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For the People star Wesam Keesh on Jay’s season 2 growth

By Brittany Frederick

FOR THE PEOPLE - "World's Greatest Judge" - Judge Byrne finds himself at a crossroads in his career when he presides over a case that requires a disproportionate mandatory minimum sentence. Allison represents a charming defendant in a fraud case while on duty for the first time, and Leonard struggles to decide whether or not to bring charges against a political figure, on "For The People," TUESDAY, APRIL 10 (10:00-11:00 p.m. EDT), on The ABC Television Network. (ABC/Mitch Haaseth)WESAM KEESH
FOR THE PEOPLE - "World's Greatest Judge" - Judge Byrne finds himself at a crossroads in his career when he presides over a case that requires a disproportionate mandatory minimum sentence. Allison represents a charming defendant in a fraud case while on duty for the first time, and Leonard struggles to decide whether or not to bring charges against a political figure, on "For The People," TUESDAY, APRIL 10 (10:00-11:00 p.m. EDT), on The ABC Television Network. (ABC/Mitch Haaseth)WESAM KEESH /
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For The People’s Wesam Keesh discusses returning as Jay Simmons in season 2, and what’s important to him in ABC’s legal drama.

Wesam Keesh is back in the courtroom, as ABC‘s For The People is ramping up its second season. And if fans thought his character Jay Simmons had challenges last season, well, they haven’t seen anything yet!

Hidden Remote spoke to Wesam about getting another season to build Jay’s career and unravel who he is outside of his cases. He also talked about working with the show’s all-star cast and the fantastic way he’s using his own voice off-camera.

Learn more about Wesam Keesh in our interview below, then catch the next new For The People season 2 episode Mar. 28 on ABC!

Hidden Remote: How has it been to get another season with Jay Simmons and learn more about the character?

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Wesam Keesh: We’ve lucked out with this show so much. The writers have written the characters and the stories for us so well, and so truthful, that the work has been done for us. It’s kind of amazing going into our table reads and seeing the way that they’re writing these characters—writing them in such a natural way and working towards our strengths.

With Jay, they’re playing up some of the comedy bits, but at the same time they get really deep and serious with some of the issues he has to face in the coming episodes. It’s the best job I’ve ever done in my life and I hope it goes on for many more seasons.

There are some great TV veterans in the For The People cast. Has working with this ensemble also improved your craft?

You have to bring your “A” game every single time you’re on set, and it’s exciting. It’s exhilarating and I’m learning so much from the more seasoned actors we have on the show, like Anna Deavere Smith, Hope Davis, Ben Shenkman, Vondie Curtis-Hall.

They’ve been working for decades and it’s just amazing getting to work with them and learn from them, learn from their process. [The] Shondaland [franchise] itself is such an amazing conduit for all that; it’s such a well oiled machine so like I said, it’s a dream job. There’s literally nothing bad I can say about the show, which is incredible.

Was there something you really wanted to see for Jay in the second season?

I was really hoping that you’d get to see Jay deal with some frustrating characters and clients, and the writers did not disappoint. The first episode [of season 2] you got to see me deal with an entitled millennial, which was very fun acting work for me to do.

The show takes on a number of important topics, such as Jay reflecting on the state of America this week. Is there anything in particular that you’re hoping viewers take away?

I hope my work enlightens and entertains people in a positive way, so that they better themselves and better the people around them. That includes telling stories that need to be told, and we’re telling those stories in every single episode.

[They’re] stories that need to be heard, should be heard and that will create debate afterward, but done in an entertaining way, so it’s not preachy. I’m really excited for that. I think people, from Jay’s storyline, will learn to deal with frustrating people. We can all learn a little bit from that, I think.

You’ve got a number of interests outside For The People, including your own radio show. What are you doing when you’re not filming?

I love my pre-dawn run up Griffith Park; those are some of my most favorite times cause it helps me fight my anxiety, my stress. I meditate and pray up there and it helps me get a good start to the day. I highly recommend that to people. Find your anchor—something in nature where you have to get out and walk a little bit. Something with a bit of physical activity, to get yourself going and it makes you confident in the long run and gets your mind straight.

If people want to check out my radio show, it’s Wesam’s World. It’s broadcast on Idobi Radio on Thursdays at 3 p.m. PST and it’s also available on Spotify, YouTube and iTunes.

I’m a big fan of podcasts and radio shows. Big fan of Joe Rogan Experience; that’s helped me direct my life in a positive way. I’m a big podcast guy.

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For The People airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on ABC. For more on this and other ABC shows, follow the ABC category at Hidden Remote.

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