideas that I had on Marvin and I could tell that the writers started to write for me! That’s always great when the writers know that you are going to do something with their words. I was able to feel that and I knew that they had figured it out.

I’m like, “yo, throw it at me – whatever it is!” Let it be emotional, fun – whatever you want to do. Do you want guns? Do you want him holding some food? I’m ready to have a good time! I just appreciate the writers for even allowing me and trusting me to deliver their words properly, you know?

AM: It’s always fun when I see you on screen London as you always own that screen and it’s great to see how we you have navigated playing Martin.

Hailey and Malcom what about Juke and Lou Lou?

HAILEY KILGORE: Juke is a badass! If I was walking around unafraid like that and willing to be bold would be amazing. I don’t think that I have that personally.

MALCOLM MAYS: I kind of like that he’s kind of a mark, that’s kind of nice. I’m not like that and I don’t get to relate or empathize with mark ass behavior in my life. Everybody is not built of steel, you have to pretend to be built of steel. It’s nice to occupy that space sometimes. In life, much like Black women, Black men don’t get that opportunity to be vulnerable with that physical consequence.

AM: As we wait for S4 to start, where did we leave your characters last season and where are we picking up with them again?

HK: Ooo

MM: Ha! There’s so many seasons!

LB: You know, that’s a good question! I would say that with the last season, I feel like Marvin – you guys are catching him still in the strive of his journey and he’s trying to find his real groove. He’s trying to be a guy that is taking on more responsibility for himself and not trying to be sonned by Raq (Patina Miller). So moving forward, in this season, you see Marvin taking more initiative and making his own moves outside of whatever his sister has going on.

That’s his way of trying to be a little more independent and to take back his position in and within himself. That way he feels validated and so the season of things that Marvin and Stefano Marchetti (Tony Danza) share is because of that. Marvin is trying to find someone that really appreciates his work because for so long, he feels like his loyalty and things like that were slept on! This season, he’s like, “yo, I’m about to figure it out on my own!”

AM: What are you excited about for S4 that fans should be looking forward to?

MM: I think that I just got out of rehab so they should be looking forward to a more sober and less crash out Lou – that’s what I remember!

HK: Listen, I think the fans have been demanding this switch to flip in Juke and I think that they’re going to get that this season.

LB: I’m excited for the fans to see the real family side of the show. I think that sometimes, because it is in the Power Universe, I think that the fans only think about you know, the dramatics, the street life, but I think that this season, the audience will really be able to see that yo, they’re involved in all of the nefarious things, but they are a real family with real issues and son/daughter dynamics – they’re trying to figure it all out. But at the end of the day, they really are family. The family stuff that the audience will finally get to see is going to finally be able to explain and answer some questions from previous seasons. Oh, that’s why Raq and Marvin have this dynamic because of that, this is why Lou is doing what he’s doing – we kind of break it down some more and that has been fun!

AM: It’s incredible how you have all brought these characters to life and we’re looking forward to how we see it on screen soon! It’s great to chat with all of you to get your takes as we get ready for S4 and I always love each season catching up with you.

LB: Thank you so much, I appreciate you!

IG @reallondonbrown

@haileyfkilgore

@imalcolmmays

@raisingkananstarz

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | STARZ/POWR BOOK III: Raising Kanan

Read the FEB ISSUE #110 of Athleisure Mag and see SEASON 4 POWER UNIVERSE | POWER BOOK III: Raising Kanan London Brown, Hailey Kilgore, Malcom Mays in mag.

POWER BOOK III: RAISING KANAN REALITIES OF LIFE MEKAI CURTIS, JOEY BADA$$, LONDON BROWN

Season 3 of STARZ's POWER BOOK III: Raising Kanan is back on Dec 1st at midnight on the STARZ app (all STARZ streaming and on-demand platforms) as well as on STARZ at 9pm ET every Friday night! We caught up with MeKai Curtis (Arrested Development, Girl Meets World, Milo Murphy's Law), Joey BadA$$ (Wu-Tang: An American Saga, Mr. Robot, Grown-ish), and London Brown (The Hustle, Ballers, American Soul) who are all back for the latest season. We wanted to find out about what we can expect for this season (season 4 is not only renewed but is already in production) as well as what we should be excited for!

