‘Power Book IV: Force’: Is Tommy Based on Eminem?
Power Book IV: Force, the Power Universe spinoff, that follows fan favorite character Tommy Egan (Joseph Sikora) will debut in early 2022. The series will center on Tommy following the death of his best friend and business partner, James “Ghost” St. Patrick (Omari Hardwick). Set in Chicago, we will see the hot-tempered gangster begin to rebuild his life and empire.
Sikora has been portraying Tommy for a long time but is the character based on rapper Eminem?
‘Power Book IV: Force’ is a continuation of ‘Power’
At long last, Power Book IV: Force has released its first-look image and fans are thrilled. Starz shared the photo on social media saying, “Damn, we missed this face. #PowerForce coming early 2022.” Sikora has also shared little snippets about what fans can expect from the show.
“It’s really f***ing good,” Sikora told Entertainment Weekly. “People are going to love it. I think that it’s going to take all facets of Tommy that we’ve built up to until now to not only survive but to potentially thrive — and to potentially leave. You don’t know if it’s going to be one city and then another city and if he’s going to keep bopping or what connections need to be made.”
More than that, the series is the first true continuation of Power in terms of tone and adult themes. “How we think of Power, the natural progression of the Power show turns into Power Book IV,” Sikora told XXL Magazine. “Power Book IV picks up on the original in the same vein of it.”
Is Tommy based on rapper Eminem?
As we await the debut of Force there has been some question of whether the character Tommy is based on Detroit-born rapper Eminiem. In fact, in one episode from the orginal series, a man wearing a hoodie addresses Tommy as Eminem and then calls him Marshall. However, Sikora says that his character is actually based on 50 Cent.
Sikora spoke with Jalen Rose for the New York Post’s Renaissance Man podcast. The actor explained that he based Tommy’s mannerisms on 50 Cent from his “How To Rob” era. He explained that he watched, “dozens and dozens, maybe even hundreds of hours of 50 Cent interviews; that the cadence, word choice, the feeling, the vibe is a lot of it.”
Joseph Sikora loves being recognized as Tommy from ‘Power’
While most actors have frowned upon being typecast, Sikora loves being recognized as Tommy from the Power Universe. The Chicago-born actor portrayed the menacing character in all six seasons of Power, he made a guest appearance in Power Book II: Ghost and he will stand at the center of Force.
“I take the role of Tommy and being always recognized as Tommy in some ways as a badge of honor,” he told XXL Magazine. “I think that the Black community specifically, calls out bullsh*t pretty quickly and if I didn’t have my “T’s” crossed and my “I’s” dotted and I didn’t bring truth to that character then the character would not have been accepted. Period. So that’s better than any award.”
Force is one of the most anticipated Power spinoffs, so we’d say fans are thrilled to see Sikora step back into the beloved character’s shoes.
