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WARNING: This article contains spoilers from the first 3 seasons of Power.
Cape Town – Lela Loren is one of the powerful women on the Starz hit crime drama Power.
She plays the tough as nails federal prosecutor Angela Valdez who is dating James "Ghost" St. Patrick (Omari Hardwick), a married New York nightclub owner who is trying to escape the double life of a drug kingpin.
Now in its fourth season, the show is not for the faint-hearted.
The series is a heady mixture of intrigue and suspense and has been a hit with an audience who like their viewing on the dark side.
According to IndieWire it was the second-most watched show on a premium cable network in 2016.
What can we expect from season four? Well, you’ll have to wait and see says Loren with a laugh during a telephone interview with Channel24.
At the end of season 3 Loren’s character arrested Ghost.
“People have said, 'how could Angela do Ghost like that?' Although he is not guilty of killing Greg, he is guilty of a lot of other crimes.”
She continues: “What you can expect from season four is the fallout in all of the worlds where Ghost has been taken out of the equation.”
Angela especially has to contend with her own heart and survival both professionally and as a woman living without Ghost.
“And if you thought that the end of season three was a cliff-hanger, season four is even more so,” says Loren.
Speaking about the growth of the character, Loren says that if it was a shape it would be a boomerang.
“When you meet her in season one her back-story is that she is very satisfied with her job. She’s in a relationship but it’s very perfunctory.”
She continues: “When Angela meets up with Jamie, her high school love – he awakens love in her and she begins to dream and lets the feminine girly side out. And then after the heartbreak, when Greg is murdered and all of the evidence points to Ghost, she slingshots back into her old self. All her walls are back up again.”
THE CHARACTER PEOPLE LOVE TO HATE
The audience has a love/hate relationship with Loren's character and she admits that it is hard to deal with the negative comments on social media.
“What’s interesting is that people say when they hate your character you’re doing a good job. I actually challenge that because the truth is that it’s my job as a character to bring as much humanity to a role.”
She continues: “All of the characters on Power are incredibly flawed. If you give Tommy who strangled a woman a pass and Ghost who is a liar and a murderer and you don’t give Angela that same leeway then there’s something in you whether it be prejudice or sexism.”
Loren says that Angela is a witness to how women are treated in society. Some of the ways they speak to her character whether fictional or otherwise are troubling.
She deals with the negativity by keeping her friends and family close.
“They see me and they know that I am doing a job and I hope that we move forward in the way we treat women.”
THE BEST OF ANGELA
For Loren, some of her favourite moments on the show are the scenes she has with her sister Paz played by Elizabeth Rodriguez.
“Doing those scenes are so much fun and her and I get along so well and she’s an amazing actress.”
She also enjoys tapping into the darker side of Angela when she gets to be devious.
“As an actor it’s great to play it because we don’t get to do that in real life. It’s a challenge to play those colours and to go there is fun.”
She continues: “And lastly moments that require a lot of emotion. While they may not be necessarily fun they are very satisfying.”
And that great chemistry between Loren and Hardwick?
Loren says it’s a combination of gelling and similar artistic processes.
“In real life our relationship is very childlike. We tease each other and laugh. We really wanted to infuse the history of being kids when we fell in love. The chemistry is a combination of that natural kind of luck and professionalism.”
The series explores dark themes and separating Angela from Lela is as easy as slipping off her costume and into her pjs and Uggs at the end of the work day.
“I have a nice big glass of wine or I walk around. You’re always you, it’s just a different sand box of yourself.”
With Power being renewed for a fifth season Loren says she can’t wait to see what’s on the cards for Angela.
Watch the trailer for season four here:
Power season 4 is exclusive to DEOD - the only place to watch it right now 24 hours after the US.
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(Photos supplied)