MeKai plays Kanan Stark in the 90's in the origin story of the character played by Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson in POWER, the flagship series. We know he's the devoted son of Raquel "Raq" Thomas (Patina Miller) and as he searches for answers that he will ultimately evolve. We wanted to know how he approaches Kanan, what drew him to this series and what he is excited for.

ATHLEISURE MAG: It’s so exciting to be able to connect with you. How do you approach playing Kanan?

MEKAI CURTIS: You know, I approach it like any other character that I would approach and like how anybody would approach life. I take it line by line, scene by scene, day by day, reaction by reaction – I kind of just try to make it as organic as I can. That’s all acting it. It’s reacting.

AM: Where did we leave Kanan last season and where are we picking up with him again?

MC: I think that you’ll kind of find Kanan in the same spot that you left him at the end of season 2. He’s just trying to get a lot of answers to a lot of questions that he has and some of the answers that he’s getting aren’t necessarily adding up. So he dives deeper into finding those answers and then he builds his truth and his new world around that information! So you know, you’re just again finding an inquisitive young man trying to figure out what he is doing in life and who he is.

AM: What made you want to play this character as well as to join this amazing cast?

MC: Ah man, I mean, wanting to play this character, it stemmed from partially being a fan of the original franchise and then just wanting to push myself as an artist and to take on something new, to stretch my chops and to do something that I knew that I could. But even signing on, I had no idea in certain ways on what I was stepping into. I’m beyond grateful for it. I’m beyond ready for it. But even the magnitude of where we are and what we’re creating, it wasn’t so heavily on me at the time. It was just again about doing good work and getting to be part of the POWER franchise!

AM: What should fans be excited about as we come into the season as I can’t believe that it launches this Fri on Dec 1st!

MC: Ah wow! It is crazy! Oh wow, it is coming up on Fri!

AM: I know, right?

MC: Yo, time is moving – I mean time is just timing! It’s just happening. Everything is happening so fast! I mean, you just threw me for a loop with that one!

I mean it’s about just being able to watch the season! It’s about continuing the journey and continuing the ride with us. It’s about continuing to unfold and discover this world and these characters and what made the person – the original people that the fans of the original franchise are really able to get to understand. It’s about knowing the person that they saw from the original and new people that we have garnered and have started to bring onto the ship. They’re getting to enjoy just a really good story. It’s a coming of age story, a story of love, a story of forgiveness, a story of ups and downs and bonding. It’s about just trying to pave your way and making it do what it do every day that you’re allowed to!

IG @themekaicurtis

We've been a fan of rapper and actor, Joey BadA$$ and the energy that he brings into playing playing notorious drug lord, Kadeem “Unique” Mathis, a character that continues to unveil his complexities from season to season. In addition to finding out how he brings this character to life, we also wanted to know what he loves about playing him as well as what drew him to the POWER universe.

ATHLEISURE MAG: How do you approach playing Unique?

JOEY BADA$$: Well you know, once I get suited and booted, it’s definitely like I get 5 points for that! You know what I mean? Just being in the attire! Also, it’s just more of the mental preparation than anything. You know, I’m thinking about what must be going on in the character’s mind, what are the current challenges that he’s facing and how can I bring that to life on the screen? How can I show that with my actions or my mannerisms or even my facial expressions.

AM: Where did we leave Unique last season and where are we picking up with him again this season?

JB: So you know, last season we saw the villain become the hero and I thought that that was very interesting. You know, I think that with this new season, historically, he was the guy that you hated that you loved or the guy that you loved that you hated. But now, I feel like people are going to see him in a new light this season because he’s in much more of a vulnerable space navigating this chemistry between him and Raq. So, you know his brother being back home and Ronnie’s (Grantham Coleman) not happy with what Unique has done. So there’s this work-life balance that Unique is facing and you know, I think that people are really going to see more of the human aspect of Unique more than anything this season so I’m excited about that!

