Posted in: Movies, Netflix | Tagged: netflix, Sarah Jeffery, The Six Triple Eight, tyler perry
Sarah Jeffery (Charmed) spoke to Bleeding Cool about her work in the historical war drama The Six Triple Eight, director Tyler Perry & more.
Article Summary
- Sarah Jeffery stars in Tyler Perry’s WWII drama, The Six Triple Eight, highlighting the 6888th battalion.
- Jeffery plays Dolores Washington, a member of the historic all-Black, all-female postal battalion.
- Debbie Allen conducted a military boot camp for the cast to authentically portray their roles.
- Jeffery praises Perry’s vision and the inspirational work of her talented coworkers like Kerry Washington.
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Sarah Jeffery has accomplished a lot since coming into the scene over a decade ago with her debut in Cartoon Network’s Aliens in the House. She gained an increasing presence on TV with appearances on Fox’s Wayward Pines and The X-Files, DirecTV’s Rogue, Disney’s Descendants franchise, NBC’s Shades of Blue, and The CW’s Charmed reboot. Her latest is the Tyler Perry World War II historical drama The Six Triple Eight, based on the Kevin M. Hymel article, “Fighting a Two-Front War,” which provides a rare career-defining opportunity in an ensemble role in the war epic similar to the vein of Edward Zwick’s 1989 Civil War classic Glory, highlighting to efforts of people of color in American history. Jeffery plays Dolores Washington, a member of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, an all-Black and all-female regiment trying to deliver the mail to the actively deployed servicemen led by Major Charity Adams (Kerry Washington), Lena Derriecott King (Ebony Obsidian), and Captain Noel Campbell (Milauna Jackson). The actress spoke to Bleeding Cool about how she came upon the opportunity, why Perry was perfect to tell the battalion’s story, and her research and training.
The Six Triple Eight Star Sarah Jeffrey on Highlighting the Contributions of the All-POC Female Battalion
Bleeding Cool: What intrigued you about ‘The Six Triple Eight,’ and how did you get involved?
Right off the bat, getting the audition and the script, I figured out this was an interesting fictional work, and then I realized this was a piece of history I had no idea about. I asked around my family, but no one was privy to it, which was sad and shocking. That’s what drew me to it. It wasn’t just a war movie but one about a black female battalion that existed. I was eager to be a part of it from the start. I taped for it probably two and a half years ago and was so blessed to have Tyler [Perry] select me for the role of Dolores.
Did you read Kevin’s work, “Fighting a Two-Front War,” before filming?
I read Kevin’s article, which is what inspired the film. [Netflix] was so taken with it that they brought this to Tyler and said, “This story should be told by you.”
There are so few American war stories relatively out there that celebrate the roles of people of color and women in general. How do you feel how Tyler brought these stories of that of the ‘Six Triple Eight’ to life? Why do you think it took so long to bring that one to life on screen?
I think [the film] found Tyler at the right time, and what better time than now to share these kinds of stories with the political landscape we live in? I believe Tyler was the man for the job as a titan in the film industry and has done so much for Black women and men. He had a vision that carried us through during production. Hearing him speak about how passionate he was about this project and how different it was from most of his previous work excited me and activated us in a way we were excited to show up to work every day.
How did you prepare for the role of Dolores? Was she a real person in Kevin’s article, or was she based on someone else?
I like to think of these ladies as Captain Charity Adams, Lena Derriecott King, and Lieutenant Abbie Noel Campbell. Those are real women, and then a lot of the battalion is a culmination of all these women with different backstories and shades of blackness. They’re biracial, Afro-Latina, and came to the war for different reasons. One woman or another inspired each of our characters.
It was more so just a culmination of all these incredible women. In terms of my character, Dolores, I felt I could lend my voice to this role because if you see the film, she gets mistaken for White, the sort of towards the top of the film by a white soldier. She has no qualms about asserting herself and saying, “I am a Negro.” It was an opportunity for me, as Sarah, to embrace my blackness because that’s a journey I’ve been on in my personal life for a long time, not feeling that I’m white or black enough or what sort of community space I fit into, wanting to be respectful to the black community, but also be a part of it. It gave me the space to explore that personally and on screen, which was cool.
What was the most difficult aspect of production? Was there any sort of form of boot camp you had to do to get everyone on the same page and mindset?
We were lucky enough to have the incredible Debbie Allen choreograph us and run a boot camp along with our military advisor, Quay [Terry], get us in shape and let us know how precise it must be, and nothing less will suffice. We’re getting the marching right, saluting, and the command down, but it took time and dedication and paid off. It looks great in the film, and then there are some of the boot camps where we had to crawl in mud, and I’m always game for that kind of thing. It was cool and immersive, and they had the rain tower, which they called Cut. The rain went away, and you’re like, “It’s a wild thing that we do.” We got to do a lot of crazy things as actors, and it was fun.
Can you talk about what it was like on set with your co-stars, Kerry, Ebony, Milauna, and everyone else?
Yes, it was incredible. It’s one of the most important and beautiful experiences I’ve had with a cast. They’re all talented and kind ladies. Kerry is an incredible leader, both on-screen and off. She is so gracious with her time and energy and so open to conversations and questions, and watching her navigate such a large set as such an established actress was beautiful. She’s a wonderful woman. Watching Ebony, Milauna, and all the women in the battalion work was special. Their performances are nothing short of a miracle, and I was blessed to witness it firsthand and be a part of it.
The Six Triple Eight, which also stars Dean Norris, Sam Waterston, Oprah Winfrey, Susan Sarandon, Kylie Jefferson, Shanice Shantay, Pepi Sonuga, and Sarah Helbringer, is available in select theaters and now streaming on Netflix.
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