The Power stars Toni Collette and John Leguizamo on the new show in which teenage girls rule the world
Toni Collette says her new TV series, which imagines a world where teenage girls suddenly develop the ability to electrocute people at will, is actually addressing issues in our own reality.
The Australian actress plays a politician in The Power, which is based on the hit 2016 novel by Naomi Alderman.
Collette tells Sky News’ film and TV podcast Backstage that the show acts as something of a wake-up call over how young women are treated by society.
Pic: Katie Yu/Prime Video/Amazon Studios
“Historically it’s a bit of an ageist world – along with other ‘ists’ – and people can overlook kids in general, but for young girls, I think they’re particularly overlooked,” she says. “It did feel important, you know, to actually tell a story about inclusivity and equality. It’s a big deal and it’s something we’re really grappling with in our world.
“To see it and identify with it in a slightly removed, entertaining, sci-fi way is probably a cool way to address it and for people to come to it without feeling like it’s dogmatic or didactic.”
While Collette plays Margot Cleary-Lopez, Mayor of Seattle, her co-star John Leguizamo plays her character’s husband, Rob.
The actor, who has had a long and varied career – from Carlito’s Way, Moulin Rouge and the John Wick franchise to acclaimed series such as When They See Us – says it is always gratifying to appear in a show delivering a message.
‘Maybe we need to change’
Pic: Katie Yu/Prime Video/Amazon Studios
“I love being a part of something that I feel is trying to do something important, trying to say something,” he tells Backstage.
“I love entertainment for entertainment’s sake, but I love more when it has poignancy, when it has relevance to what’s going on politically, socially and this, unfortunately, does speak on those subjects, on what’s happening in America: Roe versus Wade, bans on trans people, bans on black literature and Latin literature in schools in history [classes].
“It speaks of our times, but hopefully it does it in a way that’s entertaining and not preachy, and maybe people can look at themselves and go, maybe we need to change – you hope for that.”
John Leguizamo and Toni Collette at The Power’s New York premiere. Pic: Alyssa Greenberg/Prime Video/Amazon Studios
The Power explores the idea of women becoming the dominant sex. While the idea of teenage girls suddenly developing deadly abilities might sound scary – particularly to men – Collette thinks the idea of them harnessing some power of their own is actually very positive.
“Any change is a little bit daunting, right? Because everyone’s very comfortable in the familiar, and I know that there’s an inherent fear around it because it is very, it can be destructive if used in the wrong way. But actually, I think there’s something so beautiful about these girls, some of them for the first time, having a real sense of safety in themselves, and a sense of agency and sovereignty.
“That just builds confidence and I think there’s something really hopeful about that. That balances out the potentially destructive side of it.”
Click to subscribe to Backstage wherever you get your podcasts
Politics in real life?
In the series, Collette’s character finds herself thrust into the limelight when she is among the first to speak out publicly after the teenagers develop their powers. While the woman she plays is politically ambitious, the actress says she has no interest in heading in that direction herself.
“I was petrified doing the fake debate scene, I can’t imagine what it’s like doing it in reality, there’s too much at stake, there’s so much responsibility,” she says. “I really admire – not a lot of politicians who come from a place of ego – but I think Margot is a woman with really good intentions, she really cares about the people she represents and I think she’s the best of her kind.”
Read more from Backstage:
Rina Sawayama on working with Keanu Reeves
Hugh Jackman on King Charles and feud with Ryan Reynolds
Leguizamo agrees Collette’s character represents a certain kind of politician.
“I work around a lot of politicians, so I have respect for the Margot types that really care, really want to make a change,” he says.
“You see great politicians, who care, broken by the system, you know, their ideals crushed right before them – it’s hard to see. That’s why I respect real politicians who want to make a change and make the world a better place, like Margot.”
The Power is streaming on Prime Video – hear our review on the latest episode of Backstage, the film and TV podcast from Sky News
Angelina Jolie says although she appreciates being an artist, she would prefer for her legacy to be “a good mother” and to be known for her “belief in equality and human rights”.
The Oscar-winning actress stars as Maria Callas in the new Pablo Larrain film about the opera singer’s life.
Pic: StudioCanal
She has called Maria “the hardest” and “most challenging” role she has had in her career and put months of preparation into immersing herself into the world of opera.
Jolie, who recently reached a divorce settlement with actor Brad Pitt, told Sky News: “To be very candid, it was the therapy I didn’t realise I needed. I had no idea how much I was holding in and not letting out.
