The next iteration in the Power Universe brings us back into the orbit of Tommy Egan, and with him comes a whole new cast of characters to get to know.
Power Book IV: Force packs a punch, and the newcomers make quite the first impression.
TV Fanatic was able to spend some time with Power Book IV: Force stars Isaac Keys, Kris Lofton, Anthony Fleming, and Lucien Cambric, and they let us know what to expect from their characters and how much they knew about the Power entity before stepping into their new roles.
Diamond and Jenard Sampson figure to be big players in this spinoff.
“I play Diamond Sampson, and I think Diamond Sampson, along with a lot of other characters in the Power universe, is just one is dealing with his own internal turmoils, things, but he’s also a person pursuing power and leadership,” Isaac replied when asked about how Diamond would fit into the universe.
“He’s established himself in Chicago Brother’s Incorporated as the leader of that, but through some of his internal struggles with morals and values, he ended up incarcerated, incarcerated for 15 years. When that happened, he leaned on his brother to take over that syndicate.
“His brother did a great job of keeping that alive when others, organizations were falling in the city, and he kept it alive for 15 years.
“It opens up in this episode one with Diamond coming out of prison and seeing his brother, just realizing that he has a new look on life and that his brother has been out there and has been doing his thing, but now how does Diamond implement himself into the city and implement himself back into his position of power?
“I think it takes us on a journey, and it’s been a pleasure working with Chris as being my brother. Yeah, I think it’s just been great, man, with this whole thing.”
Jenard is played by Kris Lofton, who commented, “I play Jernard Sampson, little brother to big Diamond Sampson over there. I think that Jernard is just an interesting, complex character. He has many, many layers that I think this journey on Power Book IV: Force will take us through.
“We’ll get to see those many layers of Jernard. We get to see that brotherly love and camaraderie between the two that’s real because me and Isaac actually worked on that off-camera. We didn’t just show up one day and say, “Hey, I’m supposed to be your little brother; you’re supposed to be my big brother. Kris, let’s go.”
“It didn’t work like that because we wanted it to convey. I really think that this universe in this world is so big, and it’s larger than life that we owe it to that universe that Courtney and 50 created to give it that extra effort to make it seem genuine and authentic on a level that doesn’t seem like acting.
“I think that we match up with the other universes, and I think Jernard, in particular, I think you’ll get some elements.
“A lot of people probably compare Jernard to a couple other characters in the universe, but I feel he definitely stands alone in this show, probably Force stands alone in its own right as well. I’m just excited the fans will get a chance to finally see what’s going on with their favorite, bad guy, Tommy Egan.”
Lucien Cambric plays Darnell McDowell or D-Mack for short. And Cambric explained, “He’s a young street kid. He’s from the South Side of Chicago. And he’s very intelligent. And he has a lot to learn. I think that he’s finding his way, and he’s coming into his own. I think that’s how he kind of fits. He fits into the universe because he’s a soldier.
“He’s on go; he’s loyal.”
And Cambric found himself connecting with D-Mack in various ways. “I felt connected to D-Mac because he’s a young kid from the streets in Chicago, and I got so many friends and so many loved ones that are in the streets, and from Chicago,” Cambric stated.
“So, knowing D-Mac being 16 and actually living that life and seeing how it is, I think that he represents a lot of kids from Chicago. Just having potential to be anything that they put their minds to but becoming products of their environment. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. The D-Mac role is personal for me, to be honest.”
Regarding how his character relates to the world, Anthony Fleming replied, “I play a character named JP Gibbs, who is a jazz musician in Chicago, who also owns a club in town with his father. And he’s a cat who’s traveled all over the world playing with his dad.
“So he has this worldly kind of swag to him. And he’s a little bit more established in Chicago, but at the same time is in the midst of his own struggles. He’s sort of, without going into too much detail, he’s losing pieces of himself.
“He’s trying to grasp that in a real way. And of course, everyone who collides with Tommy Egan, their world is forever altered.”
And it was a role Fleming felt was made for him. “The second that I read it, I felt that this role was written for me and that no one else can do this but me,” Fleming said. “I felt it was mine to have. And I just went after it with everything because this is a role that I’m really connected to.
“There’s a lot of parallels between JP and my own personal journey. So, I felt this is a role that I can portray for sure.”
Power has always been a crime drama, but it’s very much a look at family and the complexities of those dynamics at its core.
“I think with family, I think family is probably top on Diamond’s list as well,” Keys explained. “I probably speak of Jenard saying the same thing, but I think if they were to do a flashback or a backstory, I think you’ll see that’s what tied him into getting incarcerated because he always had a sense of community.
“The South Side of Chicago is something that’s important to him because that’s his area. He’s important. Nobody comes through the South Side without CBI knowing about it or making any moves. I think when it comes into play is that Diamond raised his brother.
