Written By: Jayme Face
Gregg Daniel can be seen on the popular ABC show For Life based on the true story of how a man overcame injustice. With issues reflected in the show that are close to Gregg’s heart he also discusses what we can do to keep involved.
upfrontNY: Can you tell us about For Life and your character, Easley Barton?
Gregg Daniel: The story is that Aaron Wallace, the lead character, has been sentenced unjustly for life. While he’s there he becomes a lawyer and he reaches out to me because Easley Barton has been railroaded by the same man who has railroaded him. I’ve been serving about 22 years. I’ve given up all hope. I’m sort of downtrodden. The character of Aaron Wallace, played by Nicholas Pinnock, comes to me wanting to reopen my case. At first my character is not interested. I’m like “No let’s not go through this again.” I’m past hoping. Although he does convince me to do it and that sets in motion my possible release. It’s also a way to begin to get back at the man who convicted him unjustly. So, it’s pivotal in that it brings up fighting for his release as well.
upfrontNY: The show is loosely based on a true story; do you know if you’re character was a real person and were you able to meet anyone involved?
Gregg Daniel: No, but I learned a lot. I did a lot of research on Isaac Wright Jr., it’s based on his life. He was unjustly convicted and held. He did educate himself while he was being incarcerated and he did become a lawyer. He did win the release of several other inmates and then finally he won his own release. The whole thing was just so inspirational. It also exposes the injustices and biases in our criminal justice system like in brown and black people and people of color, if you don’t have money, because of your socio-economic background; this could happen. One of the things I loved about the show is in its way it’s advocating for prison reform. Our country locks up more people per capita than any other industrialized nation in the world. We have such a high rate of incarceration so the fact that the story sheds light on this I thought was really worthwhile. They really did a terrific job shedding light on that.
upfrontNY: What do you think will resonate most with viewers and what do you think they will take away from watching the show?
Gregg Daniel: I would love people to think of activism, not just prison reform, but anything that’s close to them like Black Lives Matter or Me Too. One of the strongest things people can do is vote. I’m a huge activist for voting. Vote for someone whose interests align with yours. If you feel outraged by the injustices, you can exercise your vote. Know who your representatives are and vote for those people, support those people whose sensitivities align with yours. We have a very important election coming up next year as I’m sure you’re aware. We have a vital election. I don’t agree with the policies and what’s happened in the last 3 ½ years in our country. Well, there’s one effective way to do it; vote him out of office. We can all be activists. I can’t think of a better time for everyone to be an activist. What I’ve seen in the past 3 ½ years children being thrown into cages and people talked about in such a demeaning manor. It’s just amazing that we’re there, but we can vote him out of office. I’m hoping it will serve as a catalyst. If you see injustice there is a way to do it and that is at the ballot box, that is casting your vote.
upfrontNY: How else are you personally involved and how can people do more?
Gregg Daniel: I attend marches in front of the State House, in front of City Hall. I actually join when I find interests that align with mine. You know we just had a tragedy that happened in Georgia, the Amaud Arbery shooting. I mean the fact that people can get out there in a courthouse, in a lawful manner, to say our bodies are here and you need to arrest these men. I love to get involved that way, in an orderly way to support. If you want to do a little more than just voting, then show up to these rallies and lend your voice. What is an hour of your time, two hours, to shine light, media light, on these perceived injustices because that is what our country is about. We don’t want to go back to a time when LGBTQ people, people of color, and women were denied their basic human rights. We don’t want to go back to that time, but if you allow it to happen. If you are one of the ones sitting on the sidelines well then ten, twenty years from now and your kids ask you what did you do during that time when they were locking kids up in cages. What did you do? “Well I didn’t do much I thought it was terrible, but I wasn’t an advocate for change.” Well, that’s something else we could do other than voting. Also, lending your voice to rallies and things going on, you can show up to a City Hall, you could show up to a State Capitol, you could show up.
upfrontNY: Did anything surprise you about the justice system or did you learn anything new from portraying this character?
Gregg Daniel: I think physically because we did actually shoot in prisons. I think physiologically being in those places, in a cell and what not, you just see how it dehumanizes people psychologically. We were there for a short time, I don’t know how many hours, but just being in a cell and the lighting and look. I know it’s not supposed to be a country club. I know that. I get it, but wow physically being in prisons and physically walking in those places and seeing everything from the tightness, the smallness, the concrete. It shocked me. It gave me a physiological response. I just had a reaction to that, like wow. How do you retain the need and the hope to reintegrate back into society as some sort of useful member in a building, in an institution like that. And that’s the problem. We’re not treating it as though we are trying to get ex-inmates back to being effective members of society. That’s the message we’re sending. It is so it’s dehumanizing. It’s absolutely dehumanizing. That was a surprise to me even for the short period of time that we spent in prison cells. I just wasn’t prepared for how powerful physical incarceration is.
upfrontNY: What kind of feedback have you received from fans?
