Shameik Moore on The Pressure of Portraying Raekwon in ‘Wu-Tang: An American Saga’

“I was never comfortable talking back in a New York accent to him.”

Earlier this week, fans caught their first glimpse of Shameik Moore as a young Raekwon in Hulu’s Wu-Tang: An American Saga. And now, as the show enters its second leg, Moore has opened up about how he was brought into the production and what informed his preparation for the role.

READ: Wu-Tang: An American Saga is a Crime Drama Masquerading as a Hip-Hop Biopic

“I felt pressured,” he tells The Hollywood Reporter in a recent interview. Moore adds, “This person that exists, how he walks, how he talks, how he laughs, how he looks when he gets mad, how he sounds when he raps, how he eats food, that’s what I’m doing.” Moore goes on to reveal his insecurity over the New York accent demanded by the role, especially as he was no expert in Wu-tang prior to landing it. Luckily, The Chef was never too far for a brief consultation, coaching the actor in all things Shaolin.

Watch Shameik Moore discuss the pressures of portraying a hip-hop giant in Wu-Tang: An American Saga below.