Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

TELEVISION 'Power' stars discuss Chicago-set show
Special to the online edition of Windy City Times
by Jerry Nunn, Windy City Times
2014-06-17

This article shared 30062 times since Tue Jun 17, 2014
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


There's a new series on the Starz Channel called Power that Courtney Kemp Agboh created and rapper Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson executive-produced. It tells the story of James St. Patrick, nicknamed "Ghost," who owns a popular New York City nightclub. Ghost also balances a life in the drug world as well as a family that leads to drama.

Omari Hardwick plays that role and is known for movie roles including Sparkle, For Colored Girls and Kick Ass.

Chicago's own Joseph Sikora plays his best friend on the show. Along with being an ensemble member of the Shattered Globe Theatre Company locally, he's appeared in the movie Jack Reacher, Ghost World, and Rudy.

Windy City Times met up with the two over breakfast to discuss secrets of the new series.

Windy City Times: Hey, guys. Where are you both from?

Joseph Sikora: I'm from Chicago, the far West Side. I grew up in Norwood Park, right down from Bryn Mawr off the Kennedy by Taft High School.

WCT: Did you do a lot of theater growing up?

Joseph Sikora: I did a lot of theater such as the Lookingglass Theatre and I am an ensemble member of Shattered Globe. I did five plays at the Goodman. I did a play at their old space called Zoot Suit then did dueling shows at the new space.

Omari Hardwick: I am from Atlanta, Georgia. I was a University of Georgia football player and minored in theater. I was an artsy athlete that figured out that this was a way to make a living. I went to the San Diego Chargers and was there for a season before getting cut. Then I moved to New York and eventually Chicago where I did a workshop of August Wilson's Fences at the Goodman. I did Beauty Shop here at The Chicago Theatre. I lived here about five months then went back to New York and moved to LA in 1999.

WCT: Do you know the Real Housewives of Atlanta?

Omari Hardwick: I don't follow that crap I have been gone so long. I moved a long time ago and just visit family there now.

Joseph Sikora: But the Housewives don't move! [All laugh.]

WCT: Describe the show four our readers.

Omari Hardwick: It is a journey of two young men that are trying to maintain this life that we built. We were drug entrepreneurs at the highest level for the highest clientele in New York City. My character is trying to let that life go. It is the tug of war between trying to go straight and being legitimate with club ownership.

Our characters decide to clean the money in hiding it in these clubs. I get bit by the bug and I want to finish my dad's dream of running the club. Our characters were raised as brothers and made it out of poverty by becoming drug lords. I am married with three kids and my high school sweetheart comes back in.

It is a bromance, a love story about drugs, my wife and a new mistress.

WCT: Talk about your character, Joseph.

Joseph Sikora: For all intents and purposes, we are brothers. There is an unshakeable love and trust between us. The name of the nightclub is Truth. I think there is a real battle to understand what the truth is. The idea that will transcend for everyone to understand is the difficulty to figure out the truth and that change is hard.

My character, Tommy Egan, doesn't want to go in a different direction. I hold the other characters to their rules and there are consequences if they don't.

Omari Hardwick: He's the muscle of the show. Ghost trusts he's delegating to the right muscle. Even if it's mental muscle. Ghost taught himself to play chess. He's well learned but from the hood. Tommy reminds him where is from and to not get a mistress even if that is the club itself. Drugs are your lover so don't go get a club as a mistress.

Joseph Sikora: That's a beautiful point. You can't split that love. Why cheat on the drug game with this club?

WCT: The real club scene has changed so much.

Joseph Sikora: It is back in!

Omari Hardwick: It is massive, which is why it is so great for Courtney to make it part of the show. Chicago and Atlanta are such huge club and music cities. You have two actors that grew up with and understand the club life. The club game is so big that DJs are making 10 million dollars a year now. The timing is so great because people like to see a club on weekly television right now. Hiding money in clubs is kind of brilliant I don't think about it until I am sitting down speaking to folks like you.