AM: What made you want to play this character and be part of this phenomenal cast?

JB: Well I’ve been a fan of the original POWER series you know for a long time. When I saw that they were doing a spin-off, I just thought, look I just need a role. It don’t really matter which one it is, but once the role of Unique came and I auditioned for this character and it landed on my desk, I’m like, this is it – this is me. You know, by every means, this is me. I felt like I was born to play this character, you know what I’m saying? It’s been exciting to say the least and I’m super grateful to be part of this universe and to be part of the family.

AM: It’s always fun to see when you’re on screen! Are there any other upcoming projects that we should keep our eye out for that you can tell us about?

JB: Well, as we know, Raising Kanan Season 3 is coming. I’m working on a new album right now to put out at the top of next year. So I’m looking forward to that! Yeah and you know, more film stuff. I’m actually starting up a production company right now so I’m actually looking to get my hand involved in the executive level in this film industry so I am genuinely excited about that! I’ll be producing some of my own projects. I’m just looking forward to elevation and growth!

IG @joeybadass

Before the series premiere of this show, we caught up with London Brown who plays Marvin Thomas, who is Raq's older brother and Kanan's uncle. In that interview, he introduced us to POWER BOOK III, and it's great to now touchbase with him ahead of the 3rd season, to know more about his thoughts on the intracacies of Marvin, how he continues to approach him when playing him, why he enjoys bringing him to life and of course, what we need to know to be prepared for the upcoming season.

ATHLEISURE MAG: How do you approach playing Marvin?

LONDON BROWN: With a lot of concentration and focus in the sense that I just try to make sure that I try to create a lot of layers for Marvin so that he really becomes 3 dimensional and that he’s just not just some caricature, but more so a real person with real feelings. That way, the audience can go on a journey with me.

AM: Where did we leave Marvin last season, and where are we picking up with him again?

LB: We leave Marvin last season injured and in the middle of trying to repair relationships and we pick it up with him right there in the sense of he’s learned some lessons and now he is trying to apply those lessons to really become a better person. Not only for himself, but for those that he loves.

AM: We had the pleasure to catch up before the first season aired and so to talk with you again has been great. What do you enjoy about playing him across these seasons?

LB: The thing that I enjoy is experimenting with the arc of Marvin. That’s what I like! I don’t like for any character to stay in one thing and you can’t put Marvin in any kind of particular space because he’s doing different things. People can even experience that from the first season. This is true even from season to season. Even within a scene, you'll see Marvin go from one extreme to the next. So that’s been fun, just to get into the layers of playing Marvin.

AM: What should we expect from this season as we’re excited that this show is back!

LB: I think that people should expect plot twists and more specifically with Marvin. Just when people thought that they understood Marvin, they’re going to see a completely different side of Marvin that people can appreciate and whatever ideas that they thought that they had of Marvin in Season 1 like, “oh man, he did – oh wait – he is – he’s like this and like that!” But Marvin is still Marvin. So Marvin don’t start no issues, but if you cross him, he’ll finish them. So the undertone of Marvin is still there, but there are a lot of new notes to Marvin that we explored.

IG @reallondonbrown

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | STARZ/POWER BOOK III: Raising Kanan

Read the NOV ISSUE #95 of Athleisure Mag and see POWER BOOK III: Raising Kanan - Realities of Life | MeKai Curtis, Joey BadA$$, London Brown in mag.

MANIFEST YOUR LIFE WITH LONDON BROWN

This month, the anticipated release of STARZ's Power Book III: Raising Kanan premieres. Before it has even aired, it has already been greenlit for a 2nd season with the cast currently filming. We caught up with London Brown, who plays Marvin Thomas, Kanan's nephew to talk about the new series that takes place in South Jamaica Queens in 1991. We talk about his career from Fuse's The Hustle, his breakout role in HBO's Ballers and how he has evolved as an entertainer. We also talk about how important it is for him to stay grounded as he navigates the industry and his focus on giving back in the ways that he can.

ATHLEISURE MAG: When did you realize that you wanted to be an entertainer? You cover a number of areas as you’re an actor, dancer and a comedian.

