It’s such a good mix of drama and comedy.
There’s a lot of heart in it too. At the end of the day, it is funny and it is dramatic, and then you have this love story to latch onto. Piper and Alex’s relationship is like this tumultuous love. That’s what really drew me to the story. It’s this crazy love story too. You’ve never seen a love story like this in prison with two women, which is really cool.
Do you think there’s still a chance for Alex and Piper?
Yeah, I think that there’s always a chance for Alex and Piper because they love each other. When people love each other like that, you never know what’s going to happen. It’s hot and cold, for sure. I’ve had relationships in the past where it’s on again, off again and there’s just this thing that keeps pulling you back until finally you’re like, “Ok, I have to stop this.” It makes for good TV. [Laughs] But there will definitely be more stuff with Alex and Piper.
How has it been for you, as an actor and a woman, to see such a diverse cast of amazing women getting the chance to really be front and center?
Being an actress on this show is amazing because it’s not your typical thing. None of these women are stereotypical women. We’re all different shapes, sizes, color, creed, everything. We are a melting pot of actresses and it’s so incredible and so diverse. No other show has what we have.
As an actress, there’s normally so much pressure to look a certain way and be a certain way, and we totally throw that out the window. It’s just these incredible women doing amazing work, and we all look so different. If anything, it just proves the point that [you can] be who you are and be true to yourself. It’s an amazing message to be a part of because a lot of shows don’t have that.
It’s kind of beautiful to see.
It is! It really is, and it’s a great thing to be a part of. All these women are so confident in who they are. When we do our photo shoots and everything, they are working it. It’s amazing.
Well, they’re finally getting their chance to shine.
Yeah, absolutely. And they fully deserve it because they’re great.
You nearly broke the Internet when rumors started circulating that you weren’t coming back for season two. How did that even happen?
It was crazy! It was really flattering though. [Laughs] But it was crazy. Besides being an actress, I’m also a writer and a producer and a director and I have all these other things that I’m doing. “Orange is the New Black” is my priority, because acting is my priority and right now, “Orange… “ is the main job I’m doing. At the time that season two came around there was a scheduling thing with another project. It just had to do with scheduling. I love the show and I love the girls and I love Jenji, so I had a long conversation with her about it and we came up with a really great solution. It’s great. We’ll do as many episodes as I can. The Internet got wind of it and it literally went crazy. [Laughs] I absolutely would have done more than I did and if we get picked up for season three, I already told everyone my plans. Everyone is very aware. Before season two even happened, I already told them, “Listen, season three I want to be fully involved in the show. I won’t have any conflicts.” It was just a scheduling thing. There’s only one of me, and we do what we can.
It’s so flattering, though, that people love the character like that. It means so much to me. I think [season two] is going to surprise audiences. Jenji likes to keep people on their toes. So when we do get picked up for season three, I really look forward to being with these amazing women every day.
“That 70’s Show” was such a big part of your early career.
Oh, dude, it was like my childhood.
That was like your whole life growing up at that point, right?
Fully. Imagine starting something when you’re 18 and doing it for 8 years. It was amazing. We were all little babies. We had no clue what we were doing and it was such an awesome time. And all of us moved on to amazing things. It’s so crazy.
Did you ever imagine that Jackie and Kelso would end up together in real life?
[Laughs] I don’t really comment on my friends’ personal lives, but I will say that they’re amazing. It’s great. It’s awesome.
Do you miss the red hair?
What’s funny is that I never really realized how important my hair color is to people. I tend to do things on a whim, which probably isn’t the best thing. After season one of “Orange…” I had black hair the whole season and right when I finished I said, “I want to dye my hair back to red.” So I went and dyed my hair and my manager is like, “What are you doing?!” And I chopped it off to my chin. He called me and I said, “I sent you an email.” [Laughs] He’s like, “You can’t just do that.”
It was so funny, but he wasn’t surprised. People were freaking out. When stuff started hitting the Internet about season two, people were like, “And her hair is red! What does it mean?” [Laughs] Now I’m starting to grasp that it confuses people. People are worried that I’m going to show up with purple hair. I’m starting to realize that I have to be a little more chill about changing my look so drastically.
You can’t be tamed. You’re from Jersey!
I know! Exactly! You can take the girl out of Jersey, but you can’t take Jersey out of the girl. Now I’m starting to know that all that stuff actually creates an effect, so right now I’m keeping the black for a little while.
