Q&A with Orange Is the New Black’s Taylor Schilling

NEW YORK: Taylor Schilling, who stars as Piper Kerman in the Netflix hit Orange Is the New Black, tells World Screen about her character’s transformation and the dynamics of the ensemble female cast.

WS: When you first read this character and the show’s premise, how did you feel knowing that it was based on a true story?
SCHILLING: I was really compelled [by the fact] that it was based on a true story. I always find that for me, personally, in films, books, TV or plays, there’s a real hook when it’s based on a true story. It makes it fresher to have the idea of, That could be me. There’s that “What if?” factor. It’s like seeing behind the curtains into someone’s life, and that’s really exciting to me. As for the story, it was just so intriguing. I found it really powerful.

WS: Did you know instantly that you wanted this role?
SCHILLING: I did! It’s crazy; I really had this sense of, this is what I want. This is what I want beyond [anything]. There are some times that you read things, and it’s like, Oh, this makes sense. Then there are times when it’s exhilarating, but in a calm and knowing way. When I read [the character of] Piper, I said, that’s it! I get her. It was easy from there.

WS: How do you put yourself into the mindset of what Piper must be going through as an inmate?
SCHILLING: Piper has had to shed all her old ideas about what it means to be in the world. Even unconsciously she’s had to do that, just to survive. I don’t even know if she knows that she’s doing that. Who she is at a fundamental level has to come out to play in a way that never would have happened had she not been incarcerated. She’s discovering freedom in that. There’s a great sense of wanting to know the truth, and she’s surviving and she’s going to any length [to survive]. In that, she is learning who she really is and is starting to trust that. As she transforms as a human being, that then changes every interaction she has with anyone. This process is reintroducing her to the world in a completely new way.

There’s research to do and different kinds of explorations [for a character like this]. First and foremost, though, is the writing. It’s so, so good; it really provides a clear trajectory.

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