Maslany looks back on five seasons of her many ‘Orphan Black’ clones
Emmy-winning actress speaks on various roles
It takes most actresses several projects to get 11 different personalities on their résumé. Tatiana Maslany just needed five seasons of a single TV series.
“Got it all done in one show. Now there’s no more characters to do!” the “Orphan Black” star says, laughing.
Maslany’s Emmy-winning work on the BBC America drama comes to a close with the final season, which finds Sarah Manning and her “sestra” clones battling the forces trying to destroy them: the Dyad Institute and the sinister organization Neolution — which just happens to be run by one of the clones.
A few supporting clones make guest appearances in the final run — “When I do get to play someone else, it gets scary again,” Maslany says — though the core five have the biggest roles to play. Maslany, 31, digs into where they’ve been and where they’re going in the new season:
Sarah Manning
The grifter’s life was changed forever when she found out she was one of several products of the mysterious Project Leda. “She’s always run away, she’s always been fighting responsibility, and so it makes her a really bizarre hero,” Maslany says. “She just doesn’t really want to do it, and there are so many reasons why she has to.” Sarah goes to extremes to keep her daughter Kira (Skyler Wexler) safe, which puts them at odds when Kira wants to learn the origin of her strange abilities.
Cosima Niehaus
The scientist has been trying to find a cure for a disease that ails her and her fellow clones, but she’s also trapped on a mysterious island run by the Neolutionists. “Cosima’s way more intelligent than I am. I’ve learned a lot from her,” Maslany says. “She brings a real humanity to the science she’s so fascinated with.” Cosima’s also had some serious trust issues, namely with her returning love interest Delphine (Évelyne Brochu). “Delphine has betrayed her over and over again, so their relationship is really interesting in how they play both sides in order to survive.”
Alison Hendrix
The soccer mom has had a huge story arc, and is one of Maslany’s favorites. “I mean, she’s a murderer now, and still holding up this veneer of a perfect housewife,” the Canadian actress says. “She’s dealt drugs, she’s cheated on her husband, she’s run the gamut of bad behavior, but she’s also fiercely loyal to her family.” However, the past comes back to haunt her as she realizes how much her life has changed: “We definitely see her struggling to deal with that, and find some kind of peace in it.”
Helena
Maslany’s mantra has been “the more primal the better” when playing the Ukrainian assassin who first hunted the other clones and now fiercely protects them. “She has gone on such a weird journey,” Maslany says. Now pregnant and back to her wild ways, Helena has the Neolutionists in hot pursuit since she’s one of the only fertile clones. An episode focused on her this season allows writers to “pick apart Helena and see a little bit of why she is the way she is and understand her better.”
Rachel Duncan
The head of the Neolutionists has been a thorn in the side of her fellow clones for much of the series. “She is vicious and quiet and calculating, but I love her for that reason,” says Maslany, who adds this season will show a more empathetic side to the show’s top villain. “That’s something really important to keep in mind about characters like that: They can’t be all bad. They’re human beings, too, so it’s fun to play with people’s expectations and make them hate her and make them love her.”