“It’s a diverse community. I was exposed to a lot of textures of life that most people don’t have the luxury and misfortune of experiencing,” said actor, musician, and filmmaker Malcolm Mays.
This is how Mays described growing up in Los Angeles – rich and full of art.
For three seasons, Mays’ artistic life has been spent playing Lou-Lou Thomas in the Starz original series “Power Book III: Raising Kanan.” According to Mays, the show’s fourth season will be premiering soon, and it has already been renewed for a fifth.
Mays will also be starring in the upcoming production of the Tarell Alvin McCraney stage play “The Brothers Size” at the Geffen Playhouse, August 14 through September 8, 2024.
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Mays also played Kevin Hamilton in the FX drama series “Snowfall,” which was co-created, and executive produced by one of his mentors, John Singleton.
One of Mays’ other artistic outlets is music. He has produced several albums, including “Street Journal: Vol. 1,” “Confessions of a Lost Angel: Vol. 1,” “Red Flags,” “Stickz and Stonez,” and “Dramatik.”
“Music, as Black people, it’s in our blood. It’s in our DNA,” said Mays. “From the heartbeat to the lungs to the negro spiritual… It’s all connected to blackness.”
Mays similarly related his new project at the Geffen to music: “Polyrhythms. Everything. Even the way Tarell [Alvin McCraney] writes in this play, ‘The Brothers Size,’” he said. “It’s just so engrained in the marrow – in the bones of this play, and in the bones of our art. Music is everything.”
Mays said McCraney’s plays, along with August Wilson’s, were introductions to worlds he had not yet explored.
“Tarell’s play, when I was a teen, was an introduction to a world I should have known, which is our own mythology,” said Mays. “I’ve always been very interested in mythology. [The] one that was promoted the most was Greco-Roman mythology.”
Mays continued, “To have Tarell introduce Yoruba – West African gods and figures was everything. It meant everything to me, because it opened up a world I didn’t even know existed, and now we have so many options for kids to learn other mythos.”
According to the Geffen Playhouse website, “The Brothers Size” is a modern-day fable about two brothers in the Deep South. Ogun, the elder brother, embodies hard work and reliability, while Oshoosi, formerly incarcerated, is seemingly carefree and unpredictable.
Their relationship is tested when the charismatic Elegba arrives, tempting Oshoosi back to his old habits. The brothers wrestle with loyalty, freedom, and duty, and their humanity is revealed through a raw and heartfelt exploration of the bonds of brotherhood.
Mays said he is very proud of the work he’s doing on “The Brothers Size.” But he is also looking forward to the highly anticipated return of his television series “Raising Kanan” for its fourth season.
Like “The Brothers Size,” “Power Book III: Raising Kanan” is about an unconventional family.
It is a crime-drama about a high-school-aged young man who is being raised by his mother, who runs a drug ring along with her two brothers.
Although Mays said he cannot reveal much about the upcoming season of the show, he said fans can expect brilliant performances from his co-stars Patina Miller, Hailey Kilgore, Mekai Curtis, and London Brown.
When Mays speaks about his character Lou-Lou in “Raising Kanan,” he says he only sometimes empathizes with the problematic character.
“He’s not really my cup of tea as a person… I love what’s happening with him creatively,” said Mays. “He’s really one of my favorite characters I’ve ever played. Just because I don’t agree with him as a human doesn’t mean I don’t love the character.”
There has been no official release date for the upcoming season of “Raising Kanan.”
Until then, theatre goers can check out Mays’ performance as Elegba in the upcoming Geffen Playhouse stage production of Tarell Alvin McCraney’s “The Brothers Size.”
For more information on “The Brothers Size” at the Geffen Playhouse, visit https://www.geffenplayhouse.org/shows/the-brothers-size/.
