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Tommy Egan is determined to take over the Chicago drug game, and he’s just getting started. Tommy successfully avoided death after the Flynns came after him in the Power Book IV: Force season 1 finale. Walter framed him for the hit on Vic and Gloria, and Tommy had to have a “come to Jesus” talk with the Flynn kids about their father. Liliana was shot dead by Claud during a tense battle, and the loss was a devasting one for Tommy.
HollywoodLife got EXCLUSIVE scoop from Joseph Sikora about Liliana’s tragic death, Tommy’s mother being back in the picture, and whether or not Tommy will ever be able to fully trust the Flynn kids. He also weighed in on what he knows about season 2 and his excitement over new showrunner Gary Lennon.
First off, like Tommy, I was devastated by Liliana’s death. I know in the Power world, deaths are not a surprise. How did you react when you learned that Liliana was going to be killed off?
Joseph Sikora: I was definitely bummed out because she’s such a great actor. Audrey [Esparza] is such a talented actor, and I know that it was a mutual choice. I think that she probably would have been back if she chose to be back. I think that she had other plans for life and that just happened. I think with Tommy it was really interesting reacting as Tommy to her death because what I tried to express was, obviously, the tremendous loss and rage at whoever did this to the person who’s becoming closer and closer to him. I wouldn’t say she was like family, but she was getting to a place of there was that loyalty and a bond. I think that when Tommy bonds with somebody and when you earn his trust, which is not easy to earn outright like that and she did, I think that it was a huge loss. But I also tried to balance that with like, this is the life, and when it’s time, it’s my time, too. I tried to layer that in there. Hopefully, it was just at least a very full moment but I’m bummed. Audrey was amazing. I loved the bond between Tommy and Liliana. I think that it almost took the audience by surprise because you think, alright, is Tommy going to be down with Diamond? Is Tommy going to be down with Walter Flynn? Out of nowhere it almost was like, oh, he’s going to be down with Liliana, and that’s his ride or die. When he lost her it was a huge moment for me and a big loss.
At the end of the episode, Tommy makes that declaration to Diamond that he wants to control all of Chicago. Simultaneously as this as this is happening, the feds and Rodriguez are starting to sniff on his trail a little bit or notice that something’s going on in Chicago. Do you think Tommy can remain a ghost forever?
Joseph Sikora: No. I think like all things there’s going to have to be an evolution of who Tommy is, how he’s known by the law enforcement. I mean, look at like Tony Accardo and other mob guys. The feds were onto these guys in the Chicago mob for so long. Even Al Capone had that eight-year run where he was infallible, and he was having dinner with judges. I think that there’s corruption at all levels, the streets, and the government, but I think that it can be an interesting mix. I think that when law enforcement, as we saw in the Power show, is on these guys’ trails, everybody doesn’t have the purest interest anyway, so that could be another fun storyline, how close they get, but it’s exciting. I think that it actually mimics life that there are consequences for everything, and it would be irresponsible storytelling if you didn’t show some of those consequences.
We learned that Walter was the one responsible for the hit on Vic and Gloria, which resulted in Gloria’s death. The Flynn kids have turned against their dad now, so do you think Tommy would ever trust Vic and Claud fully?
Joseph Sikora: I don’t think he will ever trust them fully. That would take a huge amount but never say never. You never know where things are going to go in this Power universe with all those crazy twists and turns. I think that there’s always a place for Tommy to use somebody, even if he’s not going to trust them. People always have their functions, and Vic’s proven himself to be a far better boss and worker than previously thought, and then Claud is super savvy. There’s always a place for them. Walter, he’s just a beast. I mean, talk about Tommy Flanagan. What an incredible actor.
I’m curious to know how Walter is going to react now that he’s on the outs with his kids. He’s kind of running out of allies.
Joseph Sikora: Absolutely. I mean, in the second episode we discovered that he had terminal cancer. I was a little shocked by that myself. I hope he can keep cancer at bay long enough.
Tommy’s mother came back, and she’s always such a hoot. Might she stick around a little bit more in Chicago, especially since she now knows about JP and her grandson?
Joseph Sikora: I would say that me and Tommy Egan feel exactly the opposite. I’m sure Tommy hopes she doesn’t.
There was a moment between Kate and Tommy where they’re talking about JP and D-Mac a little bit, and she says something like, “Well, you never great gave me grandkids.” There was a look on your face, almost like a flinch. Considering what happened with Holly and whatnot, do you think Tommy in the midst of all of this chaos thinks about kids and a family life?
Joseph Sikora: Definitely. I think Tommy always thinks about family. I think that’s one of the driving forces, even if he’s not aware of it. Tommy seems to constantly be trying to find out who his people are. He’s always in this kind of very pure search for family, and now that he has found that he has blood relatives, a real brother and nephew, I think that is a little almost overwhelming for him in a way. He doesn’t totally know what to do with it. I think that he was kind of over the idea of having blood family for a while. I don’t know what other doors this is going to open up, but I’m really excited to see where this goes. I think that he would love to have a stable enough life and some kind of weird propensity to have kids.
I’ve really loved diving into the JP and Tommy dynamic, and I’m excited to see where this goes. What have you enjoyed about establishing that relationship, after embracing the Tommy-Ghost brotherhood for so long?
Joseph Sikora: My favorite part is the actual part of acting with Anthony Fleming III, who I’ve known for well over 20 years. I’ve seen him in probably two dozen stage plays or so. I mean, he’s been around forever. He’s a Chicago legend in the theater. He’s just an incredible actor to work with. He’s so giving. He’s so present. It’s fun to listen to him talk. He’s just a really great person, so that’s been my favorite part of the Tommy-JP journey is actually the acting with him.
Is there anything about season 2 just yet or are you being kept in the dark as well?
Joseph Sikora: I don’t know anything. The only thing I know is that Gary Lennon is the showrunner, and I have nothing but faith in his brilliance as a storyteller. I can’t wait to get started.
With Force, you got to go into uncharted territory with Tommy. Is there anything that maybe you didn’t get to touch on in the first season that you’re excited to explore in season 2?
Joseph Sikora: There is a little bit and part of that is I think that Gary is a very detail-oriented writer, so there’ll be a lot of little Easter eggs that will pay off later in the season. I can’t wait to see what research he’s done on Chicago. One of the things that is going to be very easy for me is that Gary is a New Yorker, so he writes Tommy very well as a New Yorker. He really understands the voice of the character, so it’s going to be a very easy season for me. He just writes the character so effortlessly and that’s a lot of fun. But also what Gary does because he’s a great director as well… He directed one of my favorite episodes of the Power show of all time, which was season 5, episode 9 where Tommy killed his father. Gary allows there to be space in silence, and I would love that because you never know what the heck is going to come out of silence and space. We did the scene in season 5 with dialogue and then because he wrote the episode he goes, “Now do the scene without words.” He would edit it where we did with the dialogue and some where we didn’t have any dialogue. I think that when you can see characters thinking, that really brings the audience into their mind and their mindset. I think people are very interested in what makes Tommy click, what makes him think, and I’m really excited to see where Gary takes the character.