WCT: Did you ever watch Boss, [which] was filmed in Chicago and on Starz?

Joseph Sikora: I did.

Omari Hardwick: I loved it. I just worked with Kelsey on a movie called Reach Me. We got really close and are still in contact. We became close over death. He has been through a lot of it as have I. He checks on me often and I love him as a person. I was blown away that the show was cancelled because it was his brilliant way to show he is more than a comedic actor.

Joseph Sikora: I was on Frasier so... Kelsey did a read-through of Manchurian Candidate with Shattered Globe Theatre, also.

Omari Hardwick: He's a talented cat.

WCT: How many tattoos do you have, Omari?

Omari Hardwick: I think about 20. There is only one that you see in the show. The creator, Courtney Kent Ogboh, liked it. I got those wings after losing a brother. That was my point with connecting with Kelsey on death.

Everything else is two hours a day to cover up when I do the take off the clothes scenes.

WCT: You had to wear the sock, right?

Omari Hardwick: Joe and I both had to wear the sock! [Laughs] You haven't seen that yet but he will be wearing the sock. What Curtis "50 Cent" likes to say is that to get this job you have to stand in front a female show creator and show your unit.

Joseph Sikora: She was very judgmental!

WCT: That's tough. The public relations people said there isn't a gay angle but there are hot guys in every scene.

Omari Hardwick: 50 will be taking off his clothes next season.

Joseph Sikora: Hold on second, there certainly is that angle in the show. That will be exposed if and when we have a second season. There are definitely characters that are all about it.

WCT: Tell me about working with 50 Cent.

Omari Hardwick: He was great to work with. It was obvious he had mastered so many other parts of his life. Musically he has been crucial for entire generation. We were skeptical if he could be successful on a premium network show shot like a movie. It can be taxing on a person that doesn't know that world. We were pleasantly surprised at his delegation of folks around him who he picked as producers.

Joseph Sikora: He's a great actor. He speaks the truth.

Omari Hardwick: He's really raw.

Joseph Sikora: Sometimes you watch someone that reminds you that you are watching television. He's not that guy. You are watching a human being speak the truth in that situation.

Omari Hardwick: He's not transparent. Joe and I both come from theater, as you now know, and even if you don't have the type of training that we have 50 brings a level of truth that you look for and can't teach in acting class. He's got that thing that made him successful as a musician.

Some rappers are fake to me but he is real. We were there to support him and I would drive out to Long Island where his scenes were shot. He's incarcerated so his scenes are condensed into two days. There are so many people that are fake so it is nice to work with people like Joe and 50 that make me feel like I'm drinking water!

WCT: You must all be excited for the show to come out.

Omari Hardwick: We feel we have a winner of a show. Not to be pretentious but back to the point that the people around it are real. When you take that normalcy and put it in a make believe world we hope it sticks around for a long time.

Joseph Sikora: With Starz we are set up to take it to that next level. With Courtney, 50, and Omari they all set the bar really high. Hopefully we are embraced and I think we have a good shot!

Power parties every Saturday on Starz. Comcast Cable streams Power on any device.


This article shared 30062 times since Tue Jun 17, 2014
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

RuPaul finds 'Hidden Meanings' in new memoir 2024-03-18
- RuPaul Andre Charles made a rare Chicago appearance for a book tour on March 12 at The Vic Theatre, 3145 N. Sheffield Ave. Presented by National Public Radio station WBEZ 91.5 FM, the talk coincided with ...


Gay News

Oprah, Niecy Nash-Betts honored at GLAAD Media Awards 2024-03-15
- Oprah Winfrey and Niecy Nash-Betts were honored at the 35th Annual GLAAD Media Awards that took place in Los Angeles at The Beverly Hilton on March 14. Winfrey received the Vanguard Award, introduced by iconic Chicago ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Jinkx Monsoon, Xavier Dolan, 'Frida,' Lena Waithe, out singer 2024-03-08
- Two-time RuPaul's Drag Race winner Jinkx Monsoon is headed back to the New York stage, joining off-Broadway's Little Shop of Horrors as Audrey beginning April 2, according to Playbill. The casting makes Monsoon the first drag ...


