Sarah Jones has never shied away from strong female characters, and in her newest role she sparks a movement to empower women everywhere.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Jones about her upcoming role in USA’s newest period drama Damnation and how it’s ignited her passion and impacted her life.

Damnation is about the fictional battle of corporate greed and the cultural revolution that encompasses Seth and Amelia Davenport as the dust settles. “Amelia is sort of the mastermind of this cause that surrounds one of the themes of the show,” Jones explained.

“Seth and Amelia are moonlighting as a preacher and preacher’s wife to try to radicalize the local farmers strike against the food distributors who aren’t giving them a fair price for their crops and goods.”

Jones has played strong female characters before, but Amelia left quite the impression. “What struck me initially about the character, aside from her tenacious commitment and cunning approach to furthering the cause, was that she has the ability to find the balance of living her truth while using societal expectations to her advantage without compromising her moral code,” she noted.

She continued to explain that it was something that connected with her and that she wanted to learn from it as a woman living in 2017. “Amelia is driven by her compassion and righteous anger, and does it with grace, purity, and intention.”

“What interested me most about Amelia was that her foundation is actually her moral compass, and her decisions and tactics aren’t coming from a place of manipulation or ambition to obtain some sort of power or personal gain,” Jones explained. She also said that’s something she hopes to take with her in her own life.

When Jones was first given the script, she said she knew she had to be apart of this series.

“My first reaction was, “wow.” I hadn’t read something like that in a long time, where I was struck by the content, by the message, and the characters. It had the whole package.”

She quickly got the ball moving because she knew this was a huge opportunity. “I just thought, I have to be on this show, and I thought it was an important story to tell and an interesting way of doing that.”

Jones said the preparation for the role was much more personal than for any previous one. “Aside from watching countless documentaries of that time period and women, my Bible became a book called Mother Jones Speaks,” she said.

“It was about speeches and writings of Mary Harris Jones who was before Amelia’s time, but she at one point was called the most dangerous woman in America.”

Jones spoke with passion as she went on to say, “I’ve grown so fond of Mary Harris Jones, and in my opinion, she was one of the largest contributors for the working class in having more rights, being treated fairly, and getting laws made to protect them and put them on higher ground. And I’d like to think she had an impact on Amelia somehow.”

The impact that Amelia and Damnation has made on Jones is something she’ll take with her, both personally and professionally. “Ultimately, knowing you’re safe and ok to allow yourself to be vulnerable and exposed.”

“If you really connect with a character and their voice, you can immerse yourself in it and do so safely as an actor” she said.

Getting into character was something that profoundly impacted Jones.

“You know, I’ve never had such a personal relationship with a character before playing Amelia, and in doing so shed light on a lot of aspects of my personal life that has required me to recognize some hard truths and respond with tough love. I’ve never felt so vulnerable in the work as I have representing Amelia.”

At times, Jones said she worked through those moments of vulnerability that left her feeling uncomfortable because she knew it was necessary. “I wanted to represent Amelia and these women with honesty and responsibility. That’s been my biggest challenge, and it’s certainly a challenge I welcome and that I’ve been incredibly grateful for.”

Another thing that Jones mentioned she was grateful for was the platform this kind of show gave to women everywhere.

“I thought a lot about how women could make a change back then when they weren’t given nearly the kind of platform we have now. And if it weren’t for them, we wouldn’t have these kinds of platforms now.”

Be sure to catch Sarah Jones on Damnation, premiering Tuesday, November 7th on USA.

Featured image credit: Logan Cole, Hair / Makeup: Travisean Haynes

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