Tyla Harris Explains How Working On ABC’s ‘For Life’ Sharpened Her Prison Reform Knowledge

The ABC drama For Life is loosely based on the real life prison reform journey of Isaac Wright Jr. In the Hank Steinberg created series Nicholas Pinnock stars as Aaron Wallace, a man wrongly convicted and incarcerated who then educated himself and became a lawyer to overturn his life sentence. The series depicts the harsh realities many men, specifically black men, face when dealing with the justice system of America. Often times we don’t see how the families of these incarcerated men are impacted by these unfair sentences and For Life sheds light on a side of prison that doesn’t get much attention.

Actress Tyla Harris co-stars in the drama series opposite Pinnock and Joy Bryant as Jasmine Wallace, the daughter of the pair who is dealing with her own life journey along with trying to be a supportive daughter to her incarcerated father. “She is a smart and caring daddy’s girl , which makes her even more of a fighter through the process of helping her dad get out of prison,” Harris said about her character, adding, “From making Facebook support groups to coming up to the prison herself when she’s pregnant, she’s always on it.” To prepare for such a character Tyla took to having an inner dialogue with herself. ” I had different conversations with myself about how it would feel to go through this process myself. It was hard to imagine my father suddenly being stripped from me, so I forced myself to sit in that pain and go through those thoughts. It was tough.”

Working with her co-star Nicholas Pinnock however was easy. The pair were able to build a convincing father/daughter bond instantly. “We clicked from our first scene. Mr. Nick is a very easy person to talk to and connect with, so by having our conversations about different things -anything- everything fell where it was supposed to.” Although many of the other cast members were split because of the way the show is set up between life outside and inside prison, Tyla had a great time working with those she encountered. “All my cast mates were hilarious and sweet! Mr. Nick definitely gets into the heaviness of the scene, but along with his talent , he’s very lighthearted and caring. Also, Joy is the bomb.com ! I learned so many things from her by having conversations and watching her on set.”

Photo: ABC

Since the justice system and prison reform are key topics on For Life there was plenty to learn on set. Tyla was a policy debater for five years and is currently studying Political Science working towards her undergraduate degree. Upon graduating, Tyla plans to go to law school. “Even from learning about Mr. Wright’s life in preparation for filming, it’s added to my awareness for these “extreme” cases happening everyday,” the actress said about what she learned from working on the show. “Honestly, I didn’t even think of the possibility of someone getting a degree in jail to fight their case to leave. When I saw the living legend that Mr. Wright is, the show opened my eyes to the possibilities of those in the criminal justice system and reforms that can be pushed to create better environments for them.”

For all upcoming projects and all things Tyla is working on be sure to follow her on social media @tylaanneharris on both Instagram and Twitter.

Catch Tyla Harris on For Life airing Tuesdays at 10pm on ABC, streaming, on demand, and Hulu. Watch a clip from the series in the video below. Share your thoughts in the comments.

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Photo: ABC