‘Power Book II’: Larenz Tate on What Keeps Rashad Tate Ahead of the Dangerous Game on the Show in Season 3 (Exclusive)

Rashad Tate is the character Power Book II: Ghost fans love to hate. Played by Love Jones icon Larenz Tate, Rashad is a true chameleon, serving as a multi-hyphenate in politics, law enforcement, and education. And like any other character on the show, he somehow manages to merge a clean (ish) public image with a behind-the-scenes life of crime. But, as much as viewers sometimes root for his demise, he manages to stay one step ahead and seamlessly transition from one role to the next. In Season 3 as he makes another bid for Governor of New York, his past is exposed and may have some fans empathize with him more than before. Still, his hands aren’t free of guilt as he continues to play a ping pong game with Tariq St. 

Ahead of the March 17 premiere on STARZ, PopCulture.com spoke with the actor about his character’s journey, and what may lie ahead. Check out the full video interview on our YouTube channel. 

PC: So, congratulations on season three of Power Book II. Now Rashad has somehow managed to survive the Mothership series and stay alive in this series as well. No matter what happens, your character always seems to be one step ahead. So what do you think keeps him ahead of the game, and do you foresee his downfall anytime soon?

LT: I think the thing that keeps Rashad ahead is that he’s the type of person that will not allow anything to stop him. He’s always aware that there’s going to be pitfalls, there’s going to be hurdles, there’s going to be things that are thrown his way. But because he is a type of person that is completely driven, nothing will stop him. Nothing at all will stop him. And so I think that we’ll be able to get a chance to see some of those things materialize when it comes to those pitfalls.

But I don’t really see much of a, I try not to wrap my mind too much around his demise, you know what I mean? Because I’m with the universe, keep Rashad alive. We don’t want to see any of its downfalls, but I just think that ego can be part of anyone’s downfall, and you see a lot of self-serving elements in a lot of the characters. There’s a lot of people who aren’t very loyal. Loyalty is one of those things that certainly can get people caught up in their downfalls, but I try not to look at the downfalls, you know what I mean? Because we want to keep those characters alive. But in the show, there will be some triumphs and some downfalls, for sure.

PC: I think it’s also been interesting to watch because he is in an interesting position with his past work in law enforcement. Obviously, he’s balancing politics and then being an adjunct professor or teacher at this school as a man of color, and he’s really able to use that to his advantage. How do we see him continue to assimilate into each world this season?

LT: Well, that’s a very great analogy because he is the type of person that can adapt to any situation, and it really distinguishes him from all the other characters and storylines because he can assimilate. In this season, I feel like we’ll get a chance to see a little bit more of who he is in his backstory. And in doing so, I think there might be some more of the human quality elements that we haven’t seen before or not enough of, and I think we’ll get a taste of that. And there could be a potential love interest of some sort that may pop up or something. I don’t know. I’m like y’all, I don’t know. But it could be, there could be some things that really reflect his past to see where he wants to go in the future, and we’ll be able to roll some of that out this season.

PC: Now with the potential love interest that you teased too, I’m glad you mentioned it because obviously, I wasn’t able to say too much, but how does she factor into the world of Rashad this season? Is she an asset, or is she part of the, I guess the unraveling of him?

LT: I would love to get into detail, but as you know with us here at the Power Universe, we don’t like to give too much detail. We want people to tune in and see what’s really going on. Is there a love interest? Is there somebody in his future? Is there someone in his past, present, what’s going on? I think we will be able to see some of these things manifest in various characters. There’s going to be a lot of love. There’s a lot of things that are being ramped up in terms of the drama, the action, and just the suspense and the thrill of it all with everyone intertwining with each other. It’s going to be really nice to see it all unfold for the audiences.

PC: Well, it is been a pleasure speaking with you today. Good luck on the rest of your junket, and I look forward to, I was able to screen three episodes for season three so far, so I can’t wait to see what the remaining seven gives me, but hopefully you make it to season four.

LT: We’ll see. Well, it’s power, you know how that goes. But I appreciate you, Brenda. Thank you so much.