1. Joining these actors in their life of fictitious
crime is Australia’s very own Ruby Rose. This
is one inmate who we can’t wait to see behind
bars (well, on the silver screen, that is).
PHOTOGRAPHYJOJOWHILDEN/NETFLIX.
Backwith
conviction
because OITNB is a black comedy
set in a women’s prison in the US
that smashes stereotypes surrounding
race as well as mental illness. Yet Uzo
believed she was on to something big
after Day One. “I was spending time
in Utah and I had no cell service,” she
remembers. “The only time you could
call and connect with people was when
you went back to your cabin and got on
to the wi-fi. I came home and my Twitter
followers had gone up 500 in a day.
I thought it must’ve been because of
an amazing tweet, but it was obviously
because they were watching Orange.”
Here, Yael and Uzo talk about their
love of their on-screen alter egos, what
they think of Ruby Rose joining the
cast and their views on the creepiest
character at Litchfield Prison.
Morello is such a strong, not to
mention recognisable, character.
When you’re walking down the
street, do people recognise you?
YAEL: “Well, it changes because
I look and sound different. I think the
Orange fan is a bit different because
of the nature of the show and the way
you can watch it. The Netflix model
means people go to bed with you and
spend 13 hours straight just living with
you in their bed. There’s a sense of
ownership and love, which can be
wonderful and slightly confronting.”
As the show goes on, the audience
learns why each character ends
up in prison through flashbacks.
At what point did you learn who
Crazy Eyes and Morello really are?
UZO: “The start of Season Two.”
YAEL: “Well, when I got the script.
That’s where I learnt everything about
Morello. It was like, ‘We’re shooting this
on Thursday and here’s the truth about
Morello.’ So, that was pretty surprising.
It was a huge curveball for me.”
Was there anything about each
of your characters’ stories that
really surprised you?
YAEL: “I liked how good Uzo
looked in that little graduation hat.”
UZO: “I enjoyed that hat, surprisingly.
I think what I had, more than a surprise,
was a lot of questions answered; I was
trying to understand why she is so
faithful to [Piper]. Why does it feel like
she would go to the end of the earth
for this thing she’s not getting in return?
Why does she love and need love
so desperately? So, when I saw her
story and where she began, that’s
when I realised, ‘Oh, this isn’t the first
time she’s chased this down.’ That
really informed a lot for me, not only
her relationship with Piper but the need
and desire of a maternal relationship.”
Our own Aussie Ruby Rose joins
the cast this season. Tell us,
what was she like to work with?
YAEL: “She’s wonderful. We got to
hang out and that was really lovely.
She’s a delightful person and we
were all excited to work with her.”
When you’re not chasing
chickens, butting heads with
supervisors and plotting prison
breaks, what do you get up to?
YAEL: “It’s like a beach party.”
UZO: “We braid each other’s hair
[laughs]. We actually do!
A lot of singing happens in the ghetto
dorms. I always hear that the dressing
room doors [on other production sets]
are closed and people are just tucked
away in their trailers. But in our show,
it’s very much an open-door policy.”
YAEL: “Sometimes we don’t even
use our doors. There’s a lot of
hanging out in the corridors.”
UZO: “People are lying on
the ground and there’s
never just one person
by themselves unless
you’re taking a nap.”
YAEL: “That is the
respected form of
door closing – the nap
is highly respected in
our workplace.”
Who would you
say your favourite
character on
the show is?
YAEL: “Well,
I love the
audacity of
Pornstache
[Pablo
Schreiber].”
UZO: “I feel,
and I’m really
trying not to be cagey,
but it’s hard when
I think about it. I do love Red
[Kate Mulgrew]. There are so
many different parts of each
character that I love so much.
What I love about Morello is
so intensely different to what
I love about Vee [Lorraine
Toussaint], and that’s so
intensely different to what
I like about Poussey
[Samira Wiley].”
YAEL: “Just choose one!”
UZO: “No, I can’t.
YAEL: “The nice lady just
wants you to choose one.”
UZO: “OK, OK. I love
Pornstache.” #
Season Three of Orange Is The New
Black is available now on Netflix.
“
et me guess, your
favourite character
is Crazy Eyes,” laughs
Yael Stone, her native
Aussie accent thick.
This vastly differs from
the Brooklyn/Boston
voice she’s become well known for
thanks to her character Morello. “No,
no! You both are,” I exclaim, still in
disbelief that I’m sitting opposite the
leading ladies from my favourite show,
Orange Is The New Black. “My friend
actually lived with your brother, so I felt
we always had a strange connection, so
I’m not lying when I say that you’re both
my favourites,” I spit out, feeling like I’m
the freshest inmate to be interrogated
at Litchfield Penitentiary. “Well, that’s
the best answer we’ve had all day,”
says Uzo, her eyes nowhere near as
crazy as one would imagine. “Phew” is
all I can think. I’ve passed my initiation.
Without their prison jumpsuits, the
women in front of me look completely
out of place. Yael, 30, who hails from
Sydney, is wearing a printed shift, her
trademark red lip nowhere to be seen.
As for Uzo, 33, her hair is out, sitting
on her shoulders, and her eyes, they
radiate with kindness and warmth.
Worldwide hit OITNB centres around
Piper Chapman, a woman sentenced to
15 months in jail for running drug money
overseas 10 years prior. Since its debut,
it’s consistently ranked high on Netflix’s
most-watched series’ list and has just
been commissioned for a fourth season.
But when the cast signed up to the show
back in 2013, they knew it was going
to be seriously risky business. This is
BOX SET
Currently in its a third season,
CLEO’s Natalie Babic caught up
with Orange Is The New Black’s
Yael Stone (who plays Morello)
and Uzo Aduba (AKA Crazy Eyes)
to hear about life inside Litchfield.
L
NEW TO SEASON THREE
Morello’s story is
seriously explosive.
Crazy Eyes is
always on the
hunt for her
Dandelion…
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