Mary J, Method Man make ‘Power’ moves on hit Starz series

LOS ANGELES — While filming “Power Book II: Ghost,” Clifford “Method Man” Smith sometimes camped out in Mary J. Blige’s dedicated break area during their downtime to briefly warm up near her heater on a chilly New York set. “We leaned on each other a lot,” said Blige, who portrays the character of Monet Stewart Tejada — a leader of her family’s illegal drug organization on the show, which airs Fridays on Starz. “We’ve been doing this for a longtime,” said Blige, who received an Oscar nomination in 2018 for her supporting role in the Netflix film “Mudbound.” She’s starred in a number of other projects, including “The Umbrella Academy,” “Body Cam” and “Respect.” For once in Smith’s acting career, he’s starting to see more people recognize him for his role in “Power Book II” than his rap persona. “There are some fans who are keeping me in the ‘Method Man’ box, so I’m going to kick my way out.” Blige said their previous acting endeavors helped prepare them for “Power.” “We transitioned slowly, slowly, slowly into acting, but never leaving music behind,” Blige said.