Q with Tom Power

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.

Terry O'Reilly, the insightful host of CBC's "Under the Influence", shares his fascinating journey from childhood to becoming a titan in advertising. He reflects on his early media experiences and the rejections that fueled his passion. O'Reilly discusses the birth of his radio show, born from a casual night out, and explores innovative strategies that helped revive unexpected brands, like a group of nuns. He also delves into the thrilling evolution of advertising, especially in the age of social media, highlighting the artistry behind iconic commercials.

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.

For a time in the ‘90s, there was no band on earth bigger than Bush. Their debut album, “Sixteen Stone,” had singles that were in heavy rotation on MuchMusic, MTV and every rock radio station. That record also turned singer Gavin Rossdale into a star. Ahead of Bush’s cross-Canada tour this spring, Gavin joins Tom Power to look back on the band’s early days, what it was like breaking out of Britain when they didn’t sound like the Britpop bands of the time, and what goes through his mind when he hears “Glycerine.”

Mikey Madison is up for an Oscar for her role in Sean Baker’s Palme d'Or-winning film “Anora.” The story follows a sex worker from Brooklyn who meets and marries the son of a Russian oligarch. But their fairytale romance is threatened after news of their shotgun wedding reaches his parents in Russia. A few months ago, Mikey sat down with Tom Power to talk about her deep research and preparation for the role, why she feels protective of her character, and how the film changed her life.

The Canadian actor Amrit Kaur is one of the breakout stars of Mindy Kaling’s HBO Max series “The Sex Lives of College Girls.” She joins Tom Power to talk about getting into acting for all the wrong reasons, being inspired by her character Bela, and how acting eventually helped her overcome her self-loathing.

When you were growing up, did you get along with your sibling? Did your parents want you to get along better than you did? When Leela and Jay Gilday were growing up in Northwest Territories, their dad wanted them to sing together more, but it wasn’t until decades later that they did. Leela and Jay both have distinguished music careers on their own, but more recently, they’ve come together as the contemporary roots duo Sechile Sedare (“my younger brother, my older sister” in Dene). They join Tom Power to talk about their collaboration. Plus, they set up their new single, “Hold On.”