LONDON BROWN: I think it’s just a thing that I remember early on always being into the arts. I felt that the arts came very naturally. Between the arts feeling like they were already part of my proclivity, I enjoyed them as well, fortunately. A lot of times, people are gifted and are good at what they do, but they’re not necessarily drawn to them. I was always very passionate about the arts in general. I just remember that it started when I did Easter plays and that sort of thing. So I did it and at school I realized that they had more plays there, so I did those and played the Scarecrow and in Black communities where you grow up in religious households, you go to church – so you’re playing an instrument, you’re singing – you’re doing something on that level. So all these things were just kind of normal and it transmitted to school and so throughout high school, I was involved in bands, was in plays and that’s when I started to take it seriously. I had a theater teacher that saw more in me than I did and encouraged me to take it more seriously.

From there, I went away to school and one of my friends encouraged me to dance. He was a choreographer with a dance team and he said, "you should join the dance team." I told him, "nah, I'm not going to do that.” He then told me that I should do it because he was gay, the rest of the team were all girls and since I was straight, that that would be a great match. So I did and I danced, I kept doing it and I taught dance which allowed me to pay the bills all while I became a teacher where I taught high schoolers theory of acting. While this was going on, I took some auditions to get into the groove of my art. It’s funny because while I was teaching for the high school, a fellow teacher told me about a comedy show that the school was putting on and I asked about it and they suggested that I should sign up to be part of it. I realized that the same energy of the instant gratification that we get from doing live theater, I can also get it from doing standup as it’s just a one man show. Doing standup, I finally felt that I had a voice. I do a lot of different things, but I also feel that with all of the things that I do, God gave them to me because he knew that I would also give them away. So teaching, I inspired a lot of other young people to do whatever they do now.

I was doing standup for about 2 years and I ended up connecting with Chris Tucker and we hit it off. I started touring with him as his opening act for a few years. Somewhere in there, I land my first TV show, The Hustle. That was 2013, it was a small network, but the creator was also the showrunner for Insecure, so Prentice Penny saw a bunch of young actors and said, “hey I want you guys to do this,” gave us a call and we auditioned and he took chances on us. In Hollywood, they want familiar faces so the fact that he took a shot on me, I did a season of The Hustle, Chris had stopped touring and with no TV show, I no longer had an agent or a manager.

So now, I am agentless and I get a call from a friend of mine who asked if I had auditioned from Ballers. I let him know that I had heard about it, but at the time, I was a choreographer just trying to pay bills. He said he would pass my information along. I go in, this is during 2014 and I audition for Ballers and they said they liked me. Initially the character was only supposed to do 1 or 2 episodes. After the audition that I did, they wanted to make me a lead on the show and keep me all 5 seasons. I moved to Miami, filmed and then finished the other half of the season in LA, so after that, the series ends in 2019 and Dwayne pulls the plug as I think that he was just busy because it was still #1!

AM: For sure, we loved watching it every week and although your character generated a lot of reactions and people didn’t like him. But we enjoyed your character. The growth that you did as the character, it’s interesting to see someone who was in a situation where he was trying to protect his friend, try to do what’s right, but you’re in an industry that you really have to learn quickly and to see the progression of the character season by season. We weren’t familiar with your work previous to that show, but when you have a knee jerk reaction to a character, they’re acting their ass off to make you feel that way. It’s not easy to come off that unlikeable.

