Characters like Jay and Kim should adapt to harmful circumstances past their management.
Protagonists stability loyalty, guilt, and self-preservation, providing a perspective grounded in vulnerability.
The present highlights how not everybody chooses to enter perilous conditions, however should discover energy to endure.
Whereas Fightland facilities on a former boxing champion’s quest for revenge, stars Tyler Conti and Tahirah Sharif say a number of the sequence’ most compelling tales belong to the characters merely making an attempt to outlive the fallout.
Throughout a latest press day for the STARZ drama, created by Daniel Fajemisin-Duncan and Marlon Smith and government produced by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, actors Tyler Conti and Tahirah Sharif spoke with BOSSIP’s Lauryn Bass about portraying two characters unexpectedly swept right into a harmful world the place loyalty, guilt and survival typically outweigh private selection. Slightly than main the battle, their characters are pressured to reply to it, providing viewers a unique perspective on the present’s crime-filled panorama.
Tyler Conti Says Jay Finds Himself Caught In Somebody Else’s Battle
For Tyler Conti, Jay represents somebody whose good intentions rapidly collide with circumstances far past his management.
“Jay’s in a spot the place he desires to show himself,” Conti mentioned. “He’s motivated by guilt and loyalty, and I believe he’s received it in his head that he’s going to be there for Duke it doesn’t matter what.”
Because the story unfolds, nevertheless, Jay begins to appreciate the fact of what he’s signed up for.
“The battle is that he has no concept what Duke has been by way of or what Duke is keen to do,” Conti mentioned. “I’ve received to comply with him into that whirlwind.”
That emotional vulnerability is precisely what first drew Conti to the position.
“I cared for him,” he mentioned. “I noticed him as a human being. I noticed his flaws and in addition his positives.”
Slightly than portraying a conventional motion hero, Conti believes audiences will join with Jay as a result of he approaches the world with empathy.
“He desires to do higher,” Conti mentioned. “He’s a little bit of an underdog, and also you at all times need to cheer for the underdog.”
He additionally sees Jay serving as one of many viewers’s main entry factors into the story.
“I believe he represents an ethical compass throughout the present,” Conti mentioned. “I believe lots of the viewers will see the present by way of the eyes of Jay and root for him.”
Tahirah Sharif Says Kim Learns To Survive By Carrying Totally different Masks
For Tahirah Sharif, portraying Kim required stepping far exterior of her personal character. Sharif defined that in contrast to herself, Kim can’t at all times reveal what she’s actually considering or feeling.
“Kim is performing off selections which have been made by different those that have been by no means a part of her personal plan,” Sharif mentioned. “She’s being pulled into this world that she didn’t essentially at all times need to be in in such a harmful approach.”
Because of this, Kim continually adapts to outlive.
“She’s having to outlive by any means obligatory,” Sharif mentioned. “That does imply placing on totally different masks and having to cover your true self from the individuals round you.”
The position challenged Sharif as a result of it required balancing what Kim says with what she’s truly considering.
“It was fairly arduous,” she admitted. “In life, I’m most likely a non-public individual, however in the event you ask me a direct query, I’m going to reply it straight.”
Kim, nevertheless, couldn’t afford that form of honesty.
“She’s having to be actually crafty and calculating within the solutions she offers and the data she lets out about herself,” Sharif mentioned. “It was tiring at occasions as a result of Kim is considering one thing fully totally different from what she’s saying.”
Discovering Humanity In The Center Of Chaos
Though Jay and Kim navigate Fightland in several methods, each actors mentioned their characters are outlined much less by violence than by the tough selections they’re pressured to make.
Jay enters the story hoping to show himself whereas remaining loyal to somebody he admires, whereas Kim struggles to guard herself in circumstances she by no means anticipated. Collectively, they provide viewers a perspective grounded in vulnerability relatively than energy.
Their tales additionally reinforce considered one of Fightland‘s central themes: not everybody enters harmful conditions by selection. Typically survival means adapting, questioning your instincts and discovering strengths you didn’t know you had.
As Fightland unfolds, Conti and Sharif hope audiences see greater than the motion. They hope viewers acknowledge the humanity behind the choices their characters make when life adjustments right away.
Fightland premiered July 31 on STARZ, with new episodes streaming weekly on Fridays.
