Power Book IV: Force's Gabrielle Ryan + Shane Harper love Joseph Sikora, reveal ‘Power’ intros + more (Exclusive)
The long-awaited premiere for ‘Power Book IV: Force’ is finally here! In celebration for the must-see series and latest edition to the franchise STARZ executives Courtney A. Kemp and 50 Cent have created, Attack The Culture had the exclusive opportunity to connect with Hollywood star cast members Gabrielle Ryan and Shane Harper to tease 'Power' fans about the new series.
From revealing their first introductions into the ‘Power Universe’ to dishing on just how much respect they have for Tommy Egan - er - Joseph Sikora plus keeping it 100 on having to go the intimate route with their characters, Gab and Shane hype up why ‘Power Book IV: Force’ is going to be must-watch TV.
Super cheesy and corny but I’ve gotta know, Gabrielle starting with you, what was your intro to the ‘Power’ craziness . Does it go back to season one in 2014 or was it with the spin-offs? When did you really realize, ‘Oh wow. This is a pretty amazing show.’
Gabrielle: I’ve been a fan since day one. I was a huge fan. Cliché, I was a huge Tommy fan. He’s my favorite. I’m definitely Team Tommy. I had a crush on him and knew it would be a dream world for me playing Gloria.
Shane: We’re 100 percent all fans first on this show, from the jump. I was working for STARZ on another show and I was like, ‘Man, ‘Power,’ that’s the flagship. That’s the one.’ I was loving working on that show and my character kind of had its arc and I was done with it. I was like, ‘Man, that would be cool to get back with STARZ on the gigantic flagship that is ‘Power’ so to get to do that now is very exciting.
We have to of course talk about Joseph. He’s a Chicago native. Gabrielle, being able to link up with someone that you were a fan of and of course, Shane, having to clash with him at least that’s how it looks right now. Beginning with you Shane, what’s it been like linking up with Joseph? Have you had a taste of Chicago? What’s the on-set chemistry been like?
Shane: The on-set chemistry is incredible. Obviously Joseph being a Chicago native, he has a total beat for the city and we were right away on the phone and he was talking to me about how the history of Chicago worked and how the history of the mobs in Chicago was working and all the stuff. He’s such a wealth of knowledge and he’s such an incredibly gifted actor and really dived deep, deep, deep. Right away, it was awesome to get to collab with him about all these different movements and things in the world.
Gabrielle: I am absolutely obsessed with Chicago. They were so wonderful and so welcoming. It is incredible. I don’t have enough good things to say about Chicago. We thoroughly enjoyed our time there and I think that the Chicago natives are going to love all the Chicago aspects we bring to the show. As for Joseph and on-set [chemistry], he just seems like an incredible person and he’s an even more incredible actor and he literally, like Shane said, he’s a walking encyclopedia. He knows everything about Chicago and it was just wonderful shooting there and having all that chemistry that he brings with it. As an actor, he’s so giving.
In scenes, you don’t know what he’s going to do. He’s so unpredictable and it’s a testament to Joseph’s amazing acting skills and I never knew what he was going to do next. Even though you have the lines on the page, he’s so unpredictable that that’s just the dream to work with in a scene with somebody.
Just one more thing I have to throw at the both of you, we have to talk about the intimacy of Gabrielle, or Gloria I should say. We’ve already seen this with Lili [Simmons], I was joking with Tommy [Flanagan about seeing his character bare it all], going into that world, you’re a veteran at this but any shock value in this or is it just business as usual?
Gabrielle: For me or Shane? Because I’ve never done a sex scene before. Ever. That was my first intimate scene and the joke is that was my first day on set. So talk about going in with a bang!
Shane: Stay tuned. Yeah, yeah, yeah, stay tuned.
Check out the full video below to see Gabrielle Ryan and Shane Harper light up with Hollywood vibes and share some unforgettable laughs throughout the interview. ‘Power Book IV: Force’ premieres Sunday, February 6 exclusively on STARZ.