LB: Right? For me, that’s why it was so important because on paper, the character wasn’t going to be around as that wasn’t the plan initially. He was supposed to be character A, Reggie the best friend. I knew that I really needed to be able to establish my presence 1, a lot of the guys that were on there had established resumes and had been in the industry a long time. I knew the opportunity and the weight that that project was going to have. It had the #1 entertainer with Dwayne Johnson and also it’s HBO, a very credible network. For me, I was going to exhaust whatever energy from whatever scene to make sure that I wasn’t doing too much but I was standing out on some kind of level. And 2, I became the antagonist by accident because we’d be on set and I was improvising a lot because they didn’t have any lines for me because I wasn’t supposed to be around. They said, “ok, let’s let him go and let’s see what we come up with.” So I was giving them stuff and then we kind of found this voice of Reggie as far as making him the fly around the food. So once I tapped into that, I knew I could amp it up wherever they allow me to go. At the same time, as an actor, in the development of making a character 3 dimensional, in season 1 and part of season 2, he was the annoying guy. But we wanted to take him to such a place that by season 5, he’s more responsible and he’s trying to get it together so that he’s really advising Vernon in positive ways. I wanted to make sure that I kept the character interesting and not just fall and be a character like Best Friend #1.

Now, we find out on Instagram that the show is over so I’m like, ok. I’m not worried because from a spiritual place, I don’t even put all my energy into man anyway. So, I feel that I will be fine. I’m working clubs, on the road and touring. So now it’s the fall of 2019 and I get a call from Robi Reed who does all the casting for Spike Lee’s projects and is really great. She calls and asks if I can do American Soul to play Bootsy Collins. I get down there and I learn the guitar and whatever I have to do for the part. I then do a horror film in Canada so I’m doing these 2 projects and my manager says that there is a young agent who is familiar with my work and wants to work with me. I tell him it's cool and he says that he likes what I do and asks me to read the sides, which are pieces of the script.

On the sides I see Power at the top. I think to myself that this can’t be the real Power because I had seen billboards all over Times Square that they are on the final season. So I thought that it was a mock because sometimes, they put a fake title on there. So I went in, I read the part and felt that it flowed well and that whoever was writing it had good language and it’s how I would talk so I thought it was cool. I sent the tape in, I didn’t hear anything and after the Christmas break, the new agent that I’m building with because we are just feeling each other out, I visit the people at the office and they let me know that I have a callback. I do 6 or 7 takes and then I go in and long story short, the agent said that they liked me and wanted to offer me the part. So I agreed and I’m still unaware that it’s Power and then I hear that it’s Raising Kanan. Mind you, I had never watched anything from Power at all. When I would run into fans on the street, they would say, “hey man, my favorite show is Ballers, Game of Thrones and Power.” So I wanted to be part of Power, but I was grateful for what I did have. I wanted to do Power so badly that I didn’t even want to watch it because I was already committed in my current project at the time. So when they said, Raising Kanan, I was confused, but I knew it was a show and it took place in the 90’s. I get on set and I start to connect the dots. People are telling me that this is the backstory of Kanan and I knew that 50 Cent had done something with Kanan because the streets were talking.

It wasn’t until I really got into filming the shoot that I realized that this was a spinoff – Power Book III: Raising Kanan! We’re an official spinoff because we’re the prequel. The other ones continue the story. So when I found out it's 1991, this character is not like Reggie – he’s Reggie on steroids and he just goes there. He’s short-tempered, but he loves and is loyal to his family. There’s a leadership power struggle between him and his siblings because his younger sister is running the whole family operation. She’s showing love to the younger brother because he’s really cool, calm and collected. So my character feels a certain type of way about that. My daughter and I have a strange and strained relationship because my character had done some time and she got a whole other life. So the only person that my character is able to flex some leadership on is my nephew Kanan (editor’s note: in Power, the flagship series Kanan is played by 50 Cent). So I’m the guy who introduced my nephew to this nefarious lifestyle that he begins. So, I’m like the muscle of the crew. My sister gives the orders, I carry them out and sometimes I go beyond what she asks for and that causes some animosity between us but in the end, it’s the loyalty that keeps us very connected to each other.

So, that answers your question and gives you the spill on how this all came out!

AM: You took us on a great journey! The way you presented your story makes me think about something I tell people all the time. When you’re building your brand and taking opportunities that are based on your interests or become available, you never know the people that you come into contact with and the projects that come your way. It’s the sliding doors that you enter and exist that allows you to build your career and sometimes it’s completely unplanned but each link adds another to get to your end result.

