Toheeb Jimoh and Heather Agyepong praise “rockstar” Toni Collette and the message of the show, which also gives the Ted Lasso star another outlet to show his Nigerian culture.
Amazon Prime Video’s new series, “The Power,” may have a dystopian setting, but the show is important now more than ever as it tackles issues that are relevant today, according to two of the show’s stars, Toheeb Jimoh and Heather Agyepong.
The show, which is based on Naomi Alderman’s bestselling novel of the same name, is set in a world where teenage girls suddenly develop the ability to release electricity from their fingertips. Per Amazon Studios, “The Power” “features a cast of remarkable characters from London to Seattle, Nigeria to Eastern Europe, as the Power evolves from a tingle in teenagers’ collarbones to a complete reversal of the power balance of the world.”
In an interview with TooFab at the show’s virtual junket, Jimoh and Agyepong explained why there’s a “real urgency” for this show amid today’s social climate, and shared what they hope viewers take away from the series.
“I think there’s a real urgency of this show because women are being kind of silenced and are kind of under attack all over the world, right?” said Agyepong. “We’ve got Iran, US, kind of everywhere right now. So I think … it feels like an answer to a lot of questions that are happening in terms of women needing to have a sense of agency and a sense of autonomy.”
She continued, “I think that it asks really pertinent questions that people need to talk about, kind of at the forefront. So it feels like an honor to be a part of the show that talks about something really important right now.”
Jimoh agreed with his co-star, before pointing out how quickly progress can change.
“It’s a weird thing ’cause it feels like we take steps forward, and then we take steps back,” he said. “After the #MeToo movement, it felt like we were really, like, at a point where we were ready to have that conversation, and then post the #MeToo movement, it feels like we’re getting a lot of the backlash of it, you know. And now we’re getting to a point where some of these really prominent figures, especially on social media, have, like, devoted their platforms to spewing anti-feminist rhetoric and hate.”
“So to be in a show at this point that, like, has the opposite effect of that is actually really empowering and uplifting,” he added.
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The 25-year-old said he hopes the show can be a “little spark” — pun intended — for viewers, and a place where they can “find hope” rather than the “more depressing rhetoric” they may see more often.
Jimoh and Agyepong are just two of the many stars who make up “The Power’s” massive ensemble cast, which also includes Toni Collette, John Leguizamo, Auli’i Cravalho and Josh Charles. Since the cast is so large, and many of the actors didn’t share any scenes together, TooFab asked Jimoh and Agyepong if there was anyone who they wished they could have had more time with on set.
The two didn’t hesitate to name Collette — in fact, Jimoh counted down during the interview so that they could name the actress at the same time.
“She’s the rockstar,” said Jimoh. “I think any actor would wanna share more time with Toni because, like, she’s such a heavyweight in the acting world.”
He continued, “I think what’s dope about this show is that, you know, there are some people that are on this show who [we] are all big fans of, but we haven’t met. And there’s something really nice about trusting them to carry their storyline and them trusting us to carry our storylines and then together, like, all of our artistry will come together in this one piece. There’s something really dope about that.”
Meanwhile, Jimoh — who is best known for his role as Sam Obisanya in Apple TV+’s “Ted Lasso” — opened up about getting to represent his Nigerian heritage by getting to portray Nigerian characters in both “The Power” and “Ted Lasso.”
“It means a lot. You know, it’s partly why I wanted to act,” he told TooFab. “I think, you know, 13-year-old Toheeb, would turn a TV on and would see Nigerians painted in, you know, not such a positive light. And I always felt like I wanted to be a part of the conversation. If people were talking about Nigerians, I wanted to have a seat at that table, and kind of, you know, have authorship on it. So yeah, I’m glad that I get to do that in the two roles that I’ve had so far in my career.”
The first three episodes of “The Power” are available to stream on Prime Video on Friday, March 31. New episodes will drop each following Friday until the season finale on May 12.
