We love Jackée Harry from her role as Sandra Clark in 227, but sadly, Harry sad she hated herself during the show’s five-year run.

During an interview promoting her new Lifetime film, Pride and Prejudice: Atlanta, Harry talked to Essence about her love for dramatic roles. When she landed the role of Sandra, she felt like it made people think she couldn’t act.

“I used to hate myself; the fact that I was just doing a part,” she said. “I didn’t know it would last this long. After it was over, I thought it would be gone.”

“The goal is to be a working actress, not to go to Hollywood,” she continued. “I had down-to-earth dreams, not [dreams of] being a character. I don’t want to get too deep about it because I’ve come to grips with it. But I was sad for a good five years straight.”

Harry said that her friend, S. Epatha Merkerson, had to give her a pep talk about her role in Hollywood.

“S. Epatha Merkerson, she took me aside. She said, ‘Jackée, you’re very important. You make us laugh. And you’re fierce,” she said.

Indeed, Harry’s role on 227 entertained us and still entertains us, helping us get through tough times in our lives. Harry’s story of evolving her thought process on her role shows how we sometimes underestimate our own value because we can’t see how we influence others. Harry might not have liked the road that led her to Hollywood, but we’re glad she is now our friend in our heads.

Pride and Prejudice: Atlanta debuted on Lifetime June 1 and is an updated retelling of Jane Austen’s classic book about Elizabeth Bennett, one of five daughters, whose mother eagerly wants her and her sisters to marry as soon as possible. Along with Harry, the film stars Reginald VelJohnson, Tiffany Hines, Raney Branch, Brittney Level, Reginae Carter, Alexia Bailey and Juan Antonio.

Upcoming airings of the film will be on June 8 and June 9.

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Photo: NBC

Pride and Prejudice: Atlanta

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