There’s a lot of heart in it too. At the end of the day, it is funny and it is dramatic, and then you have this love story to latch onto. Piper and Alex’s relationship is like this tumultuous love. That’s what really drew me to the story. It’s this crazy love story too. You’ve never seen a love story like this in prison with two women, which is really cool.
Do you think there’s still a chance for Alex and Piper?
Yeah, I think that there’s always a chance for Alex and Piper because they love each other. When people love each other like that, you never know what’s going to happen. It’s hot and cold, for sure. I’ve had relationships in the past where it’s on again, off again and there’s just this thing that keeps pulling you back until finally you’re like, “Ok, I have to stop this.” It makes for good TV. [Laughs] But there will definitely be more stuff with Alex and Piper.
How has it been for you, as an actor and a woman, to see such a diverse cast of amazing women getting the chance to really be front and center?
Being an actress on this show is amazing because it’s not your typical thing. None of these women are stereotypical women. We’re all different shapes, sizes, color, creed, everything. We are a melting pot of actresses and it’s so incredible and so diverse. No other show has what we have.
As an actress, there’s normally so much pressure to look a certain way and be a certain way, and we totally throw that out the window. It’s just these incredible women doing amazing work, and we all look so different. If anything, it just proves the point that [you can] be who you are and be true to yourself. It’s an amazing message to be a part of because a lot of shows don’t have that.
It’s kind of beautiful to see.
It is! It really is, and it’s a great thing to be a part of. All these women are so confident in who they are. When we do our photo shoots and everything, they are working it. It’s amazing.
Well, they’re finally getting their chance to shine.
Yeah, absolutely. And they fully deserve it because they’re great.
You nearly broke the Internet when rumors started circulating that you weren’t coming back for season two. How did that even happen?
It was crazy! It was really flattering though. [Laughs] But it was crazy. Besides being an actress, I’m also a writer and a producer and a director and I have all these other things that I’m doing. “Orange is the New Black” is my priority, because acting is my priority and right now, “Orange… “ is the main job I’m doing. At the time that season two came around there was a scheduling thing with another project. It just had to do with scheduling. I love the show and I love the girls and I love Jenji, so I had a long conversation with her about it and we came up with a really great solution. It’s great. We’ll do as many episodes as I can. The Internet got wind of it and it literally went crazy. [Laughs] I absolutely would have done more than I did and if we get picked up for season three, I already told everyone my plans. Everyone is very aware. Before season two even happened, I already told them, “Listen, season three I want to be fully involved in the show. I won’t have any conflicts.” It was just a scheduling thing. There’s only one of me, and we do what we can.
It’s so flattering, though, that people love the character like that. It means so much to me. I think [season two] is going to surprise audiences. Jenji likes to keep people on their toes. So when we do get picked up for season three, I really look forward to being with these amazing women every day.
“That 70’s Show” was such a big part of your early career.
Oh, dude, it was like my childhood.
That was like your whole life growing up at that point, right?
Fully. Imagine starting something when you’re 18 and doing it for 8 years. It was amazing. We were all little babies. We had no clue what we were doing and it was such an awesome time. And all of us moved on to amazing things. It’s so crazy.
Did you ever imagine that Jackie and Kelso would end up together in real life?
[Laughs] I don’t really comment on my friends’ personal lives, but I will say that they’re amazing. It’s great. It’s awesome.
Do you miss the red hair?
What’s funny is that I never really realized how important my hair color is to people. I tend to do things on a whim, which probably isn’t the best thing. After season one of “Orange…” I had black hair the whole season and right when I finished I said, “I want to dye my hair back to red.” So I went and dyed my hair and my manager is like, “What are you doing?!” And I chopped it off to my chin. He called me and I said, “I sent you an email.” [Laughs] He’s like, “You can’t just do that.”
It was so funny, but he wasn’t surprised. People were freaking out. When stuff started hitting the Internet about season two, people were like, “And her hair is red! What does it mean?” [Laughs] Now I’m starting to grasp that it confuses people. People are worried that I’m going to show up with purple hair. I’m starting to realize that I have to be a little more chill about changing my look so drastically.
You can’t be tamed. You’re from Jersey!
I know! Exactly! You can take the girl out of Jersey, but you can’t take Jersey out of the girl. Now I’m starting to know that all that stuff actually creates an effect, so right now I’m keeping the black for a little while.