The Perfect Find: Why Eric Looks So Familiar
Director Numa Perrier's fresh romantic comedy flick "The Perfect Find" is finding quite a bit of popularity on Netflix, and it's safe to say there have been a lot of eyes on the movie's leads since it was released. Of course, there's Gabrielle Union's nuanced performance as embattled beauty journalist Jenna, but there's also her love interest, the youthful and charming videographer Eric, portrayed by Keith Powers.
Viewers of "The Perfect Find" might find Eric's actor in particular to look quite familiar to them. Indeed, Powers has appeared in a number of popular projects from the past decade or so across both the film and TV industries. In fact, he actually kicked off his acting career with a minor appearance in the renowned teen drama series "Pretty Little Liars" in 2013 before moving on to a number of even meatier roles. Here are some of his most notable appearances from over the years.
Straight Outta Compton (2015)
Keith Powers made his big feature film debut as part of the cast for the hip hop biopic "Straight Outta Compton" in 2015. In the movie, the actor plays Tyree Crayton, the younger half-brother of Corey Hawkins' Dr. Dre. Powers' performance is quite the minor part, but Tyree still has a major impact on the emotional arc of his brother. While on tour with his friends, Dr. Dre learns from his mother that Tyree has been killed during a fight, prompting some very emotional scenes as he feels immense guilt for his brother's death.
In an interview between Powers and Andscape, he revealed that his performance was influenced by the real-life verdict in the case of his cousin Rodney King, an African-American man who unsuccessfully pressed charges against four police officers who used excessive force to beat him into submission. "I don't think Dre or Cube even know that was my cousin," the actor said. "To this day, it's something powerfully connected to me and forever impacts me."
Fear The Walking Dead (2015)
The very same year that Keith Powers made his big theatrical debut, he also landed a guest starring role on yet another very prominent TV series. Indeed, the actor was part of the cast for the very first episode of "The Walking Dead's" first spin-off series "Fear The Walking Dead." In the pilot, Powers portrays Calvin, a friend of major character Nick Clark (Frank Dillane). Calvin is a drug dealer and supplier to Nick, but when he begins to think that his friend might rat him out, he tries to murder him. The plan backfires and Nick kills Calvin in self-defense, prompting the man to become one of the very first reanimated zombies seen in the show.
In an interview with Celebrity Bytes on Splash News TV, Powers explained that he was happy to get a part in the show at all, but in retrospect, he wishes he could have stayed on for longer. "A lot of people love this show. It would have been cool to do two more episodes or something," he said. Nonetheless, he also noted that he loved getting a chance to be a zombie. "It's like Halloween at work, and Halloween is my favorite holiday so it's like, 'What? This is amazing.'"
What/If (2019)
"The Perfect Find" actually isn't Keith Powers' first rodeo with a Netflix project. In 2019, the actor starred as part of the main cast for the thriller series "What/If" (not to be confused with Marvel's "What If...?" series). Powers plays Todd Archer in the series, the husband of Angela (Samantha Marie Ware) and just one of the many key players in the show's tangled web of secrets. Things start out well enough, as Todd learns that his wife is pregnant, but things spiral from there as some dark truths come to light about their marriage and the child.
There's a bit of a cliffhanger ending regarding where Todd and Angela have ended up and what dark deeds they have committed by the end of "What/If." Unfortunately, it's not likely that audiences will ever get to see these dangling plot threads followed up on. While the series hasn't been outright canceled, "What/If" Season 2 might not happen. Even if it did, the show was conceived as a season-by-season anthology series, so Powers' Todd likely wouldn't feature in any future chapters of the show. So it goes.
The Tomorrow War (2021)
One of Keith Powers' most recent roles is also one of his biggest credits to date. 2021 saw the performer appear alongside names like Chris Pratt and J.K. Simmons in Amazon Studios' direct-to-streaming sci-fi flick "The Tomorrow War." Power's character, one Major Greenwood, is one of the few soldiers left fighting the good fight against the aliens in the future that Pratt's Dan Forester is sent to. More specifically, he operates as the executive officer for the future version of Dan's daughter Muri (Yvonne Strahovski).
According to Powers, there were originally plans to further develop his character in the script, but the corresponding subplot was ultimately cut. ""He has a backstory that we didn't really get to dive into in the film," the actor explained to Monsters & Critics. "A piece of that backstory is he's married to Lt. Hart (Jasmine Matthews). I thought that was super cool. Two strong characters being married and being together and both fighting for the same thing."