More Than an Actor: Marcus Callender on Writing, Producing & Being a True Creative | Part 1
The Breakfast Club
The Black Effect Podcast Network and iHeartPodcasts
4.4 • 14.4K Ratings
🗓️ 25 November 2025
⏱️ 48 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode of The Latest with Loren LaRosa, Loren sits down with actor, director, and writer Marcus Callender for a deeply insightful conversation about his journey in the entertainment industry. Marcus opens up about his breakout role in Power, the life-changing visibility that came with the Wu-Tang: An American Saga series, and the emotional highs and lows of navigating recognition, creative pressure, and unexpected setbacks.
He shares the challenges of working through the writers’ strike, the impact of industry instability, and how these experiences ultimately inspired him to self-produce his passion project, the stage play Spades. Marcus reflects on the moment he took a leap of faith—moving to Los Angeles—and how that decision unlocked new opportunities, purpose, self-belief and more.
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Transcript
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| 0:39.0 | Let's get, best get to do it. |
| 0:55.4 | I'm a homeguard that knows a little bit about everything and everybody. You hear that exclusive? You know if you don't lie about that, right? Lauren came in. Hi. Back on the ground. Raleigh, Hey y'all, what's up? It's Lauren LaRosa, and this is the latest with Lauren LaRosa. |
| 0:55.4 | This is your daily dig on all things pop culture. Hey y'all, what's up? It's Lauren LaRosa, and this is the latest with Lauren LaRosa. |
| 1:01.3 | This is your daily dig on all things, pop culture, entertainment news, and all of the conversations that shake the room. Now, today I'm bringing you guys another conversation that was guaranteed |
| 1:07.3 | to shake your room, but also shake your faith a little bit, your motivation |
| 1:10.9 | a little bit. |
| 1:11.8 | I'm sitting down with Marcus Callender, who is not only an actor. |
| 1:15.9 | He would actually be, uh, he would be so annoyed if I only called him an actor, but he is a creative. |
| 1:22.5 | He is a multi-hyphenate, an actor, director, writer, all around storyteller who has been able to make impact |
| 1:30.9 | both on screen, behind the camera, and now behind the script with his play, Spades. Spades the |
| 1:38.6 | play is everything black, bold, conversation, nuance, comedy, put into one spades game and put on a live |
| 1:48.8 | stage. You guys will know Marcus Callender who played Power, who played Oliver Power Grant on |
| 1:54.2 | Wu Tang and American Saga. He also played Ray Ray on Ghosts from Power Book 2. Y'all remember, |
| 1:59.1 | we lost Raina because of Ray Ray. But if you don't know him |
| 2:02.8 | or if you're just finding him, I'm so happy to introduce him here in conversation on the latest with |
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