‘Power’ Season 5: How Rotimi’s Dre Has Morphed From Annoyance To Rival

Season 5 of Power kicks off this Sunday night on Starz and viewers are surely excited about the re-teaming of Ghost (Omari Hardwick), Tommy (Joseph Sikora), and Kanan (50 Cent), but they might be just a little less jazzed about the return of Dre (Rotimi Akinosho). He’s developed into the villain of the show, the foil to Ghost as he tries to get his life back on track, and an utter annoyance to the passionate audience. But after hearing Rotimi, the actor responsible for bringing this troublemaker to life, explain how he views Dre…I found myself with a new respect for the character everyone loves to hate.

Most actors will claim to have something about their character that they understand, feel for, or even relate to in some cases. So when I asked Rotimi at the recent Power press junket if he was as annoyed with Dre as the rest of the world is, he responded by saying, “I honestly love Dre.” Wait, what? “I mean, some of the things he says [are] kinda crazy, I’ll say that,” Rotimi reasoned, “But his actions are very justified.”

As far as the fan reaction goes, he understands that, “It’s just the fact that people are so ‘Team Ghost’ because of the writing, but in actuality, [Dre] is no different. He has no loyalty to anybody, [and] they’ve done way worse things than him. [Ghost’s] best friend he put away for ten years, he constantly is doing something behind his other best friend’s back.” And, well, it’s pretty damn hard to argue with that!

“I think Dre is the most justified to feel and do what it is he [does],” Rotimi said, continuing to justify Dre and his motives. “It’s interesting because, again, the writing has made you feel a different way.”

And as far as the writing goes, creator Courtney Kemp explained, “[Dre] was designed to be Ghost 2.0 with Tariq (Michael Rainey Jr.) being Ghost 3.0. Tariq is the full realization of the idea of creating the ultimate, what my sister-in-law would call ‘bougie thug’ but I would call someone who is capable of running a Fortune 500 industry but chooses to do it on the wrong side of the law. As opposed to having to do it that way, he chooses to do it that way. Tariq is a metaphor for adolescence, when you start to really figure out who the hell you are,” she said of the show’s arguably most frustrating character, which really helps to put Dre and the slicker moves he’s making into perspective.

“Dre is constructed from the idea that this is a young person. Remember, he still has a 2 in front of his age. So you’ve got this kid who has been trained, [whose life] has been saved by Kanan, who has been mistreated by Kanan, who has swaying allegiance based on what is best for him at any given moment, and who has been taught, by both Ghost and Kanan, different pieces of the game. So when we examine that, of course he is the way he is, why would he be any different? And he does what he is supposed to do. We have been very careful that Dre doesn’t do anything that Ghost hasn’t done. But when Ghost does it, everybody is cool with it.”

That’s not to say no one is a fan of Dre. In fact, Sikora is particularly fond of watching the character in action. “It’s a wonderful exercise to see past where the story is telling you to look and to look at the full story. As a fan of the show, Dre is my favorite character to watch,” he revealed. “Dre was, for Tommy, an annoyance, but that is no longer a word that can be used. He is so much bigger than that to Tommy, he has [gone] from an annoyance to Tommy’s rival.”

And while Dre’s morals and actions might be rather questionable, the performance Rotimi is bringing to the screen as an actor is not. With each season it has become even more layered, more devious, more consequential, and simply more intense in a really significant way. Early this season there’s a late night scene he shares with Ghost that is one of the most chilling yet exciting and a true signifier of where the cutthroat drama on this show is heading.
Season 5 finds Dre continuing to oversee the club, major drug deals, and that his goals are fully realized, but going into this installment of Power, where the stakes are higher, the show is darker, and what’s asked of him as an actor is potentially much more challenging, Rotimi was still feeling confident. “I knew that there was going to be a lot asked of me, so I was excited. I don’t know what to expect because Courtney’s writing is so unpredictable and so great. I really just studied and listened a lot and focused on bringing a different vibe every scene and really challenge myself. That was the first time I really felt that.”

Safe to say, it worked. Sikora had nothing but truly glowing praise for his co-star, acknowledging that, “Acting with Rotimi has made me a better actor and I’m very grateful for that.” 

He credits his co-star’s young age, at just 29 years old, as a major factor in Rotimi’s growth as an actor throughout his four seasons on the show. “To watch him be a constant student, and that’s all I ever want to be, for the rest of my life, I want to be what I see reflected in Rotimi. He is not afraid to ask questions. He is an open book, with a strong spine and big shoulders and I think that that’s real. Watching Rotimi work, really does humble me. He is unafraid to be like, ‘Hey I need to know more about this’ or ‘What do you think about this’ or ‘Where are you going with this’ or ‘What did you think when you read this.'” 
But the real question is, what did you think when you read this? You might have a whole new perspective on Dre now, and of course, you might not. Either way, one thing is for sure: on Power, it could all change in a single moment.
Power season 5 premieres Sunday, July 1 at 8pm ET/PT on Starz. 

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