McKinley Freeman talks 'Hit The Floor' season 3 [Exclusive Interview]

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The long-awaited third season of VH1’s hit scripted show, Hit the Floor, is finally here, which means all eyes will be on the Los Angeles Devils, including star McKinley Freeman’s sexy character, Derek Roman.

TheCelebrityCafe.com's Jade Anderson caught up with the break out star to find out what we can expect from him this season and to learn more about the man behind the character.

Jade: Before jumping into Hit The Floor, lets get to know a little about you. How did you first get your start in acting?
McKinley: I was working for IBM when I realized that I should be doing something else, and this is after I graduated undergrad and got my MBA in marketing. Something on the inside of me said something was missing and all the things that I thought I should work my whole life to get, the things I thought were most important growing up, when I got them, I realized I really didn’t want them. So like most people who’ve reach that fork in the road, I decided that I rather explore what the truest version of myself is instead of living day to day hoping that something happens to bring clarity to the direction that I’m going. It’s interesting that the one thing that brought clarity to my life is probably the most unpredictable occupation on the planet.

J: Do you think it was hard for you to make that transition in your life?
M: Oh no. It was easy because I was willing to do it. I’d be in acting class 3 or 4 days a week while I was working 70 hours a week and staying in the gym. My job at IBM was remote, so when I moved to California I literally put a desk in my bedroom and worked 60-70 hours. I get up at 5 a.m. work till 3 p.m., go to the gym for two hours, come home shower and then go to acting class. There was a long time where I didn’t sleep very much because I knew I was behind. You have to put in the time. You can't expect a high level of results without investing the same level of practice and preparation. The best analogy I can use is that you don’t take one Spanish class and then go to Barcelona and become fluent in Spanish, that’s not the way it works. Me personally, I don’t mind hard work, I spent time just trying to figure it out and I still do. I’m just grateful to be on my way and my successes and failures have all worked out together.

J: Okay let’s talk about Hit The Floor. The season finale left us all shocked to find out that German was Olivia’s killer were you and the rest of cast as shocked as we were, or were you guys already in on the secret?
M: No, we found out when everybody else found out, so I was just as surprised as you all were. It was the secret that all the writers and producers kept to themselves. No one in the cast knew, so it was a shock to all of us. We did a finale viewing show that streamed live online and if you YoutTube it, you’ll see all the reactions are so authentic. We live in a world where access to information is all over the place, there’s nowhere where you can’t get information. So to be as invested in the show, and still have no idea how it was going to end is pretty cool.

J: In the trailer we see Derek tell German that he’s coming for his girl, are we going to see some steamy scenes between Derek and Ahsha?
M: I can’t really give away much, but what I will say is that season 3 basically picks up right where season 2 left off, we definitely hit the ground running. I think with Hit The Floor as a show, there’s an asterisk at the opening credits that says steamy scenes assumed (*chuckles), there’s steamy scenes all over the place. If you know anything about the brains behind the show, you know that they have no problem going there. We’re sitting here talking about Derek and Ahsha, but the story is so good that you can’t really talk about the show with out talking about multiple characters. I wouldn't be surprised if people have lots of things to say about all of the steamy scenes that will go on in the show.

J:  You can’t say too much about Derek and Ahsha, but can you confirm that we will see Derek's abs at some point in season 3?
M: (*Chuckles) I love how you professionally tried to ask if I was going to have my shirt off, that’s really funny, but of course you will! The running joke with the wardrobe department is that I barely wear clothes on the show, which is fun. I work out all the time anyways because I love it so it all works together.

J: What is your weekly workout routine?
M: Right now, I always do cardio because I feel like it’s the only time where I can’t be bothered. I don’t have to answer my phone or anything, so it's an opportunity for me to just think. After that, I just do a lot of full body movements like kettle bells or use resistance bands. Also I’ve been training in martial arts for a while, so in this last off season I really focused on that just to keep my mind busy.

J: In season 2 Derek seemed a little lost, can we expect more focus from him in season 3?
M: That’s a good question. For sure I think in season 2 Derek, just like many of the other people has had moments when things seem to be going right and it feels like plenty of moments when things seem to be going wrong. As far as season 3 is concerned there’s going to be plenty of opportunities for people to formulate their opinions on Derek. What I will say is that the thing that makes the character so interesting to me is that even though at times, you don't know if you should be rooting for a guy that is trying to take another guy’s girl, it’s still based in a very simple human need and that’s something really special in the writing.

J: We know you’ve had some experience on the court at U of I, before start Hit the Floor from playing college ball. Out of you, Robert C. Riley (Terrance) and Adam Senn (Zero) were you the only one with previous experience?
M: I played college basketball, Rob played football and Adam in general is doing all kinds of crazy stuff (*chuckles), but the cool thing about is that we all help one another and it all evens out so it’s fun. We’ve got extras who fill out our team that’ve played D1 basketball like I did or played overseas or semi pro so those guys get out there that can actually go. You how it is,  you get a group of guys on courts with baskets, it’s only a matter of time before somebody dunks it but when the cameras roll, we've got to stick to the script.

J: Are there any personal projects that you are currently working on?
M: I just acted and produced a movie called Illicit, it’s an erotic thriller about a married couple and it explores the idea, if both sides of the party were having extra marital affairs and neither one of them knew can you really have everything without losing it all, and it kind of explores that idea as these worlds get ridiculously close to one another and things get really intense. I’ve also got a TV movie coming out in the spring called Hometown Heros and I shot a TV show with Karrueche called Relationship Status for Verizon Go 90 which is a new media platform.

J: Is there anything that you want to say to Hit The Floor fans?
M: Let’s just think about this for a second. The show has been off for almost a year and a half. The fact that fans of the show are so clued in, they know exactly what’s happening and their questions are so on point it just sets the table for a really fun to show to be on. I’m really excited because our fans have been really patient with us and in the end it’s going to be well worth the wait.

J: Last question, if you had to sum up season 3 in one word, what would it be?
M: Power.