“When I say he raised his brother, I mean from a young age, they didn’t really have much family, but he also had to raise himself. You imagine a young man having raised someone younger than him but also still trying to learn how to raise himself. I think that’s what was happening with him. I think family is so important for him.”
For his part, Lofton explained, “To piggyback off Isaac, I feel the same way, that family is everything to Jenard, but I also feel as if family isn’t always the family you choose.
“It’s the family born with, but you also do have the family you can choose. I feel Jenard is privy to both. He is very particular about both of those choices, and he knows that his real brother, there’s nothing he can do about him. That’s why he tries to keep him close, but just tries to work with him and figure it out, but sometimes you bump heads, as real brothers do.”
With Power being the behemoth that it is, the men had varying degrees of knowledge about the series before joining. Though, Lofton was a huge superfan, remarking, “Yeah, diehard Power fan from the beginning, beginning.Season one, I’m the guy. I’ve said it before.
“I’m the guy who’s seen every single episode of every season, at least four or five times.
“That’s not an exaggeration. Even the spinoffs, I’m that guy. I’m very invested. That’s why this job feels so surreal, and it’s so meaningful to me because I couldn’t fathom it. You couldn’t have told me while I was watching Power five years ago that I’d be sitting here doing press about me being on Power.
“It’s just for me, it’s crazy. It’s just amazing, man. I was a big-time fan, and I still am.”
Cambric was also familiar with the series, replying, “Oh, I was a fan of Power before I stepped into the role. Me and my family watched all the episodes. We’ve been watching Power since season one, since the first episode.
“So definitely was already hip to Power and was excited when we heard that it was coming to Chicago.”
For his part, Fleming stated, “With me, Whitney, I was a little bit late to the game, but I’ve always been a fan of Joseph Sikora. You know, he’s from Chicago. Him and I have known each other for over 20 years.
“He came up doing theater in Chicago, both of us. So, I’ve always been a fan of his. And it was something that was on my periphery, but I wasn’t in it. But once cast, I jumped in with both feet. And it’s been an amazing experience.”
With Power comes a fanbase that loves their show fiercely, with Lofton stating, “We like to call them the best fans in the world.”
And when asked about what they hope the fans will connect with most when it comes to their characters, the answers were insightful.
Keys replied, “I think I want the fans to be able to just see their selves in the character. I think that’s always most important, but I also want to be able to pull on their emotional strengths. I mean, I want them to be able to feel the emotion, the vulnerability, the instability of the character Diamond, but of all the characters.
“I think, once you tie in, you can pull people’s emotions. Even if you look at Ghost, Tariq was one of the most hated characters in the Power universe, but that just means he was doing a great job as an actor. He’s doing a great job with the storyline because they were tying themselves into who he was.
“They saw him as a real person in a sense. That means he got tapped into the fan base, and his fan base is amazing. Again, shout out to 50 and Courtney for creating such a universe. Also, yeah. Our leader, Tommy, you know what I mean?”
Lofton stated, “I’m excited for the fans to see it as well. I think Jernard would maybe be the one that says the things that the fans are thinking as we’re watching it. I hope that the fans take that from Jernard.
“I hope I’m the guy where it’s like, “Thank you, Jernard. Somebody.” You know the guy you scream at the TV for?
“I hope the fans resonate with Jernard. I feel Jernard’s the guy that says what everyone’s thinking, but nobody says it out loud. I hope that I just bring some realism, and the fans could resonate, like Isaac said, that they see a little piece of themselves, but we can pull on some strings.
“I just want people to empathize more with the quote-unquote, “bad guy” or “the antagonist,” if you will.”
Cambric hopes the fans connect with a specific part of D-Mack’s spirit, affirming, “I hope that they connect with the heart of D-Mac. Who D-Mac is. Even though he’s a product of his environment, I think that D-Mac is a kid with a good heart.
“And I feel like I want the audience to connect with D-Mac there. I want them to be excited to see who D-Mac chooses to become.”
For Fleming, he expressed, “I’m excited for people to see from JP a man who is losing like I said, some pieces of himself and how he is. It’s a fight to keep it together. And I think that’s something that our main character, Tommy, is also going through.
“I think there are some really interesting parallels between Tommy and JP that I think the fans will really dig into for sure.”
While Power Book IV: Force looks to breakout, the cast had some fascinating words to describe the season for fans.
“Sexy,” Lofton proclaimed. While Keys went with “electrifying.”
“I would say it’s surprisingly authentic and heartfelt,” Fleming said.
And Cambric summed things up nicely by stating, “It sets the stage. They did a great job in season one, just kind of like setting the stage up to introduce the characters and give background information on them and develop the characters. I’m so excited for the character development of all of the characters.”
We here at TV Fanatic are also excited to see how the story unfolds this season.
You can catch Power Book IV: Force when it premieres on February 6th, 2022, at 9:15 pm ET. And you can join us here at TV Fanatic all season long as we cover the series weekly.
***This interview has been edited for length and clarity.***
Whitney Evans is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.