Sisters Meagan and La’Myia Good are starring in an upcoming Lifetime thriller. Inspired by true events, Meagan stars in Death Saved My Life as Jade who on the surface has it all. Jade has a successful marketing career, a husband admired and respected in the community, and a young daughter they both dote on. But behind their picture-perfect image, Jade’s life is less than stellar.
Her husband Ed (Chiké Okonkwo) is controlling, as well as physically and psychologically abusive. When Jade decides to leave Ed, her life becomes even crazier as she’s convinced that he’s hired a hitman with her as a target. She realizes the only way to escape Ed is to make him believe the hitman completed the job and that she is dead. La’Myia plays Jade’s sister Leigh, who aids in her escape plan.
Meagan was first approached about the film and when she discovered her character had a sister, it was only natural that she asked for La’Myia to be considered for the role.
“It was still a process obviously as the producers and casting weren’t as familiar with my work,” La’Myia told Shadow and Act of the audition process. “We sent in my reel and it was quick, flash and in, and hurry. They hit my team back and said, ‘Oh yes, we would love to have her on.’ My sister definitely rallied for me. And it was great that I was able to validate me by putting in the work and having something to show.”
Working with Meagan on this project proved to be quite a learning experience for La’Myia. The sisters have worked together previously in film, music and even fashion. But this time around, Meagan took the reigns as one of the executive producers.
“I had to dust myself off because I hadn’t worked in a while and the interesting approach to Death Saved my Life for me is because I wanted to do something fresh,” she explained. “I wanted to bring something new and I wanted to elevate myself. Megan’s my youngest sister but I felt like I had to sit back and she mentored me through this one. There were a lot of tools and tips that she gave me. We rehearsed together and went over lines and had exercises and things together. I look at her with such admiration and inspiration because she really does put hard work into every single role that she does. She really takes her craft super seriously. So I really took the time to listen to her in the season and not be the big sister and truly become the student this time.”
The film’s content deals with subject matters like abuse and creating a false narrative of one’s life. For La’Myia, she was able to draw from personal experiences of her own and other’s she’s witnessed to channel her character. Furthermore, being Meagan’s older sister and being naturally protective of her, it wasn’t difficult for her to embody the character.
“The sister’s relationship in the film is strained but as a sister, you still have that instinct to protect when required,” La’Myia said. “There were some experiences that my sister and I have shared with one another. And there were some very, very dark, deep moments in this project where we were able to pull, though they may not be in perfect alignment with what was going on in the film. But, to take from an emotional standpoint and know how to trigger those emotional pinpoints for ourselves and for each other. We were having a secret moment of our own behind the scenes of just talking about our experiences and lifting each other up in and holding each other and being there for each other. And it was so cool that there was this whole parallel.”
Death Saved Me premieres on Lifetime on February 6 at 8 pm EST as part of the network’s Ripped From the Headlines slate. A subsequent documentary will air about the true-life events.
