John Leguizamo and Toni Collette as Rob Lopez and Margot Cleary in The Power Photo Credit: Prime Video
After essaying the roles of liberal women in styles such as Annie Graham hereditarylynn sear inn the sixth SenseJoanie Thrombey Inn knives out and Muriel Heslop in Muriel’s weddingToni Collette believes she is at a point in her career where the roles she is being offered feel like an act of a greater power, “It’s as if they are for me… As if I am being chosen”.
In her latest outing as Mayor Margot Cleary-Lopez on the science-fiction show Power, The Academy Award-nominated actor stars alongside John Leguizamo to tell the story of teenage girls who develop the power to electrocute people at will. Based on British author Naomi Alderman’s award-winning novel of the same name, the show features characters from around the world.
Before the premiere, Tony and John sat down for an interview Hindu On a zoom call to talk about the show, its feminist perspective and the contribution of their characters to it.
Toni Collette as Margot Cleary in a scene from ‘The Power’ | Photo Credit: Prime Video
Tony confesses that he hasn’t read the book. “When I was offered the role, I had to concentrate on preparing for the role. I play a politician and politicians talk a lot, so there is a lot of dialogue,” comments the actor and this rebukes John, “I just need to focus on maintaining the language,” she smiles. “I was told that my character in the novel was very different and that I was going to be of no use if I read it. The scripts we had were so well informed and beautifully written that I Didn’t feel the need to go further than that” she adds.
John, who plays Rob on the show, quickly agreed after reading the book, “I’ve read the book but Rob’s not really in the book. And as Tony said, the scripts were very well written. .. They kind of worked for us. When the language is really good, you just have to be there, you just have to be present,” he said.
both believe Power The science-fiction genre has the potential to advance the feminist gaze, and Toney took the opportunity to highlight the topical nature of her subjects. “Look, patriarchy is the structure we all were born into and the structure is going through some changes and changes. It’s incredible how this show aligns itself with the changes happening in the real world today; The changes that need to happen are the ones that are necessary,” she says, adding that she feels incredible to be a part of a show that underlines the socio-economic and geographic diversity of the characters and their potential. Entertains the idea of ”real” gender equality.
John chimes in, “I think it’s an important way to showcase feminism without it being, you know, harangue and…”, “dogma,” Tony prompts. “The show has themes of women empowerment hidden in the girls’ power to generate electric shocks and how my son deals with his sister who doesn’t have that power; He gets jealous and it’s just like what happens in the real world – men have to give up power.
According to Tony, the coronavirus pandemic helped people imagine and believe in a world they would not have otherwise and this helped the cast and crew of the film. Power To better tell the story, “If there is one good thing that has come out of COVID-19 it is that it has united us. We realized that we’re all connected and we’re going through [the pandemic] Together.” That’s why this story spanning continents doesn’t seem far-fetched in terms of its scale and how many people it affects and how quickly it can happen. It’s like fire.
Richard Cooper and John Leguizamo in a scene from ‘The Power’ | Photo Credit: Prime Video
John who lent his voice to Bruno Madrigal in the Oscar-winning animated film encanto Am a proud Latino.
To further his efforts to spotlight the Latino community, the Colombian-born actor is visiting US cities with his road trip documentary. Leguizamo does America Through which he intends to take the audience inside the thriving Latino communities of America and according to John it is the first of its kind. “We’re the largest ethnic minority in the United States and we’ve never done a show about our culture that’s … crazy,” and he looks in awe of the patience of the Latinos he meets along the way.
Tony comments that he is proud of his co-star and says that he cannot wait to see the docu-series. The Australian actor is a rule-breaker in her own right on what constitutes a “feminine” and takes on characters who are usually put on the fringes.
The reason behind choosing off-beat characters is a very self-indulgent exercise according to him, “It was to keep himself interested”. The actress further added, “I try to play different roles because there are so many different people to learn from,” adding that she learns from every character she plays. “Each character teaches me a timely lesson that I can apply in my life and inspires me to put more time into what I am doing,” she says.