LB: You’re right. I know that for a lot of people, when they first saw me, it was from Ballers. But people didn’t know that there were a lot of foundational things that took place when I was doing theater that helped me to have a presence when I was playing across to Dwayne. That’s one side and the other is, if you can’t be the hero, the antagonist is the next best thing. It all just lined up! Even for people who didn’t know me, the fact that all my scenes in season 1 were with Dwayne, it pushed me into a space that I couldn’t have been more grateful for.

My first TV show allowed me to transition from theater and to learn how to play everything inside of a small frame. Ballers helped me to establish my onscreen presence. So by the time I got to Power Book III: Raising Kanan, I have more of a handle on what’s going on and how to play to it. I think that people will really connect with the project and my character Marvin – especially my friends because I do more cursing and drinking on TV then I do in real life! He’s charming but he is intense. My friends who know me, they find it funny that I’m playing Marvin because I’m cursing and rude and I’m so not these guys. But that’s why I enjoy playing them so much because I’m so the other way. I’m chill and very easy going. With Reggie, he didn’t care and he was loud. This character is shooting, fighting and doing all kinds of stuff. So I think people will connect with it very much so!

AM: Power Book III: Raising Kanan released earlier this month. When you got this role, what did you do to prep for it? It takes place in the 90’s. How did you get into the vibe and feel for this series?

LB: For me, I’ve always been a champion for the 90’s from the sitcom, the clothes and the music. I love the 90’s. It’s already part of my regular life so what I did in terms of preparation, I listened to a lot of Nas and 90’s hip-hop to understand the language. We had a dialect coach on set to just keep us where we needed to be in terms of the accent and dialect. I just tried to stay very present. My home is still LA, but for filming we all relocated and I’m actually here now in NY because we got a pick up for the next season already!

AM: Which is awesome because you were confirmed for a 2nd season just days before the premier dropped!

LB: I know and it’s such a blessing! I think that maybe the producers saw what they needed to see and they know it’s rich. I’m not even mentioning me, these guys performances are just strong. Mekai Curtis who plays Kenan is very connected. Our lead actress, Patina Miller (plays Raquel Thomas) she just gives it up - she won a TONY coming from theater. So a few of us have come from theater so already between that and when we came together, we didn’t have any egos. Sometimes in auditions, you meet each other and have chemistry tests and you vibe and they put people together and pair you up to see. We didn’t have any time for that. They booked us, we flew out to NY, we had a photoshoot and the first day was like a family scene. If we were playing like we were in high school on the first day of class, we could play with the awkwardness of real life on screen. But we’re playing a family that’s a tight unit. So we can’t be with the weird stuff. Everyone needs to be present and professional. Anything outside of that has to be left at the door because it can affect the chemistry. Fortunately, day 1, everyone was just cool and supportive of each other. The offscreen energy read very well for what we did onscreen.

The whole thing should come together well. The costumes definitely helped us. The hairdos – I’m in a high top. I spoke to the costumer just yesterday for the fitting and he felt that my character was one of the ones which helped to sell the era. They put me in some Dapper Dan. I mean the budget to make it come to life – even renting the cars so that every car all the way down the block and in the view of the camera was taken back to ’91. They really got all of the aesthetics down for it. I just hope people enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed making it.

AM: How was it working with 50 and Courtney Kemp?

LB: After all the shenanigans that people feel 50 does, they have to understand that the dude is a very smart tactile guy! At the end of the day, 50 is very charming, but he is onto something. I had the chance to talk to him a few times and he really believes in the project, he’s really invested into it and Courtney’s energy and her last say so’s of things with her vision and I think that they both work well with guiding the ship in the right direction. We had a great lead writer, Sascha Penn, she wrote the hell out of the script. All of them were very open if we didn’t understand something or we felt that the character wouldn’t do this or that, it wasn’t about doing it like the way they said, it was very collaborative. They would ask, what do you think and I’d say that I didn’t think Marvin would do it this way, but we could play with it this way. Even with the hair or other items – everyone was really cool. I think again, all the way around the set because we didn’t have egos or dictatorship energy, it allowed people to give their opinions even if we didn’t agree. They were still open to hearing and we found a medium place. That I think is what helped this project all the way around.