Gregg Daniel: It was beautiful. It’s been very, very positive because there’s something about Easley. There is some kind of dignity. I mean the man has been in there for 22 years and is unjustly incarcerated, we find out. I just wanted him to have some kind of dignity. I wanted to be able to invest in this older man who believes that all hope is lost, but still wants to have an inherent dignity. One thing I’m proud of, I think I brought to the role, I feel I brought to the role was just this kind of intelligence, just this dignified manner that he carried himself in even in prison. Even in his prison orange uniform the man had a kind of dignity. To invest in the character that kind of dignity, that kind of grace felt like a real accomplishment to me. Then when I saw the episode I thought yes, I get it now. And the reactions have been wonderful. Plus, the interaction between Nicholas Pinnock and I is really just two actors wanting to get it right. We just trusted each other and you could see that in the work. We knew what we were going for, we knew what the idea for the scene was and then it was up to us to create, to have that spark, to work in that moment. I think the work has come out very strongly because I was working with such a fine actor and we trusted each other and we brought our A game to it.
upfrontNY: You are also a theatre actor and director; how do you think theatre is going to move forward during these current times?
Gregg Daniel: I think the paradigm might shift. It might become hybrid. It might have to. We can’t open because local and state authorities right now are not in that phase where we are opening theatres. We are all asking what does it look like when we open the theatre? Do you only sell 100 seats? Do you check the audience at the door, a temperature check? I think theatre is going to evolve. It’s definitely not going anywhere. People have been talking about the death of theatre for I don’t know how long. The theatre is even more relevant now. I think just the physical paradigm of it might change. It might be a hybrid, in other words people can come to the theatre and see it, but other people may be able to see it online as well. You’re starting to see that right now, theatre being shot very finely online. From the theatre point of view I think it is going to evolve. I think it will be like this for a couple of years. I don’t think it’s going anywhere and I don’t think it’s the death of theatre. I do think it’s going to shift. I think it will incorporate more elements of shooting it live. We’re already talking about using rehearsals where some of it we can do online and then some of it we can come into the theatre to rehearse instead of being there 5 days a week for five, six hours. Maybe shift online and then we come in for rehearsals. Whatever it is it must be safe for the audience, for the actors, for the staff. We’re all committed to making it safe, but yeah the ideas and minds are thinking about that.
upfrontNY: What are you doing right now to keep busy, creative and positive?
Gregg Daniel: I’m just so impressed with people. I’ve reached out to people that I haven’t reached out to before and even friends that I’ve lost touch with, not because anything fell out between us, but because we’re so busy all the time. So, I reached out to see how they were, to ask about their mom or grandma and even my neighbors just to see if I could be of some help. So, the intention is not so much on okay I have to get through this pandemic, what a drag, I’m stuck at home, but what can I do to be an activist to be positive. You can either go through it or you can grow through it and I’m of the opinion of let’s try to grow through this thing instead of go through it; let’s do better than that. And there’s organizations to donate. I have a theatre company in Los Angeles and we created an initiative called the “Pandemic Plays” where we commissioned ten playwrights from across the country to write ten, ten minute plays about some aspect of the pandemic. When they’re done, we plan to record them and broadcast them like a radio play. It’s great, we have the initiative for ten people across the country to write how relationships are changing. That’s also how theatre lives, incorporating what’s going on at the time. We’re curating these plays that are coming in and we’ll see what they’re all about.
upfrontNY: Since you are from New York, what is the first thing you do when you are back?
Gregg Daniel: This is going to sound cliché, but going to the theatre. Literally at any time, I’ll go in the afternoon, at night, downtown, on Broadway, off –Broadway. I’m still so inspired by people who go on stage and give a performance and the craft that goes into that. I will literally go see a play whenever I’m in town. I try to see as much as I can. First thing I do is see what’s playing that night, what new writer, what new director, what actors I haven’t heard of, so I’ll go see a play and it keeps me sharp. It actually keeps me sharp because I see what’s going on and what are the questions that are being asked in theatre now, what kind of relationships are we having with the audiences now. So, I’d definitely go to a play in a heartbeat.
upfrontNY: What play that you haven’t seen yet would you love to see?
Gregg Daniel: Believe it or not I’m probably one of the few people in the world that hasn’t seen Hamilton yet. I was busy. I couldn’t get a ticket. It was sold out. It was inconvenient. So, I just haven’t been able to see it yet. And it’s a game changer. Every now and then a musical comes along like Hair or Rent and it changes the paradigm of musicals on Broadway. I think Hamilton is one of those plays. It just changed the whole vocabulary of what a musical on Broadway is, but boy I am chomping at the bit to see Hamilton. Just the thought of it is so dynamic, so creative. So, that would be my choice of a play that I haven’t seen, but is so high on my list.
upfrontNY: Is there anything you would like to let our readers know?
Gregg Daniel: I just want to say practice safe distancing; wear masks; stay six feet apart. We’re not out of this as opposed to what the current administration might be saying it’s not business as usual. It can’t be business as usual. We need to care for each other, care about how we get along. So, I urge everybody social distancing, washing your hands, the whole nine yards because we are not out of this by a longshot. Step up and it’s not just you, it’s not just your grandparents or uncles or aunts it’s really everyone else we call neighbors and a community. I want to be really careful because while we are relaxing and opening things up in phases now I’m worried that we will become complacent and that’s the danger. So, I urge everyone to keep your wits about you and practice safety. We’re not out of this yet.
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