Yahoo News Scene 2 Seen Podcast: Patina Miller Discusses Her Journey Through Film, TV And Theater, Coping With Rejection And The Upcoming Finale Of ‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’
Hello, and welcome to the Scene 2 Seen Podcast. I am Valerie Complex, an associate editor and film writer at Deadline. Today I’m chatting with Power Book III: Raising Kanan star, Patina Miller. As a major talent across film, television and musical theater Miller portrays Raquel “Raq” Thomas on the Starz original series which is coming up on the end of its third season.
Raising Kanan is the third show in the Power Universe. This one is about a young Kanan Stark (played by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson’s character from the first series) and how he joins his family’s growing and dangerous drug business. It takes place in Queens, New York during the 1990’s.
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Raq is the mother of Kanan. To Kanan, she might come across as affectionate, yet on the streets, she embodies the epitome of toughness, navigating the male-dominated world with a blend of coldness, determination, and ferocity. Despite her hard exterior, Raq possesses the capacity for love, directing her deep affection exclusively towards Kanan, who represents her world. As the middle sibling among three, Raq also shoulders the responsibility of being the primary provider for her two brothers, Lou-Lou (Michael M. Mays) and Marvin (London Brown), adding to her complex character.
Miller previously starred as press coordinator Daisy Grant in the CBS hit drama series Madam Secretary, starring Tea Leoni, Bebe Neuwirth and Tim Daly. She also starred as Charlotte Jenkins on the PBS Civil War-era drama Mercy Street, alongside Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Josh Radnor. The show marked PBS’ first original drama in more than a decade. Additionally, Miller served as the narrator in Jim Henson’s animated children’s series Word Party.
In 2021, Miller starred in The Many Saints of Newark, the feature film prequel to David Chase’s award-winning series The Sopranos. She made her feature film debut as Commander Paylor in Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, starring Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Julianne Moore and Philip Seymour Hoffman. The first part of the famous trilogy’s finale was released in November 2014. Miller then reprised her role in the final installment of the series, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2, which was released in November 2015.
Last summer, Patina made her highly anticipated Broadway return in the critically acclaimed revival of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s 1987 musical, Into The Woods. Miller received rave reviews starring as the Witch, a role she played during a Hollywood Bowl production of the musical in 2019. This marked the first time in 8 years that she graced the Broadway stage since she won a Tony Award for “Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical” in 2013 for her role in the show Pippin.
In today’s episode, Patina Miller and I discuss her experiences across film, television and theater, how to move on from rejection, and what’s in store for the finale of Power Book III: Raising Kanan.
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