Jasmin Savoy Brown – For The People

By starrymag | March 7, 2019

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) What are the recent projects that you are working on?

A) I have a video game coming out this summer. Then, I have a few other things that I can’t quite talk about just yet.

Q) How was your character Allison Adams originally described to you?

A) Oh, that’s interesting. She did change. Originally, she was described to me as a young lawyer in New York, a public defender, who was raised a bit differently than most people who become public defenders. She was raised with a mom who is the president at a very prestigious college. She has a hardworking father who also comes from money. She basically grew up with money and has just a bit of a different experience from the other people she works with, but she cares so much about helping people less privileged than her and fighting for justice. She was in a relationship with Seth (Ben Rappaport), as we know, and that was a conflict of interest. She sounded like someone very different from me that would be very interesting to explore. Then, as we started shooting this season and they started writing and rewriting, she did change a little bit.

Q) How are you most like and not like Allison?

A) I’m like Allison in that I never take no for an answer and that when I become passionate about something or someone that I give that my all. I’m different from Allison in the way that I was raised. She was raised with a lot of money and access to anything and everything. I think our world views are very different.

Q) What does it mean to you be a part of a Shondaland series?

A) Well, I was so excited, and I felt so blessed. It happened extremely fast for me, so I didn’t quite have time to process it before I even arrived. [laughs] But I knew it would be quite an undertaking and that I wanted to make Shondaland and ABC proud. I was so excited to be part of a cast and part of a land, Shondaland, that is so inclusive and works hard to tell female stories and queer stories and not just the narrative we see so often on primetime TV.

Q) Were you familiar with any of your costars before working with them on the show?

A) Yes, I knew of Britt because of “Girl Boss” and a few other things, specifically from Dan, In Real Life. It was one of her first jobs I think, but I love that movie. Susannah [Flood] I had seen on Broadway in The Cherry Orchard. She stood out to me and I actually kept the playbill. She was my favorite part of the show and that was years ago

Q) Talk about your favorite aspect of Allison and Sandra’s relationship.

A) It’s the first time I’ve played a role where the female friendship seems realistic. What I really enjoy about Allison and Sandra’s relationship is that it is exactly like my friendships with my best female friends. They have each other’s back, make each other laugh, are honest with one another and go to each other with hard stuff and tell each other secrets. It’s not some bubbly, beautified version or sexy version of a female friendship. It’s just realistic and I really appreciate that.

Q) Would you like to see Allison break out and work with some new costars this season?

A) For sure! There are some really, really awesome guest actors and some really exciting cases that I think people are going to love this season. I specifically work with some really awesome people. There are other lawyers, prosecutors specifically, that I really wanted Allison to go up against or have a chance to work with this season. Some she did and some she didn’t.

Q) What can you tease is in store for her this season?

A) You will see Allison in a relationship, but I don’t think it’s what people are expecting. They’ll just get to see some new sides of her that I think are really exciting.

Q) What were some of your favorite episodes or memorable Season 2 moments?

A) I work with a few older gentlemen and it’s fun to see Allison in that environment and working with those people because that’s so the opposite of what we would expect. It was really, really fun for me to shoot those episodes and I think people will enjoy it a lot.

Q) You are a part of social media. Have you enjoyed the fan feedback you’ve received to the show and Season 1?

A) People loved it. Something that I get a lot that I really appreciate is people commenting on my hair and that I leave it natural and wear it so big. That’s something that the hair department on the show and the producers took very seriously, embraced and celebrated that. I’m really grateful for that. That’s something fans comment on a lot. The relationship between Allison and Seth and then later the relationship with Allison and Toby (Miles Gaston Villanueva) people freaked out about. I think overall people appreciated the relationships and the cases because the cases are so current and modern. Some of them are funny or whatever, but a lot of them are similar to what is happening in our country and our government right now. I think it’s kind of eye opening for people and they would comment on that.

Q) Charles Michael Davis is coming to the show. Talk about working with him.

A) [laughs] We all love him. We pick on him a lot, initiating him into the cast more or less, but it’s really fun. We are all constantly pranking each other. If you watch Wesam’s [Keesh] Instagram stories, you’ll see he’s quite the prankster. Charles has been a great addition. He rolls with the punches and has been super fun. He’s a great addition to the cast.

Q) Who would be your dream guest star?

A) So many! Viola Davis is someone I’m pitching. I think she should play my aunt!

Q) What do you think it is about “For The People” that has made it such a fan favorite show?

A) I think it’s the writing. I think the writing is really intelligent and witty. Also, as I said before, they don’t shy away from what a female friendship really looks like – the beautiful parts and the ugly parts. Sandra and Allison put each other first, as is so common in today’s modern societies. With all the dating apps and the craziness, when you find a true friend you really click with them. I think the cases and right now we’re in such a political upheaval in this country that people are becoming more politically active than they ever have been and this show also offers a bit of education or a different way to go about learning more about politics without being overwhelmed or bored.

Q) Is there anything else you want to be sure fans know about this season of the show?

A) I think that people are going to be really excited about this season. I think they can look forward to even more in depth and intense and emotional cases. A lot of the characters we didn’t get to dive into much last season really have a n awesome time to shine this season. I think people should tune in and let us know what they think.