Michael Rainey Jr. (born September 22, 2000) is an American actor best known for the role of Tariq St. Patrick on ''

Power Power most often refers to: * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events ** Abusive power Power may a ...

'' and '' Power Book II: Ghost''. He also starred as Michael Burset in ''

Orange Is the New Black ''Orange Is the New Black'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''OITNB'') is an American comedy-drama streaming television series created by Jenji Kohan for Netflix. The series is based on Piper Kerman's memoir '' Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Wo ...

'' and Jalen in '' Barbershop: The Next Cut''.

Early life and education

Rainey Jr. was born in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, the son of Michael Rainey Sr. and Shauna Small. Through his mother, he is of Jamaican descent. His father lives in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, with Rainey Jr. being raised in

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

, New York from the age of 1. His mother homeschooled him in his youth and as he grew older, he became known for the various cars he owns and to this day, his fashion taste is praised, both on and off screen. Rainey Jr. supports ‘Find and Feed’, an

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

based organization that cares for the homeless.

Career

Rainey Jr. began his career at the age of ten when featured in Un Altro Mundo, and followed it with appearances in a variety of movies and shows such as Orange is the New Black, Barbershop,

Amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

211 Year 211 ( CCXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, in the Roman Empire it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Terentius and Bassus (or, less frequently, year 964 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomin ...

and Power. Rainey Jr. currently stars as Tariq St. Patrick in the expanded Power franchise,

Book II A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical arra ...

, where he plays the shows leading character. In March 2022, Rainey Jr., along with Power co-star

Gianni Paolo Gianni Vincent Paolo (born ), is an American actor, writer and director known for playing the role of Brayden Weston on ''Power'' and its spin-off and sequel, '' Power Book II: Ghost''. He is also notable for portraying Chaz in the 2019 hor ...

, launched Twenty Two Entertainment. The first project is the self-hosted podcast, The Crew Has It. Twenty Two Entertainment is fully funded by Artists For Artists, launched in December 2021 by

Kenan Thompson Kenan Thompson (; born May 10, 1978) is an American actor and comedian. He has been a cast member of the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' since 2003, making him the longest-tenured cast member in the show's history. He was also th ...

and John Ryan Jr.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rainey, Michael Jr. 2000 births Living people American podcasters Male actors from Louisville, Kentucky Male actors from Staten Island 21st-century American male actors American male television actors