AM: Do you find as an actor, that it’s difficult to prepare for a character when it’s a series versus a movie? Then when you’re looking at a series, is it difficult as you go in and out of that character when you’re picking it up to get back into the character when it takes place over multiple seasons? Is that hard for you to separate yourself from that character?

LB: For me, I always separate it from the emotional stuff. I just stayed in the dialect. I didn’t want to be back and forth. So the whole time I was filming, I stayed with the dialect. So now, I have to get back into it because we’re about to film again and I have been in and out of it today. But when I’m filming I stay that way throughout the filming and even off set. The emotional stuff, I leave at work so that I can live, breathe and process because my character is doing all kinds of stuff so I don’t need to bring any of that at home! When I come out of the costume, jump into my sweats and get dropped off, I’m back to that. Also, we were in the pandemic. I'm glad at the time, there was no real social stuff going on. For me, my routine was hitting the gym everyday, I’m a sneakers guy and I’m living in Harlem so I passed by 8-10 sneaker shops and walk in everyday and if I saw something new, I'd grab those and get some groceries. Then, I’d be home to study. I had a very simple vibe of things that I did. I just locked in and tapped in. We were in the middle of winter. I’m from LA and I realized that I was the only one that gave a damn about the snow. Everybody else was indoors and I’m the only one that was outside glad to be in the street and walking to the gym in the snowstorm. But that’s how simple I am – I just enjoyed it. I was grateful to work and grateful to see the snow. I do photography so I went out and would shoot. In my mind, going back to what you said about one path leading to another path and so forth, I’ve always wanted to live in NY but I didn’t want to uproot and to leave LA. So just like this is setup is exactly how I wanted it to be. My things are in LA but I can be here for a period of time but I can still go back home. This is just like how I would have wanted it to happen even though I didn’t ask for this. That’s how I know I’m where I’m supposed to be.

That’s why I encourage people to go out there for what they want to do. There are things on your list that you’re unaware of that automatically come with what they do. I have friends who say that they love to travel, getting free stuff and clothes and I’m like, “do the things that you’re supposed to do and the other things will come.” My core goal is to be an actor, but the other things as a result is living in NY, being able to travel and the free stuff. There’s the love that you get and even helping other people. I don’t complain, I’m just really grateful that people care enough to even want to sit down with me and talk with me so thank you!

AM: What are the workouts that you do and clearly with your job you always have to be ready for whatever is coming at you.

LB: I do a few things. I change up the routine so that my body doesn’t get too comfortable. At one point, I was doing a Dwayne exercise which we would focus on a particular muscle group for that day so Mon – chest, Tues – back legs, Wed – shoulders, Thurs - abs, Fri - arms. I was doing that for awhile. Right now, I’m doing a compound full-body approach. I do something for each muscle group but as a full-body type of thing. When we start filming, I will probably do an upper-body routine and then a lower body the next day. I try to do abs every day usually – at least 200 of something for abs. Again, even with Ballers, in season 1, they were like, “London, we need you to put this tank top on.” I was like, “ahhhh not right now.” At the end of season 2, not that I turned into Dwayne, but I filled out a bit and worked on some stuff. When I did that pool scene, I got myself together with my arms.

Even with this, I got some intimate scenes in season 1 and I’m still vacillating between ideas of what I look like because that was one scene that I wish I could have gone back and taken a look. Not that I could have have changed what I looked like that day, but I know that that scene is coming up and I just hope that I look ok! Because it’s onscreen and this is now locked in forever. That’s why I don’t waste any time. They were making jokes at me for going into the gym, but I was telling my co-stars that this is the first time that people will see whatever they are seeing of us and on the branding side of things, I have done a few photoshoots outside of this. So if people reach out because they think your body looks nice, they may want you to be the face of Levi Jeans or Gap Jeans. I’m thinking way past the scene – it’s the branding side of it. I’m also thinking about the leading guy side of it. Will Smith was The Fresh Prince of Bel-Aire until we saw him in I Am Legend for example. We saw him chiseled up and then we saw him in Ali and he put some size on him. Or even Michel B. Jordan, we were like, “hey that’s the handsome looking Black guy." Then he sized up for Creed and people were like, "ooo Michael B. Jordan." The response that women had when they said his name, I was like, “ok he leveled up!” When he did Black Panther, now he’s in a different league and he is a leading guy. These are the things that I am thinking about so when people are joking about me being in the gym, I’m like, “listen, we’ve got to think past Power if we’re thinking about the next level. We’ve got to look good.”

