At this point, the cast members of “Orange is the New Black” have become known names in the industry, and their careers have taken on entirely unexpected routes since the Netflix series debuted in 2013. Their fame and the plethora of career choices were just two of the topics that came up during a recent sit down for “Times Talks.”
On June 24, “Orange is the New Black” cast members Uzo Aduba, Danielle Brooks, Natasha Lyonne, Kate Mulgrew, Laura Prepon, Taylor Schilling, and Samira Wiley sat down with a reporter from The New York Times for an intimate discussion of the series and Season 4.
One of the first questions asked was what exactly they were all doing before this jackpot of a show came along.
“I don’t really recall what I was doing,” Mulgrew said, “but I’m sure I was having a martini and a cigar somewhere. I think had just done a Greek tragedy, which put me in the mood for Red Reznikov. ”
Brooks got a bit teary-eyed talking about the outpouring of love from the rest of the cast during her Tony-nominated performance in “The Color Purple,” now on Broadway.
Aduba was asked about her role in NBC’s “The Wiz,” which aired this past fall. “I was excited that my niece would be able to turn on the television, and see someone like myself come down and be the good witch in a story,” she said. “That was thrilling for me.”
The inspiration and influence that the show may have on the industry is something they’ve all considered. “It’s something that is almost too much for me to even think about,” Wiley added. “Growing up watching television, it’s hard to aspire to something when you don’t see someone already doing that one thing. When I was growing up I always wanted to be Angela Bassett, because that’s all I saw. But to be a part of a show where, not only are there people who look like me, but our demographic always surprises me…What we’re doing is television, it’s fake at the end of the day, but the feelings that we’re giving people are real.
“There’s something about this show,” Lyonne added.” There’s something about this crazy thing that we’ve all created together, that I’ve never experienced before. And it took us all by surprise.”
The moderator also brought up “Star Trek Voyager,” in which Mulgrew played Captain Janeway, the franchise’s first female captain, noting it was seen as a breakthrough moment for women. “It was,” Mulgrew said, “she was a game changer. We made television history with that.” But, she added, “I think it’s been slow-going. I think we made some significant cracks in the glass ceiling, but it’s been slow-going.” But, with “Orange is the New Black,” she said, “We are looking at the advent of a new day.”
Mulgrew went on the discuss how the show handles rape. “She’s [Jenji Kohan] examined rape more beautifully, if such a thing can be said, than I think it’s ever been illustrated before. Prismatically, from all sides. We’re used to thinking that the rapist is a despicable, unforgivable, unrelentingly horrible creature, but she takes up inside the head of the rapist. We actually empathize with him, while loathing him at the same time. Jenji’s asking for the deeper, more nuanced, more fractured conversation.”
Watch the entire Times Talk below, but be warned there are minor spoilers for Season 4 of “Orange,” and also note the actual interview doesn’t begin until about 14-minutes into the video.
