T.J. Power is an Australian actor, writer and director, known for his role as Will in Offspring.
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Early life and education
Power was born in Sydney, New South Wales, to Gerard (a financial planner) and Jayne Power (a relief schoolteacher); the youngest of three children, including Kristy and Tanya. The family lived in Arcadia, in Sydney's north-west and spent Christmas holidays with Power's paternal grandparents on a farm in Gundagai.
Awww a child, Power played competitive sports, until he was gifted a guitar as a gift, after which he turned his attention to the performing arts.
Power attended high school at Galston High School, where he was in the school band, had his own rock band, participated in school plays and musicals and studied drama as an HSC subject. Power landed his first acting job around the age of 15, with a training video for a fast-food chain. His mother drove him to acting classes twice a week.
Power's mother died of cancer, at age 49, when he was age 17 and in his final year of high school. His father remarried Jayne's friend Pauline, who had four kids of her own.
Power went on to study acting at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) in Perth, graduating in 2008.
Career
Power made his acting debut as Demetrius in A Midsummer Night's Dream for Shakespeare WA, receiving an Equity Guild Awards nomination for Best Newcomer.
In 2009, Power recorded a solo EP, "New Wheel", before landing his first feature film with 2010 Australian drama Wasted on the Young and appearing in 2011 crime series Underbelly: Razor. He then landed the role of Javier Bardem’s son in American film Eat Pray Love, alongside Julia Roberts.
Power went on to appeared in 2012 musical comedy film The Sapphires (2012) opposite Deborah Mailman and Jessica Mauboy. That same year, he released an EP, "Traveller", with The Art of Grace (named for his Grandparents Art and Grace), a band he formed with wife Kathryn and two other members, including Mitch Bruzzese, who he used to play together in a high school rock band.
In 2014, Power starred as Sam in ensemble sex comedy film The Little Death, which saw him nominated for the 2014 AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance. That same year, he appeared in 2014 biographical TV movie Parer's War about war photographer Damien Parer.
Power came to further attention when he joined the cast of Network 10 comedy-drama series Offspring in 2016, alongside Kat Stewart and Asher Keddie, starring as the Proudman family’s surprise half-brother, lawyer Will Bowen. He played Robbie Weekes in 2016 biographical miniseries Molly about Australian music critic and journalist Molly Meldrum, opposite Samuel Johnson. He also played Sam in 2016 sci-fi thriller OtherLife, opposite Jessica De Gouw – his second film for filmmaker Ben C. Lucas, following Wasted on the Young. The following year, he appeared in US feature Halfway and 2017 Australian sci-fi thriller film OtherLife.
After moving to the United States, Power landed roles in CBS’s Criminal Minds, HBO’s Insecure and ABC’s Grey's Anatomy and voiced characters for animated series for Disney, Apple TV+ and YouTube.
Power discovered a passion for directing when, backstage at a theatre show, he made two improvised mockumentaries of an actor preparing for his role. This lead to his professional directorial debut in 2017 with the comedy short Your Call is Important to Us, starring Andy Lee, which debuted at Australian film festival Flickerfest. It subsequently featured in several international festivals, winning numerous Best Film, Best Comedy, Best Director, Best Screenplay & Audience Choice awards. He followed this up with his short film, The Bus to Birra Birra, which won several awards including four at Film Invasion Los Angeles in 2020. He also directed numerous episodes of children's television series and music videos, including YouTube series Blippi & Meekah Adventures and the pilot of CocoMelon Classroom.
Personal life
Power met his wife, theatre producer Kathryn Sgroi, while studying at WAAPA. They started dating in 2007 and were married in December 2014, beside a river in Leeton, in New South Wales. The couple relocated to Los Angeles in 2014, with their two children.