AM: Absolutely. You don’t know where it’s coming from. You’re right with Michael B. Jordan, we had his trainer who is a Body Transformation Specialist, Corey Calliet who also does a lot of the people in the Marvel Universe etc as our July cover in 2018. He talked about how he transformed his body and you’re right, when he started taking on those roles with that physique, he’s a leading action hero! Now he’s in Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse. So you’re definitely ahead of the game!

LB: I’m just thinking advanced because I live in anticipation and I believe that I can have it and I manifest it. I don’t have any doubt and I am just preparing for the things that I believe are going to come. It’s like when Noah had the arc and people said, there’s going to be a storm and you need to get on the boat and people were like, “yeah sure - right.” I’m just trying to tell my friends that we have to get ready. Everyone mentally is not able to function in that capacity. But I know of many things that I have said and they did happen and when I spoke about Power and to be on Power, I had no idea it would be in the spinoff and I knew I wanted to do it. There are a couple of things on the list and I am just trying to do the best that I can to be prepared for them as I know that they are on the way.

AM: Do you have other projects that you’re working on that we should keep an eye out?

LB: Right now, it’s Power and now that the clubs are opening up, I will get back into doing standup. But there is a book of photography that I’m working on. I want to use the photos for the income from the book to help with homeless people. I do a lot with homeless people. Growing up, I always have helped street people and would feed them. LA has a huge homeless problem so I am working on this coffee table book. As people look at the homeless people from the different places that I have traveled to, it’s a way to keep us very grounded and to remind us on how we look at things. It’s very easy, not that I am in a high position, but even in the position that I am in, you can get caught up and think it’s about you. The best way for me to keep my heart in check is that I am always giving. By doing this book and what have you, it will help people that when they sit down and their rich friends come over and they take off their Rolex, there’s a book there that you can just tap into every so often and they can say that they are grateful for their apartment, house or whatever they have. That book will remind them that there are people who don’t even have a bed or food. I would give these people a pear, apple, PB+J and they would say, “thank you, I appreciate you.” I would talk with them and I realized that people aren't just crazy or on drugs. They may have went through a depression, a divorce, were in the military and they just fell on tough times. Even with this pandemic, it showed how people had troubles and everyone was shut down. Now people have to reup and regroup and focus. I did a table read during the pandemic and one of the actors was complaining about something and I’m like, “brother, we’re doing a table read. We’re working.” That’s the angle, I’m not mad at him. It just reminds me that I need to keep giving and keep myself very connected and grounded because the truth is, if I stay on the ground, if I fall or stumble, I’m already down there. But when people get besides themselves and spiritually, I’d rather keep myself humble then to have God do it – I got it and will do what I need to do because I don’t want Him to do it. I'll stay in check.

AM: So when you’re not on set or on stage and all of the things you do, what do you do to take time for yourself?

LB: If it’s not the gym, I’m going live and cooking. I do a lot of live stuff and interact with my followers. Or it’s my photography, I’m out and about with my camera shooting or just trying to help friends with their headshots. I also cut hair so if I'm in the city or I'm at home, guys want to come up, I cut hair. I’ll be home if anything, I’m really easy going. I like the self-care of cooking at home or going to the gym or giving to others in some capacity – the homeless and feeding them and trying to be of service.

IG @RealLondonBrown

PHOTO CREDITS | PG 127 London Brown | PG 128 + 131 HBO/Ballers | PG 132 - 139 STARZ/Power Book III: Raising Kanan |

Read the JUL ISSUE #67 of Athleisure Mag and see Manifest Your Life with London Brown in mag.