‘Power Book II: Ghost’: Woody McClain Says Cane Is Motivated by 1 Thing
Power Book II: Ghost is a riveting drama series. The first spinoff to the original show, Power, the series follows 18-year-old Tariq St. Patrick (Michael Rainey Jr.). Following his father’s murder, Tariq begins working for the Tejada family crime organization and selling drugs on his college campus. While Tariq works directly for Monet Tejada (Mary J. Blige), the black-hearted queenpin and head of the organization, he also finds himself entangled with her children, Diana (LaToya Tonodeo), Drew (Lovell Adams-Gray) and, Cane (Woody McClain).
From Ghost to Tariq’s godfather Tommy Egan (Joseph Sikora) and even Monet, there have been many ruthless characters in the Power Universe. However, in Power Book II: Ghost, Cane might be the most diabolical of them all. Hot-tempered and vicious, Cane is terrifying. His suspicion of Tariq has also put the college student in his crosshairs.
In the first season of Power Book II: Ghost, we watched Cane’s actions get him ousted from his family’s inner circle, so in season two we can’t even begin to imagine the rampage he will be on. Now, McClain is giving fans insight into his character.
Who is Woody McClain’s character Cane Tejada in ‘Power Book II: Ghost’?
From the moment we meet Cane in Power Book II: Ghost he’s living life on the edge. Always at his mother’s side as her muscle since his father, Lorenzo (Berto Colon) is incarcerated and his brother Drew doesn’t quite have the disposition of a killer, Cane’s volatile temper is always on display. As Tariq is pulled into the family’s inner circle, Cane becomes increasingly unhinged.
Frustrated with how his mother is running the family business and disgusted with her affair with an NYPD police officer, Cane kills the policeman in a rage. Eventually, defying his mother and father gets him booted from their world.
“[T]hat’s been a great challenge, honestly,” McClain told Complex. “But Courtney Kemp did an amazing job of creating these “books” for us to really understand our characters and really dive into the people that we get a chance to portray on-screen. For me personally, without Courtney giving me that, I probably would have been lost. She knows exactly what she wants, and it’s always great working with people like that. We don’t have to guess anything. It’s all laid out. All we do is just bring them to life.”
However, McClain says Cane is really just trying to impress one person.
Woody McClain says Cane is motivated by one thing in ‘Power Book II: Ghost’
Despite his actions, it’s clear that Cane has a deep love and appreciation for his family. However, there is just one person that motivates most of his actions, his father Lorenzo.
“Every decision that he was making, those choices came from his dad. Not having his dad there, things are just blurry,” McClain told USA Today. “He’s just trying to follow in his father’s footsteps. Cane is always thinking ‘what would dad do?’ “
However, it appears that Lorenzo might not feel the same about his eldest son since he’s constantly directing Monet to give Drew more responsibility. Also, in an episode from the first season, Lorenzo orders some prison guards to give Cane a beat down after he gets into a fight with Monet.
Is Cane Tejada the biological son of Lorenzo Tejada in ‘Power Book II: Ghost’?
Lorenzo’s preference for Drew despite Cane being the best fit for the family business has some fans questioning the eldest Tejada son’s paternity. After all, Cane also doesn’t look like his siblings. Monet is a Black woman and Lorenzo is Puerto Rican. Though Drew and Diana appear to be mixed race, Cane appears to be fully Black.
However, Power creator Courtney A. Kemp gave fans a hint about Cane’s parentage. “Cane’s real name is Lorenzo Tejada, Jr.,” she shared on Instagram Live. “As a kid, he used to run around the house so much, he acted like a hurricane.”
