ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK!
the show’s star speaks!
orange is the new black
Season 1 Wednesdays M-Net Edge 21:00
Life behind bars can be manic, dangerous, hilarious and… romantic. edgy prison dramedy orange is the new black (2013-current) centres around bisexual piper chapman (taylor schilling), who’s serving 15 months in a women-only prison as an accessory to her drug-smuggling ex-girlfriend alex (laura prepon). while piper’s now engaged to writer larry (jason biggs), her life’s getting even more complicated because alex is also behind bars with her. the show’s become an instant hit thanks to its edgy storytelling and black humour, turning taylor into an overnight star. piper struggles with her feelings – for larry, for alex and with adjusting to prison life. is that easy or difficult for you to play? that idea of “am i being me or a version of myself that you want me to be?” – piper is dealing with that question on a larger scale. she’s having to negotiate who she was as a gay woman, as a straight woman, as the outside world wanted her to be, versus who she really is. i relate to that. that’s also the most challenging part about playing this character. in a way, piper ended up in prison because of her love for alex. so what qualities do you find attractive? i’m really attracted to authenticity. people who are comfortable being themselves, however that does or doesn’t line up with the rest of the world. i’m also attracted to humour. the show’s both realistic and a little raunchy. is it scary for you? i don’t think i’m particularly comfortable. i saw scripts and went, “wow”, because it wasn’t like i’m naturally inclined to whip off my shirt, but i really trusted the story. it made sense to me and i suddenly became excited to take these risks for this character. every risk i take physically, being intimate with all these
different people or the nudity, i feel like it’s matched by taking a risk emotionally. i’m baring parts of myself physically but also abstractly, so it doesn’t feel gratuitous. it’s weighted down by the vulnerability, both physically and emotionally. the show is based on a book whose author actually did have to stay in a maximum security prison. have you ever been in jail? not thus far, but who knows what could happen [laughs]. i did get to know the author piper kerman and she’s been incredibly helpful and really supportive. but piper chapman is a fictional character, so i never felt beholden to impersonating somebody. i could make whatever choices about the role that i wanted to. your dad is a prosecutor. did you talk to him about the role and show? and how much has
he influenced you? i’ve been talking about these issues my entire life. he worked for the massachusetts department of corrections and he’d prosecute correctional officers who were violating rules. i grew up hearing about how the good guys aren’t necessarily good all the time. the guards aren’t on their best behaviour all the time. it wasn’t black or white or right or wrong. so i was lucky to have that in my life as a reference point. he’s proud of the show and thinks it’s true to life.
but how does he react to the sex scenes? oh my gosh! [laughs] i don’t talk to him about that. there are parts of this show that he’s not allowed to talk to me about. it’s like, “nope, we don’t discuss that.” prisoners don’t exactly look glamorous. does the hair and make-up take a long time? nope we joke about it. everybody comes in looking half decent and walks out looking like they got run over by a truck [laughs]. we joke that this is probably the only hair and make-up department that you come out of looking much worse than you did when you walked in. they do wonderful work.