Actor Kyle Klaus is Da Police on TBS Comedy ‘The Last O.G.’
If you’re not watching Season 2 of the TBS comedy “The Last O.G.,” then you’re missing out on some solid and thought-provoking laughs.
The show pairs comedy superstars, Tracy Morgan and Tiffany Haddish, as Tray (Morgan), an ex-con released after 15-years only to discover his Brooklyn neighborhood has gentrified, and his ex-girlfriend Shay (Haddish), who has been raising their twins with her new white husband, Josh (Ryan Gaul).
In the recent episode “Sound of Da Police,” Josh and Tray have different experiences teaching Shahzad to drive, and he learns a hard lesson about privilege. Actor Kyle Klaus enters the story in the final act as a Police Officer willing to let Shahzad go because he attends a private school, not the local one. The irony is that Shahzad was the instigator of the uprising march to the Principal’s office, getting all the other kids to take a stand — and arrested.
Kyle is fresh off appearing on the SyFy dark comedy “Happy” and has popped up all over the screen, including Showtime’s Homeland and Billions. He’s appeared on film festival circuit in the romantic-comedy feature My Bakery in Brooklyn, and starring in Cody Blue Snider’s award-winning short, All That Remains.
Kyle Klaus shares more about working on “The Last O.G.” in this interview.
What can you tell us about your role in “The Last O.G.”?
KYLE KLAUS: I play a not so nice Brooklyn cop who busts some protesters at a local, predominantly black high school. I jump to conclusions based on stereotypes in a few different ways, first with Tray (Tracy Morgan) and then with his son Shahzad. These are current issues we see in the headlines today.
How was it working with the legendary funnyman Tracy Morgan?
KK: Tracy is wild. It was great working with him. Once he got on set, everything changed. He had an entourage with him. There was this element of needing to be on your toes around him. I never really knew what he was going to do — which I loved as an actor. He also had a boom box and was rocking out to Phil Collins “In The Air Tonight” between camera set ups. I thought that was epic.
Any interesting stories from the set you can share with us?
KK: Yes — the first 5 minutes I was on set. I arrived really early to this school in the Bronx where we were filming. An older lady walked by set and tried stealing some of the crew members things. She hardly spoke English, so it was this big ordeal because she wasn’t giving it back. They almost had to get the real law enforcement involved. Also, I had to be covered at all times when I wasn’t on set — since you are not allowed to be walking around impersonating a cop.
Do you think your character might come back?
KK: Good question. I’m not sure if the writers will bring this character back, but I definitely thought it would be interesting if there was a situation where the cop now needed Trey’s help.
What’s been the biggest lesson you took away from the opportunity?
KK: You really have to be flexible and be able to adjust your performance on set. You have an idea before you get to set on how this character should be played, based off your audition that booked you the role, and the show itself. However, you need to be able to be flexible to their directions once you get to set. There are a lot of moving parts and it is a collaborative effort.
Got anything else coming up we can watch for the near future?
KK: Yes — I just got done a recurring role on “The Blacklist.” I’m in the last couple of episodes of the current Season 6. They should air sometime in May.
Want to keep up with actor Kyle Klaus?
Website: www.KyleKlaus.com
Instagram: @kyleklaus
Twitter: @kyleklaus
FB: /kyleanthonyklaus
