INTERVIEW: Jasmin Savoy Brown

We love Jasmin Savoy Brown who most recently could be seen on ABC’s For The People. You may remember her from The Leftovers or a host of other projects. On top of acting she also has been working on an album. Please check out our interview with her below and be sure to follow her on Twitter here (@jasminsavoy) to follow along with what we know will continue to be a stellar career.

-The last time we talked to you was on “The Leftovers”. You have been active since then with a show about William Shakespeare called “WILL” to now a Shondaland drama called “For The People”. For those who have not seen the ABC series, how would you describe it and who do you play?

“For The People” follows a group of six young lawyers, three prosecutors and three federal public defenders, in the Southern District of New York handling some of the most prestigious and most important cases in our country. I play Allison Adams, a federal public defender who has dedicated her life to fighting for justice in the American judicial system despite her privileged upbringing.

-Your character ‘Allison’ just had a big case with episode 208, which fans can currently catch up on Hulu. How did you prepare for the episode?

Photo Credit: Arturo Benavides

There isn’t a lot of time to prepare for individual episodes actually! Throughout the season I am constantly in preparation by educating myself with articles, podcasts, books etc., and then when an individual episode comes, I’ll do my best to research whatever topic I am confronting in that episode. The rest is just showing up and meeting the people you’ll be working with and forming a connection that allows you to dive deep.

-Why do think it is important to show these types of cases to the audience?

I think today we are constantly confronted with political justice issues on social media, and it’s easy to feel informed or involved simply by retweeting an article. In reality, we rarely come face to face with the people actually affected by these issues, and it’s easy to simply move on. When we show these cases on TV, people immediately form a bond or a connection with the characters, and it makes the hard stuff not as easy to ignore. I think it’s important to have these cases on TV because it forces people to accept the harsh realities of what is happening every day in our country, and then they may be inspired to take action.

-How did you feel about the news about the cancelation? What will you miss the most about the show?

I am very disappointed. I feel like network television today doesn’t put the time, money, and energy into developing shows like it used to. Nothing great happens overnight. This show was excellent, important, timely, and had the potential to do a lot of good, not only for the viewers but for the network. They cut that short and it is their loss.