‘Power Book II: Ghost’ Exclusive: Caroline Chikezie Says Noma Is Still Playing Chess, Not Checkers

September 17, 2024

The Power franchise has a rich history of introducing powerful female characters who can go toe-to-toe with their male counterparts. With the Noma (Caroline Chikezie), the mysterious villain in Power Book II: Ghost, making life difficult for Tariq (Michael Rainey Jr.) and the Tejada clan, that continues to be the case.

Cassius Life’s Bernard Beanz Smalls spoke with Chikezie ahead of the most recent episode. You can read our recap by heading here.

In our conversation, Chikezie touched on joining the still-growing list of women to portray powerful female characters in the show, that proposal from Cane (Woody McClain) if her character is losing her grip on power because of her latest moves and people learning she is married to Bel-Air actor Adrian Holmes.

Caroline Chikezie Says Joining Power Book II: Ghost Is A Dream Role

Source: Starz / Power Book II: Ghost

When you go down the list of characters attached to the Power universe, you will find plenty of female characters like Tasha (Naturi Naughton) and Monet (Mary J. Blige), Diana (LaTyoya Tonodeo), Effie (Alix Lapri), Raquel Thomas (Patina Miller) and Angela Valdez (Lela Loren).

Now, you can add Noma to that list. Chikezie is very honored to be a part of that list, and she describes her time on the popular Power spinoff as a “dream of role.:

“Oh, goodness. It means everything to me. It’s a dream of a role to play a boss, a badass, to be in a male-dominated business and be able to delegate and just run things, ” Chikezie tells Cassius LIfe. “It’s honestly a dream of a role. It doesn’t happen very often, and I must say I commend the writers and the showrunners, and our creator, Courtney Kemp, for creating this universe where they do have badass women. It’s beautiful to have a Monet and a Noma. There’s a lot of skullduggery that they do, but aside from that, they are powerful bosses. So yeah, it means everything, and I’m so grateful and so humbled to be able to play this role.”

Is There Love In The Air Between Noma & Cane?

Source: Starz / Power Book II: Ghost

In the final season, Cane works hard to establish himself as his boss, free of his mother’s influence, and he has allied with Noma.

But this alliance seems to be more than just business; it also includes some pleasure; hell, we even see Cane pitch the idea of marriage to help Noma and her drug-dealing empire.

Is Cane’s move more than strategy? Is there some love behind that move? Chikezie explains that Cane and Noma are dynamic as “toxic” and “dysfunctional,” but the ruthless Noma does have a “soft spot” for the former Tejada enforcer.

“Well, they have such a dysfunctional, kind of toxic relationship. One minute they’re all lovey-dovey the next, she’s throwing things at him. It’s not a clean, clear situation. I can honestly say Noma has a very strong soft spot for Cane, but she has a soft spot, but she’s still wary of him,” Chikezie explains.

She continues, “She knows that at any minute it can go left with them. But I think the motivation for the marriage is obviously Noma wants to get her legitimate businesses solidified in the States. She can only do that if she’s an American citizen. In order to get American citizenship, one of the ways to do it is to marry Cane. So, of course, it makes sense. But I think underlying that, she does have a soft spot for Cane. He’s got under her skin, and he definitely has a soft spot for her. She scares him, but also he likes that. It turns him on. So it’s a complicated, toxic situation.”

Noma Is Still Playing Chess, Not Checkers

Source: Starz / Power Book II: Ghost

Like with any popular show, there are always things to complain about. Power, has one of the most loyal and active fan bases on and they always have thoughts following each episode.

One complaint that has been circulating is that after Noma took out her loyal right-hand man, Obi, and began hooking up with Cane and Davis MacLean (Clifford “Method Man” Smith), she lost what made her scary and mysterious.

Source: Starz / Power Book II: Ghost

There is some truth to that; remember, she showed up chopping off hands, and Obi was terrified of his boss. But since then, many can’t seem to stomach Riq, and the other characters are no longer scared.

But Chikezie says that Noma is still out playing chess, not checkers, and she has definitely got things planned.

“Yeah, she’s definitely playing chess, not checkers. Yeah, I think there is a method to her madness. In her mind, Davis and Cane are completely different. They serve different functions. Cane is her day-to-day. They’re doing their little street thing. He’s her new Obi. He takes care of stuff for her. But Davis, he’s legal. He gives her advice. So she needs them both for different reasons, ” Chikezie said.

She continues, “And, of course, she’s entangled with them both romantically, and that doesn’t hurt. I think she thinks, “Why not? I’m having to work with them. I might as well get a bit of relief from the side in the form of a relationship.” So I think there is a method to Noma’s madness, and whether or not it is going to weaken her that it remains to be seen. So let’s see how that plays out.”

Chikezie’s Husband, Adrian Holmes, Introduced Her To Power

Source: Robin L Marshall / Getty / Caroline Chikezie

Switching from Power, fans were shocked to learn that Chikezie is married to Adrian Holmes, who plays Uncle Phil in Peacock’s hit original series, Bel-Air.

She revealed that her husband introduced her to the show, that they talk about their performances, and the reaction she gets every time people find out they are together.

“Yeah, we do watch each other’s shows. I love Bel-Air, and the whole cast is fantastic. It’s a great show, and I think my husband’s incredible in it. I’m a bit biased, but he is actually incredible. We do watch it. He actually was very obsessed with the whole Power franchise. He’s the one who brought me into it because I hadn’t watched it. And he was, “Oh my God, this show Power.” So then he’s the one who actually introduced me to Power,” Chikezie revealed.

She continues, “And yeah, there is a lot of back and forth, but we both love each other’s shows. He loves mine, I love his. And it’s nice because they’re so different, so you get the crime drama with ours and you get the Bel Air, you get the family more tame. So it balances it out, because you can’t just be crime, crime, crime. You need it to balance out.”

“And as for the fans being shocked, yeah, on Instagram, there’s a post that every day it’s like ping, ping, ping when people are finding out that we are together, and they’re like, “What is happening? What a weird couple. How does this work?” They’re like, “Be careful, Uncle Phil.” They’re warning Aunt Viv. They’re Cane. Apparently I’m in a love Pentagon with me, Uncle Phil, Aunt Viv, Cane, and Davis. But it’s all good fun, and the overall feeling is people love seeing us together and they love celebrating black love. So I love that for us,” she added.

You can watch the entire interview above.

The post ‘Power Book II: Ghost’ Exclusive: Caroline Chikezie Says Noma Is Still Playing Chess, Not Checkers appeared first on Cassius Life.

The post ‘Power Book II: Ghost’ Exclusive: Caroline Chikezie Says Noma Is Still Playing Chess, Not Checkers appeared first on Black America Web.

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