“So, the challenge wasn’t the technical [side of opera], it was an emotional experience to find my voice, to be in my body, to express. You have to give every single part of yourself.”
The biopic combines the voice of the Maleficent actress with recordings of Maria Callas.
Jolie believes it “would be a crime to not have [Callas’] voice through this because, in many ways, she is very present in this film”.
Who was Maria Callas?
Born in New York in 1923, Maria Callas was the daughter of Greek immigrants who moved back to Athens at the age of 13 with her mother and sister.
After enrolling at the Athens Conservatory, she made her professional debut at 17 and went on to become one of the most famous faces of opera, travelling around the world and performing at Covent Garden in London, The Met in New York and La Scala in Milan.
Callas’s final operatic performance took place at Covent Garden in 1965 when she was 41 but she continued to work conducting master classes at Juilliard School, doing concert tours and starring in the 1969 film Medea.
Written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, Maria focuses on the artist’s final years in the 1970s when she moved to Paris and disappeared from public view.
She died on 16 September 1977 at the age of 53.
Pic: StudioCanal
Jolie on changing motivations as an actor
Maria follows the life of an artist fully consumed by the art she creates and even remarks that “happiness never developed a beautiful melody”.
Reflecting on her own life in the spotlight, Jolie said she noticed her own career motivations change over the years.
“There’s this kind of study of being human that we do when we create, and we communicate with an audience because our work is not in isolation – it’s a connection.
“I think when I was younger, I had different questions about being human and different feelings and now as I’ve gotten older, I understand some things and now I have different questions.
“It’s a matter of life, right? And so maybe that’s interesting that this now is a character really contemplating death and really contemplating the toll of certain things in life that I, of course, couldn’t have understood in my 20s”.
Jolie at the New York Film Festival in September with three of her children (L-R) Pax, Zahara and Maddox. Pic: AP
A family affair
Two of Jolie’s children, Maddox and Pax, took on production assistant roles during the filming of Maria and witnessed their mother perform opera for the first time in public.
She says the film allowed them to create new experiences together and for her children to see her approach to playing a difficult role.
“Everyone in my home, we all give each other space to be who we are and we’re all different.
“I’m the mom, but I’m also an artist and a person and so my family has been very kind and gives me their understanding. They make fun of me, and they support me and just as you’d hope it would be.”
She adds: “When you play somebody who is dealing with so much pain, it’s very important to come home to some kindness.”
Maria is in cinemas now.
Tom Holland’s dad has confirmed his son’s engagement to Zendaya – revealing how the 28-year-old meticulously planned the proposal.
Zendaya, also 28, sparked engagement rumours when she attended last Sunday’s Golden Globes wearing a sparkling diamond on her ring finger.
Neither star has publicly addressed the rumours but Tom’s comedian father, Dominic Holland, has now confirmed the pair are set to wed.
He wrote in a post on his Patreon account: “Tom, as you know by now was very incredibly well prepared. He had purchased a ring.
“He had spoken with her father and gained permission to propose to his daughter.”
“Tom had everything planned out… When, where, how, what to say, what to wear,” he added.
Zendaya arrived at the Golden Globes with a noticeable piece of new jewellery. Pic: Invision/AP
Dominic also noted that while most men worry about being able to afford an engagement ring, he suspects his actor son was “more concerned with the stone, its size and clarity, its housing, which jeweller”.
Tom and Zendaya met on the set of Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2016, when they played the titular hero and his love interest MJ, respectively. Their romance was confirmed in 2021.
In his post, Tom’s father admitted fears over whether being in the spotlight could put a strain on the couple’s relationship.
He wrote: “I do fret that their combined stardom will amplify their spotlight and the commensurate demands on them and yet they continually confound me by handling everything with aplomb.”
“And even though show business is a messy place for relationships and particularly so for famous couples as they crash and burn in public and are too numerous to mention […] yet somehow right at the same time, I am completely confident they will make a successful union.”
More entertainment news:
Paris Hilton’s home destroyed in fires
RuPaul pays tribute to The Vivienne
Zendaya rose to fame after landing a role in Disney sitcom Shake It Up, and became a household name after starring in Euphoria.
Holland – who has starred in three Spider-Man films opposite his now-fiancée – made his stage debut in Billy Elliot the Musical in 2008.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports9 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway