INTERVIEW: Meagan Good's Sister Act
Meagan Good and her sister La’Myia Good are taking their real life sibling bond to the small screen in the new lifetime movie, Death Saved My Life. The movie is part of Lifetime’s Ripped from the Headlines programming.
Meagan stars as Jade, an ambitious executive who is married to Ed (Chiké Okonkwo), a surgeon who is wildly insecure and abusive. Ed degrades Jade, physically assaults her and attempts to sabotage her career. As he isolates her further and further away from her friends and family and puts on the mask of the “perfect dad” for their young daughter, Jade eventually decides that the only way to escape is to fake her own death. She enlists the help of her sister Leigh (La’Myia Good), a woman who has no boundaries when it comes to protecting her family.
The movie, which premieres on Lifetime on February 13, is executive produced by Meagan Good. The Good sisters spoke to BET about the film, the depths of their sisterhood and their plans for more behind-the-camera work.
BET.com: How similar are you and your character Jade?
Meagan: I think one of the biggest things is the sister dynamic. She's very much a fierce protector of me, but I'm also very much a protector of her and in a totally different way. I would do anything for her. That dynamic was probably the thing that I related to the most and felt most natural. As far as Jade herself, I feel Jade just wants to be a happy person and add something good into the world, so, there were definitely things that I related to about her.
BET.com: This isn’t the first time that you two have worked together. What is it like working with family?
La’Myia: It’s definitely a bonding thing. We had a lot of scenes together, so we're ultimately drawing from places that are real and we were able to have that communication. It's almost like therapy, but also a playground for us as actors. There's nothing better than that bond that you share with your sister where you get to do the one thing that you love the most together. Actually two things, because we are definitely all about women empowerment. We believe that's our destiny and purpose to make sure that we're advocates of other women, and we share stories, create stories and tell the narrative from our perspective as women of color.
BET.com: Are there real life examples of when you had to have each other’s backs?
Meagan: Growing up, everyone knew that you don’t try it with little sister. La’Myia definitely had a reputation for being very strong and not someone to mess with. We're very much the same person in a lot of ways, but we also call ourselves yin and yang because sometimes our approaches are different. I wear my heart on my sleeve and hers is like very tucked away, but it's the same level of sensitivity. Growing up, she was always my protector and people did not mess with me because they didn’t want to deal with the wrath of La’Myia Good.
La’Myia: Megan is a little feisty one too! She can tolerate a lot of things, but one thing she will not tolerate is you coming for her family. It's funny because everybody knows Megan is very, very sweet. She's like one of the nicest people you'll ever meet, but do not come for her family because she will come for you in her own way. She’s precise with it, like a surgeon with a scalpel. She can cut deep!
BET.com: What message or insight do you want people to walk away with when they see this movie?
La’Myia: Just knowing that at the end of the day, we have choices and decisions that we can make. We are resilient. Nothing that's been done to us can make us unworthy. And at any point, we can choose to turn things around. It's within us. It's just an ask away from God. Just knowing that there's another day and another chance for you to take control and empower yourself.
Meagan: It’s never too late to make a different decision. You've never gone so far down a road that you can't come back and you can't get out. There's always an opportunity to make a different choice and to have a different life. You deserve it and God wants it for you. All you have to do is put your works with your faith. If you have the faith that God will do it, all you have to do is do your part, and meet Him halfway. The second you make a different choice, you could have a totally different life and that's pretty amazing and exciting.
BET.com: Meagan, you're in front of and behind the camera on this project and you made your directorial debut not too long ago. Do you plan to do more work behind the scenes?
Meagan: Definitely more directing. La’Myia also produced on If Not Now When. We were trying to find the money for that movie for like five years, and I asked her to come on as a producer and she found the entire budget in about a week and a half. Definitely more producing with my sister. We really want to be intentional about the type of movies that we make, that we participate in, and that we produce. Personally, a goal for me is I want to do a biopic. I don't know who yet. I have an idea I'm kind of kicking around the idea. I want to make sure it's not just telling someone's story but like, what else can people get besides experiencing someone else's journey which is enough in itself, but especially in this time in history in the world that we're in. What else can the story give someone that can be prayerfully transformative or encouraging or inspiring?
BET.com: La’Myia you’re apparently really good at finding money. What’s in your future?
La’Myia: I really want to come back in strong. I took a break from the film and television industry, in front of the camera. I've been playing behind the camera and I've done some producing, but I feel it's time to come back. I do want to be the best artist and actress that I can be. So right now it's really just honing in and and working at my craft and taking the time and energy. I do want to do more films in front and behind the camera.
