Power Book III: Raising Kanan’s Sascha Penn Explains Why Shameik Moore Was the Right Choice for Breeze [Exclusive]

Power Book III: Raising Kanan finally introduced the long-mentioned character in the original Power series, Breeze.

Shameik Moore plays the character Breeze, whose real name is Branford Frady. He made his on-screen debut in the season 4 finale of Raising Kanan. In this episode, Breeze is introduced to Kanan by Snap and Pop as Kanan seeks to expand their trade network.

Breeze was first mentioned when Kanan and Ghost talked about him on the original Power as Breeze mentored them two, along with Tommy Egan when they were younger. Breeze was killed by Ghost, and he even admitted this to his son, Tariq St. Patrick.

Sascha Penn always intended to introduce the character of Breeze near the conclusion of the Power saga, either in the final season or toward the end of the penultimate one. Breeze’s long-standing presence in the mythology of the series without ever being seen has made his arrival highly anticipated and potentially polarizing. Fans have spent years imagining who Breeze is and what he should look or act like, which sets the stage for strong reactions once the character is finally revealed on screen. Penn sees this moment as a pivotal and fascinating part of how the Power Universe continues to unfold.

Sascha Penn compared the introduction of Breeze to the experience of seeing a beloved book adapted into a film. “It’s like when you read a book and then watch the movie version, you rarely imagine the characters exactly the way they show up on screen,” he explained. Penn recalled a rare exception: when his son read The Black Stallion, the film’s choice of a black horse perfectly matched what readers envisioned. “That’s probably the only time in movie history where the casting actually lined up with people’s imaginations,” he said. 

With Breeze, however, Penn acknowledged that audiences will inevitably bring their expectations and interpretations of who the character should be. Shamiek Moore previously played as Raekwon on Hulu’s Wu-Tang: An American Saga, Shaolin Fantastic on Netflix’s The Get Down, and is the current voice actor of Miles Morales on Marvel’s Spiderman animated film series.

“Breeze has always been described as a super charismatic guy who lights up the room when he steps into it,” said Penn. “People tend to gravitate toward him. I feel like Shameik Moore possesses all those qualities, both as an actor and as a person, and he really brings that to this character. There’s also a subtle, hard edge to him that he’s able to tap into. I think we’re going to have a lot of fun with this character, and I believe the fans will really enjoy him.”