Q with Tom Power

After decades stealing scenes as a supporting actor, Colman Domingo generated Oscar buzz for his first lead role in the Obama-backed Netflix film “Rustin.” In this conversation with Tom Power from a little while back, Colman talks about the weight of playing the civil rights leader Bayard Rustin (advisor to Martin Luther King Jr.), what he learned about vulnerability when he was a professional clown, and why acting is a form of service to the public.

When Darcy Michael started a TikTok channel with his husband Jeremy Baer, he was a retired stand-up comedian who had spent nearly 20 years trying to find an audience. After Darcy and Jer (as they’re known online) started posting candid videos together from their home in British Columbia, millions of fans across the internet found them. Now, in two new streaming specials — “No Refunds” and “Happily Ever Laughter” — Darcy and Jer open up about living out their love story in public. The two sit down with Tom Power to talk about those films, and how going viral changes a relationship. 

Bob Geldof is a musician, activist and one of the organizers of Live Aid, the massive 1985 benefit concert that raised millions for famine relief in Ethiopia. Some of the biggest artists and bands of all time came together for that concert — but how did Bob convince them all to give up their time for free on the same day? Ahead of the Toronto opening of “Just For One Day,” a new jukebox musical about Live Aid, Bob sits down with Tom Power to share some of the stories from behind the scenes of Live Aid, including how he got Queen to participate and why David Bowie insisted on the use of some CBC footage as the one condition of him playing.

Jully Black is a powerhouse singer-songwriter from Toronto who’s often called Canada's queen of R&B soul. Now, she’s embarking on her first cross-country tour in almost 17 years. Jully sits down with Tom Power to tell us how singing in church at age six put her on her artistic path, why she feels speaking out is always the right thing to do, and how this upcoming tour celebrates connection, resilience and joy.

West Coast glam rocker Art d'Ecco joins Tom Power to set up the title track off his new album, “Serene Demon.” The song is an epic seven-and-a-half minute play about existentialism in four acts.

Rufus Wainwright is a difficult artist to categorize at the best of times. As a musician, he’s recorded pop songs, folk music, operas and stage musicals. But his new album, “Dream Requiem,” is a little different, even for him. It’s a religious work inspired by a range of subjects, including a poem by Lord Byron, the music of Giuseppe Verdi, and his beloved late dog Puccini. He also managed to recruit Meryl Streep to narrate the project. Rufus joins Tom Power over Zoom to talk about the different influences behind “Dream Requiem,” his upbringing in Quebec, and how this project really mourns the death of the American Dream.

The Toronto singer-songwriter and actor Lia Pappas-Kemps (best known for her role as Jane in “Anne with an E”) recently released her debut EP, “Gleam.” She calls the record a fragmented love letter to her teenage years, which isn’t surprising seeing as she wrote it all between the ages of 16 and 19. Lia joins Tom Power to discuss the EP and she introduces us to a track called “Switchblade.”

Tom Rooney is one of Canada’s most beloved stage actors. Over the last three decades, he’s taken on some of theatre’s most memorable roles, from Romeo in “Romeo and Juliet” to Henry Higgins in “My Fair Lady.” But Tom has also played a big part in contemporary Canadian theatre, which is where we find him now. Currently, he’s playing Majnoun in Mirvish’s remount of “Fifteen Dogs,” based on the Giller Prize-winning book of the same name by André Alexis. The story follows a group of dogs who are given the gift of human consciousness and language. Tom drops by the “Q” studio to talk about his life in acting, his love of the craft, and what it takes to play a dog.

The CBC radio show and podcast “Under the Influence” just launched its 20th season. Show host and creator Terry O'Reilly joins Tom Power for a career chat about his early days as an ad man, his experience working with some of the biggest brands and celebrities of our time, and how he pitched a show about advertising to a network with no advertising.

The Canadian actor and playwright Ins Choi is best known as the creator of “Kim’s Convenience,” which started as a play in 2011 before it became a hit sitcom in 2016. This month, “Kim’s Convenience” is back at Toronto’s Soulpepper Theatre Company where it was first professionally staged in 2012. Ins sits down with Tom Power to talk about the ups and downs of adapting “Kim’s Convenience” for TV, the role that faith has played in his life, and what it’s like stepping into the part of Appa in this latest production.