Malcolm Mays

Malcolm Michael Mays (born February 14, 1990) is an American actor, musician, and filmmaker. At the age of seventeen, Mays co-directed and produced his own short film, aided by producer Todd Black, Gary Martin of Sony Pictures and others. Mays is a nephew of Stanley "Tookie" Williams, the notorious co-founder of the Crips gang.

Film career Sony Pictures, Kodak Films, Todd Black, John Singleton, and Denzel Washington, all have played an important role in Mr. Mays’ productions. His film entitled Trouble aimed to shed light on the African American and Latin American (Black vs. Brown) tension in South Central Los Angeles; the place where young Mays was reared. The New York Times found Mr. Mays’ story to be so compelling that they printed a front page article, “Based on a true story,” telling May's story and accomplishments. Mays was cited in an August 9, 2013 interview of Cuba Gooding Jr. in the Huffington Post as part of the "next generation" of African-American actors. Millennium Entertainment has acquired all U.S. rights to the film.

Mays starred as Gabe in the 2015 sports drama film Southpaw directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by Kurt Sutter. The film stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Forest Whitaker, and Rachel McAdams, and was released on July 24, 2015, by The Weinstein Company.

Mays was cast as a series regular in FX’s drama pilot Snowfall, about the beginnings of the crack cocaine epidemic in Los Angeles in the 80s. Co-written by John Singleton and Eric Amadio and directed by Singleton, Snowfall is set against the infancy of the epidemic and its ultimate radical impact on the culture as we know it. Mays played Kevin Hamilton, Franklin’s (Damson Idris) best friend since childhood. In 2021, Mays was cast as a series regular on the STARZ drama series Power Book III: Raising Kanan, as Kanan’s uncle Lou Lou.

Music career Malcolm Mays started playing piano at age eleven and is the writer of music heavily influenced by 90's R&B and 18th century poetry. Mays cites broad influences from music, art and film. Influences cited by Mays as inspirations include music from Eric Dolphy and John Coltrane to Rachmaninov and Beethoven, paintings of Caravaggio and Michelangelo, performers such as Sinatra, Prince, Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones, and the poetry of John Keats & James Baldwin. Mays has also cited the voice of Nina Simone and the readings of Maya Angelou and acts such as The Yardbirds, Cream and Jimi Hendrix as major influences.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 2010 On the Run Keenan Short 2013 Life of a King Tahime 2014 The Graduate Graduate Short 2015 Southpaw Gabe H8RZ Cameron Covers X 2016 Love Is All You Need? Mike Samson 2019 The Day Shall Come Farmer X 2021 A Backyard in Baldwin Hills Malcolm Short

Television Year Title Role Notes 2017 Rebel Brim Recurring cast 2017–18 Snowfall Kevin Hamilton Recurring cast: Seasons 1–2 2021 Them Calvin Recurring cast 2021–2026 Power Book III: Raising Kanan Louis "Lou-Lou" Thomas Main cast