'Raising Kanan' 's Patina Miller Was 'Laughing' at the Sight of Her Character's '80s Mullet Wig

Starring on Power Book III: Raising Kanan allowed Patina Miller to take an unexpected trip down memory lane.

Audiences are first introduced to Miller's character Raquel "Raq" Thomas on the premiere episode of Raising Kanan — a '90s-set prequel series following the early years of 50 Cent's Power character, Kanan Stark — wearing a mullet-style haircut in 1985. The bold look reminded Miller, 36, of a cut she once had as a young teen.

"When we got there for our first camera test, I remember putting on my '85 wig, the wig that I wear at the opening, and it's a mullet. At the end of the day, it's a mullet," the actress tells PEOPLE exclusively. "I remember seeing this hairstyle and ... I just started laughing, because I have a memory of having that particular hairstyle as a teenager, as an early teen, 12, and being mortified because it was an accident."

"So, I put this wig on, short on the front and the back, and I'm just like, 'Oh, my God.' I literally went into that memory as a 12, 13-year-old girl with the accidental mullet haircut," she adds.

But Miller approves of the way her character styled the 'do with "the Raq swag."

"It was so cool to put it on as an adult and just, like, go there," she continues. "Honestly, it had formed my character so much. I mean, [the cast] all loved our clothing. The guys have the freshest outfits, the coats. My coats that I get to wear, just in the first episode alone, were so fresh."

On Raising Kanan, Raq is a tough yet loving mother who will "go as far as she needs to go to protect her son," the star says. Raq also runs the streets of South Jamaica, Queens, through her role as a cold and ruthless drug dealer.

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Though Raq is unlike Miller's former Madam Secretary role as Daisy Grant, she recognizes the many "parallels" between the two characters since they both want "to be the best at their job and [are] wanting more" for themselves. Miller also recognizes how Raq has helped influence her personally off-screen.

"It's taught me to stand up for myself. It's taught me to stand in a room and own my truth and own who I am," she says of tackling the role. "That's the kind of woman that she is. She's not afraid to just be herself, and she knows that she's enough, and she does not have to prove anything. She doesn't have to fight for someone to hear her. She makes them hear her just with her presence and her nature — the way that she is, the way that she moves, the eye contact."

Miller adds that playing Raq has also "taught me to be courageous, to be unafraid and to stand up for what you want, but also protect what you want and protect yourself" because "she's hungry for more and she's not afraid."

For Miller, it was important for her to "play a three-dimensional, really interesting, Black female role" like her Raising Kanan character.

In the future, the actress — who also has an extensive theater background from roles in Broadway productions of Pippin and Sister Act — wants to continue to play complex characters.

"I think being a Black woman in TV and film, we are sometimes written off as one thing, and the roles can be a little tiring because you're always playing the stereotype or playing the strong woman or playing the comical [one], the caricature," she says. "For me, I love being able to dig deep into all of the things that I think that make Black women so beautiful and special."

Power Book III: Raising Kanan airs Sundays (8 p.m. ET) on STARZ.