Brace yourself for Power Book IV: Force.
“The Tommy spin-off, that’s a crowd-pleaser,” she says ofPower Book IV: Force.
“It’s Tommy, come on now.
Omari Hardwick and Joseph Sikora on ‘Power’.Myles Aronowitz/Starz
That’s the Buffalo wings and ranch fries of the universe, everybody wants some.”
“We’re seeing how Tommy became Tommy but after he lost everything,” Sikora says.
“What does he do when he has nothing?
Joseph Sikora on ‘Power’.Starz
How does he make things work?”
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How’s filming onForcegoing so far?
JOSEPH SIKORA:Power Book IVis going great, we’re loving filming in Chicago.
We started in February, so we’re halfway through the season.
What’s the experience been like now being No.
1 on the call sheet and knowing how far you’ve come with Tommy?
Was that first day onForcepretty surreal?
I wouldn’t use the word “surreal.”
I always say fun is my default, so I’m just having a really great time.
We left him a shell of a man inPower.
How do you thinkPowerbecome such a powerful force that we’re on three spin-offs and counting?
And yes, puns intended!
What was it that originally drew you toPowerand Tommy?
It was a 50 Cent product, and I was a fan.
I love playing Tommy.
It’s just a never-ending fun video game for me.
It never gets old.
When did you realize the show had become athing?
It hit us right after the first season.
I knew that it was really connecting for the audience and that thePowerfans were passionate about the show.
[Laughs] Celebrating and crying and just seeing how it affected them.
And people were saying, “I watch this show with my mother and my grandmother.”
I think that’s a rarity.
So I thought was really special, when you’re able to have something that is intergenerational.
And we kept going and we’re still going!
I think remaining eternally grateful always feels like the appropriate place to be.
Courtney seems confident thatForcewill be the “crowd-pleaser” of the new shows.
What does it mean to you to have brought to life a character that has become so beloved?
He’s easilythefan favorite in a franchise with so many memorable characters.
Again, I keep using the word “grateful,” but I am so grateful.
We’re filmingPower Book IVand people are just yelling, “Yo, Tommy!”
Or they see the Mustang and they’re like, “Where’s Tommy?!”
To have somebody that is iconic in that way, it just makes your heart that much bigger.
I always say that is better than any award that I could ever possibly win.
What does Tommy in a new city look like?
He’s so New York, and such an established presence in those underground New York circles.
He’s such a New Yorker.
But it’s been really fun to play that.
Are there times where he masks that?
Are there times when he embraces that?
I’m really proud of that.
Oh my God, this guy is the realest deal.
I couldn’t be more excited to work with him.
Tasha and Tariq are dead to Tommy.
So how did you approach a Tommy who is fully on his own?
Or did you always view him as being on his own?
I think you have it pegged.
Tommy was always together alone.
Tommy was always finding a family.
Tommy was always in pursuit to find where he belonged.
He was always the odd one out.
These streets raised me.
I owe my life to the game."
And Tommy is true to that.
Tommy was the most honest character onPower, so I think this comes back to the roots of Tommy.
Now that he’s an empty shell, what are the qualities of Tommy that keep him going?
Well, he’s kind of already told us onPower, and now we get to watch that.
It’s almost like watching a flashback in the future, in some ways.
Because what we’re doing is we’re seeing how Tommy became Tommy but after he lost everything.
What does he do when he has nothing?
How does he make things work?
Now granted, the storytelling on this is moving very fast.
It’s been a wonderful challenge to see Tommy in a different light.
Some of the reason he’s lived is because he’s always ready to die.
He shows up fully prepared.
He made his bed, and I think there’s a bit of a fantasy in that.
I wish I was more like Tommy.
I wish I was more cocksure, I wish I trusted my gut more.
It’s been a hell of a journey, and he really has lost everything.
God, losing Holly [Lucy Walters] and the baby.
It reflects the true uncertainty of life.
As soon as you start settling down and making plans, something comes up.
By the timeForcecomes out, it will be the fourth show and ninth overall season in thePoweruniverse.
Knowing that, what are you all bringing to this world that fans have yet to see?
Maybe some of that is reflected in the name.
It’s the only spin-off that’s not a proper name.
We haveGhost andKanan, and then we don’t haveTommy,we haveForce.
So I think what we’re bringing to this is a new perspective and a new city.
We’re truly expanding thePoweruniverse in a very physical sense.
So we’re showing a different side, different city, different rules, but the same Tommy.
2022 can’t come soon enough.
It’s really f—ing good.
People are going to love it.
