As ‘Power’ ends, Joseph Sikora says his iconic character is a ‘shell of a man’

The Columbia College grad, who has played Tommy Egan for six seasons of the Starz series, might have taken another path if the bright lights didn’t come calling.

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Joseph Sikora as Tommy Egan in the Starz hit series “Power.”

Joseph Sikora as Tommy Egan in the Starz hit series “Power.”

Starz

As two episodes remain for the Starz series “Power,” the ending of a “tragic love story between two brothers” left Joseph Sikora with more questions than answers about his powerful character Tommy Egan.

And after the Jan. 19 episode that centered on Tommy, viewers were left with a question answered and the most important one unanswered: #WhoShotGhost?

Tommy is scratched off the list of suspects in the shooting of his best friend, James “Ghost” St. Patrick, played by Omari Hardwick. But we won’t find out until Feb. 9 who pulled the trigger — if you can manage to avoid the spoilers.

Tommy and Ghost were the quintessential drug kingpins of New York who over six seasons took viewers on the highs and lows of their relationship. Things were great but got rocky at times in the first few seasons, and ultimately took a turn for the worst. The last few seasons were brutal. They became enemies before coming back to the place it all started — sort of.

Tommy and Ghost started the journey as childhood friends who were tight and loved each other unconditionally, then power got the best of both. In the end, they ended back where they started, as brothers.

Omari Hardwick as James “Ghost” St. Patrick and Joseph Sikora as Tommy Egan on “Power.”

Omari Hardwick as James “Ghost” St. Patrick and Joseph Sikora as Tommy Egan on “Power.”

Starz

“To see Ghost die, it’s the last of the last holding Tommy together, “ Sikora said in an interview Sunday.

What would Tommy have wanted to say to his lifelong friend if there was more time before Ghost took his last breath?

“I think Tommy would have wanted to apologize, which I did, but I didn’t get there in time. I think he would want to say, ‘I’ll love you forever. Don’t die on me. Can I give you part of myself? Can I give you part of my soul to save you? I never should have doubted you,’” the Chicago native said.

The ending to the relationship was the last straw, and breaks Tommy. 

He lost Ghost, and two fiances and his mother abandoned him. He packs up, leaves New York behind and heads for Los Angeles.

“He’s lost everything. He is absolutely empty. He’s a super shell of a man. I think the exciting part about that, if there was a continuation for Tommy, was: How is he going to fill that shell back up and what becomes of that man? Just like when they say you can never go home again, can you ever really be the same person again? It’s a lot of questions that we end up with.”

Could this be the setup for one of the spinoffs Starz is creating based on the series? There’s one already in the works, “Power Book II: Ghost” starring rapper-actor Method Man and singer-actress Mary J. Blige.

Sikora said, “From your lips to God’s ears.” Hours later, he hinted on Instagram there will be a spinoff. Or, he could be promoting Edie Falco’s new crime drama “Tommy.”

The recent episode detailing how his character ends was a rare one for the Columbia College grad. 

Playing Tommy was a challenge and delight for the Columbia College grad. What he brought to the character prompted writers to sometimes go in a different direction.

“I always read the material and try to understand the writers so I can honor their work as best as I can, then create a fully three-dimensional, 360-degree view of that character. Whether our show went one season or six, I feel like Tommy, who I had Tommy be, never changed. The writers started writing different scenarios for that man I created,” Sikora said.

When Tommy comes on screen, you can tell in his eyes and slight head tilt — a technique he picked up from his dog — that something’s about to go down. 

“Tommy is this engine and you get used to that. In this episode, he had some chances to relax. There was a stillness in Tommy which we don’t get a lot of in this series. There was a lot of breathing room. Just sitting there and being Tommy Egan is as much of a challenge and a journey as a monologue,” he said. 

Asked how he wants fans to remember his character, Sikora said as a “people’s champion who punches that card.”

“I feel people respond so much to Tommy at a working level. He’s like the factory worker somehow of the streets. There’s just an honest dignity to a role that could sometimes have gone awry with just evil or sociopath, and he’s not a sociopath, nor is he evil. Tommy’s dissociative at times, but he feels very deeply and loves hard. And he reminds people of the rules and the life they signed up for,” he said.

The former Norwood Park and Jefferson Park resident said if it weren’t for one of his instructors, Jeff Ginsberg at Columbia, he would’ve ended up with the Chicago Fire Department or in another position with the city.

Ginsberg encouraged him to follow his acting dreams and never look back. 

“In those neighborhoods, there’s a lot of cops, firemen and city workers,” Sikora said. “So that was a path I admired. I admired firemen putting their lives on the line. It’s an extreme profession, and I think I’m an extreme person. I’m pretty cool under pressure and I think a great fireman is as well.”

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