Gay News

Queer Eye's Jai Rodriguez is set to slay at The Big Gay Cabaret 2024-03-05
- Out and proud performer Jai Rodriguez is set to play at The Big Gay Cabaret this March for three days. Presented by RuPaul Drag Racer Ginger Minj, this monthly series highlights the wide world of cabaret ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Queer actors, icons duet, Hunter Schafer, Oscars, Elizabeth Taylor 2024-03-01
- Queer actor Kal Penn is set to star in Trust Me, I'm a Doctor—a film that chronicles the final days of actress/model Anna Nicole Smith, whose overdose death in 2007 at age 39 sparked a tabloid ...


Gay News

SAG Awards honor Streisand, few LGBTQ+ actors 2024-02-25
- Queer entertainers made their mark—although not a major one—at the 2024 Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, held Feb. 24 in Los Angeles. The event was live-streamed on Netflix for the first time. Indigenous and Two-Spirit actor ...


Gay News

THEATER Dot-Marie Jones talks Goodman production, 'Glee,' 'Bros' 2024-02-12
- Running through Feb. 18 at the the Goodman Theatre, the production Highway Patrol works with a script conceived entirely from Emmy-winning actor Dana Delany's (TV's China Beach) digital archive of hundreds of tweets and direct messages ...


Gay News

GLAAD finds missed chances for LGBTQ+ inclusion in Super Bowl ads 2024-02-12
--From a press release - Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024 — GLAAD is reacting to a lack of LGBTQ storytelling in ads that aired duringSuper Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11 and is reminding brands, corporations and advertising agencies why including the LGBTQ ...


Gay News

SAVOR 'The Bear,' new pizza lounge, Chicago Black Restaurant Week 2024-02-11
- "Bear" necessities: The third season of the Chicago-set series The Bear will debut in June, per Variety. FX chairman John Landgraf made the announcement during the network's presentation at the Television Critics Association's winter 2024 press ...


Gay News

Quantum Leap reboot springs into LGBTQ+ representation 2024-02-09
- Through the magic of television, Quantum Leap is once again jumping into the past to bounce back into the future—and in a recent episode, "The Family Trasure," non-binary artist and performer Wilder Yuri and writer Shakina ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Raven-Symone, women's sports, Wayne Brady, Jinkx Monsoon, British Vogue 2024-02-09
- In celebration of Black History Month, the LA LGBT Center announced that lesbian entertainer Raven-Symone will be presented with the Center's Bayard Rustin Award at its new event, Highly Favored, per a press release. She joins ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ JoJo Siwa, Tom Holland, Bowen Yang, Pet Shop Boys, Mariah Carey 2024-02-02
- In the wake of Nigel Lythgoe exiting So You Think You Can Dance, queer personality JoJo Siwa is returning to the series, per Deadline. Siwa, who was a judge on season 17 of the Fox show, will replace Lythgoe, who left ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Sundance items, Green Day, 'Wednesday,' Queerties, 'The Wiz' 2024-01-26
- At the Sundance Film Festival, Jodie Foster told Variety that the $1.4-billion success of Barbie helps confirm that Hollywood no longer views women directors as too much of a risk. She said, "With a big success ...


Gay News

GLAAD announces nominees for the 35th annual GLAAD Media Awards 2024-01-21
--From a press release - Following its acceptance of the iconic Governors Award at the 2023 Emmys Ceremony presented by the Television Academy, GLAAD announced the nominees for the 35th Annual GLAAD Media Awards. The GLAAD Media Awards honor media for ...


Gay News

EMMYS RuPaul, Niecy Nash-Betts win; Elton's EGOT status; GLAAD's award 2024-01-16
- Succession, The Bear and Beef dominated the 2024 Emmys, held Jan. 16. The ceremony was televised on Fox. Succession was named best drama series, The Bear was named best comedy series and Beef was named best ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.