Q with Tom Power

For more than five decades, Jayne Eastwood has been one of the most recognizable and beloved faces in Canadian comedy, film and television — from Goin’ Down the Road and SCTV to My Big Fat Greek Wedding. In 1972, she joined the iconic Toronto stage production of Godspell alongside a powerhouse cast including Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin and Gilda Radner. Now, a new documentary, You Had To Be There, looks back at that legendary production, the friendships that came out of it and the extraordinary generation of Canadian comedy that followed. Jayne joins Tom Power to reflect on her time in Godspell, why she chose to build her career in Canada, and why she remains as brave as ever.

Since winning an Emmy for his role as Lenny Bruce on the hit series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Canadian actor Luke Kirby hasn’t slowed down. He talks to Tom Power about his new leading role as Detective Sergeant John Darcy on Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent, how his early days working with Canadian theatre legends felt like making it to the big leagues, and how back in high school, he actually predicted he’d one day play Lenny Bruce.

For decades, lyricist Bernie Taupin has partnered with Elton John to write some of popular music’s most iconic hits, including Tiny Dancer, Rocket Man and Bennie and the Jets. Now, at 76, he’s stepping into his own spotlight with The Sea Has No Mercy — his first solo album in nearly 40 years, and the first written entirely by and for himself. Bernie joins Tom Power to reflect on his 57 years with Elton, the evolution of his songwriting, and why he calls this new album the most satisfying record he’s ever made. 

How do you take the songs of one of Canada’s most beloved bands and weave them into a story about exile, identity and starting over? Creators and performers Ahmed Moneka and Jesse LaVercombe join Tom Power to talk about their new musical, It’s a Good Life If You Don’t Weaken, inspired by the iconic music of The Tragically Hip. Set in 2002 in The Hip’s hometown of Kingston, Ont., the show follows an exiled Iraqi journalist who’s rebuilding his life in Canada. Ahmed and Jesse discuss the creative weight of representing Gord Downie’s legacy on the stage, their unlikely creative partnership, and how their own life journeys worked their way into the musical.

Diego Luna (Rogue One, Y Tu Mamá También) has been acting since he was a child, starting out in Mexican cinema before taking on Hollywood blockbusters and some of television’s biggest shows. This year, he returned to the Toronto International Film Festival as a director with his latest film, Ashes. Diego sits down with Tom Power in the Q studio to talk about the choices that have shaped his career, what it was like coming face-to-face with Darth Vader on the set of Rogue One, and what he’s still searching for as a storyteller.

Long before she stepped into her role as the intimidating, impeccably dressed host of The Traitors Canada and Les Traîtres, Karine Vanasse co-produced and starred in Polytechnique. Directed by Denis Villeneuve, the harrowing film fundamentally changed the national conversation around the 1989 École Polytechnique massacre, cementing it as an act of gender-based violence. Karine joins Tom Power to reflect on the fraught making of the film, its lasting real-world impact and why she ignored a teacher’s advice to quit acting.

Tracey Emin is one of Britain’s most provocative artists. She’s known for turning sex, trauma and heartbreak into boundary-breaking art. But after surviving aggressive bladder cancer and major surgery in 2020, her relationship with her body — and her art — fundamentally shifted. Spanning nearly 40 years of work from My Bed to her latest paintings, her retrospective, A Second Life, marks a profound new chapter. Tracey joins guest host Gill Deacon to talk about survival, healing through art and what it means to get a second shot at life.

As a kid in Montreal, Emily Hampshire (Schitt's Creek) was so self-conscious about performing that she’d only sing and dance inside her closet. She’s since gone on to become a six-time Canadian Screen Award winner best known for her role as Stevie Budd on the hit CBC comedy series Schitt’s Creek. Now, she’s joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the new series VisionQuest, playing an AI avatar tasked with teaching an android superhero about fun. Emily stops by the Q studio to talk about her new role, growing up as a theatre kid, and why she thinks Canadian storytelling is having such a massive global moment right now.

So Faint’s Hannah Georgas and Lyn Heinemann have known each other for nearly two decades, but they only recently became creative collaborators. Hannah is a multi-Juno-nominated artist (including two nods for songwriter of the year) and a member of Broken Social Scene, while Lyn is a newer face in the music industry who wrote her own music while working in health care. They join Tom Power to talk about the first time they met, how their paths diverged and what finally brought them together as a duo.

From Tommy Lee to Donald Trump to the Winter Soldier, Sebastian Stan isn’t afraid of disappearing into a role. In his new film, Fjord, he plays a Romanian father in Norway fighting to regain custody of his children. Sebastian joins Tom Power to discuss acting in his native language for the first time, drawing on his own immigrant roots, and how the role reshaped his perspective as a new dad.