Landon Buford
LaToya Luckett was sent the role of Kenya Pierce in an email from her agent, which she saw but didn’t want rejection again.
“I was like, I saw it, and it was for the role on Power Book III: Raising Kanan, and at that time, I didn’t look at it. I was like, I’m not ready. I don’t want the rejection again life be lifting, and there’s a lot of rejection that comes with the auditioning process,” said Luckett.
“Give all your time and character; go into the audition room. You think you got it, and you get a big no, which keeps happening [repeatedly]. Until you get the yes, you’ll get more no’s, then you’ll get yes’s, and that’s how this game works. So I got the no, and I didn’t want any more no’s. So I didn’t even look at the script’s role [or] nothing.”
Luckett added, “She [her agent] called me again a couple of days later and was like, at least put yourself on tape for it. I was like, I don’t know about this, and my cousin Tamika ended up coming over, and she was like, you going to do this today, and when I tell you, she had to drag me into it. I had a ring light, and that was it. I did a couple of takes. She’s not an actress, so she was behind the camera reading the lines like this. I don’t even think I put on makeup or anything to prepare. I learned the ropes and did it with this nonchalant like imma get it, or I’m not. I hope I don’t, but if I do, will I keep it because I just went through that experience.”
Luckett had a role, and it took away. They elected to go in another direction. According to Luckett, she would later book the part; Sean Penn, through her agent, said, “We love her. She’s our Kenya.”
Luckett will be play role opposite London Brown, who plays Marvin Thomas. He recently shared some insight on her role.
“So, with her character, from what I know, she comes back into our lives out of nowhere and as far as the dynamics between us. We have old stuff that we have to hash out. We have some unsettled business. So, when we meet up, Marvin is like, we have to talk. We gotta figure [it] out how, and I think we bring clarity for the audience on why the dynamic between Marvin and Jukebox is the way it is or why Jukebox is the [way] she is,” said Brown.
“Letoya Luckett’s character without giving too much away. She is a vital part of our story as a family unit or a separated family. So, I think the audience will get a chance to understand why Jukebox is the way she is and why Marvin acts the way he does. [We] see them bring it together and flush out some stuff.”
You can see Rasing Kanan every Sunday night on Starz at 8 pm EST.
