Q&A with Casting Director Jen Euston and cast members Uzo Aduba, Danielle Brooks, Laverne Cox, Kate Mulgrew, and Taylor Schilling!
Moderated by Seth Plattner, Elle.
No headshots will be solicited at this event.
SYNOPSIS
Orange is the New Black is creator Jenji Kohan's funny, powerful and thought-provoking hit comedy series that follows the lives of a diverse group of inmates serving time in a women's prison.
PANELIST BIOS
KATE MULGREW - “Galina ‘Red’ Reznikov”
Kate Mulgrew stars as Galina “Red” Reznikov, the tough Russian inmate who is always keeping score, in the Netflix original series “Orange is the New Black.”
Mulgrew is internationally recognized as “Captain Janeway,” the first female captain of the Starship Enterprise in “Star Trek: Voyager.” Her career spans film, television, and the stage. Classically trained, she received a Golden Globe nomination at the age of 23 when she portrayed “Mrs. Columbo,” the wife of the famous detective. Other notable television appearances include “Kate Loves A Mystery,” “Cheers,” ” Murphy Brown,” ” St. Elsewhere,” ” Ryan’s Hope,” ” The Black Donnellys,” ” Mercy,” “Warehouse 13,” and “NTSF:SD:SUV” for Adult Swim.
Film roles include Throw Momma from the Train, Star Trek: Nemesis, A Stranger is Watching and Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins and The Response.
Mulgrew has toured throughout the United States as Katherine Hepburn in her stage play, Tea at Five, for which she was nominated for Outer Critics Circle and Lucille Lortel awards.
Other theater credits include Equus, The American Dream, The Sandbox, Iphigenia 2.0 (for which she won an Obie), Our Leading Lady, Black Comedy, Titus Andronicus and Somewhere Fun, all in New York. She performed in The Exonerated in London and regionally in The Royal Family, The Film Society, What the Butler Saw, Hedda Gabler, Measure for Measure, The Real Thing, Another Part Of The Forest, Major Barbara and Antony and Cleopatra.
She resides in New York City.
LAVERNE COX - "Sophia Burset”
Laverne Cox stars as Sophia Burset, a transgender inmate who serves as the prison’s resident beautician, in the Netflix original series “Orange is the New Black.”
Cox is an actress, producer and transgender advocate. She is the first African-American transgender woman to produce and star in her own television show, VH1’s critically acclaimed “TRANSForm Me.” Cox made television history when she became the first African-American transgender woman to appear on a reality television program, VH1’s “I Wanna Work for Diddy” in 2008, for which she accepted the GLAAD media award for Outstanding Reality Program.
In 2012 Cox garnered critical acclaim for her role in the independent feature film Musical Chairs, directed by Susan Seidelman. Her other independent film credits include “Carla,” “36 Saints” and “The Exhibitionists.” She has also had guest-starring roles on NBC’s "Law and Order" and "Law and Order: SVU," as well as HBO’s "Bored to Death."
As a transgender advocate, Cox continues to lend her voice to the cause of transgender visibility and equality. She has taken her empowering message of moving beyond gender expectations to live more authentically all over the country. Her insights have been featured on CNN, MSNBC, HLN, VH1, Fox News Latino and more.
Her powerful voice and moving story landed her a book deal with Harlequin, a memoir that will chronicle her personal journey from a misunderstood and socially unaccepted child to an acclaimed actress, speaker and advocate for the LGBTQ community.
Cox is also working on a documentary titled "Free CeCe" in order to heighten visibility and awareness surrounding CeCe McDonald, a transgender woman who was controversially sentenced to 41 months in prison for second degree manslaughter after allegedly defending herself against a racist and transphobic attack. The documentary will focus on McDonald's case, her experiences while incarcerated in a men's prison and the larger implications of her case for the transgender community. Cox is committed to telling diverse and three dimensional transgender stories in the media.
Cox was named one of the top 50 trans-icons by the Huffington Post, one of Out magazine’s Out 100 in 2010 and Metro Source magazine named her one of the “55 People We Love” in 2008. In addition, Cox is the recipient of the GLAAD Steven F. Kolzak Award and the Dorian rising star award for her work in “Orange is the New Black,” as well as the Courage Award from the Anti-Violence Project. Cox resides in New York City.
UZO ADUBA - “Suzanne ‘Crazy Eyes’ Warren”
Uzo Aduba stars as Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren, an unpredictable inmate whose child-like demeanor belies her explosive nature, in the Netflix original series “Orange is the New Black.”
Aduba made her television debut in 2012 on the hit show “Blue Bloods.”
Before starring on television, Aduba made her Broadway debut in Coram Boy in 2007 followed by the hit musical revival of GODSPELL in 2011. She discovered her talent for singing at a very early age and became a classical music major at the Boston University School of Fine Arts. Work in theatre quickly followed, with critically acclaimed performances at both The Huntington Theatre in Boston and A.R.T. where, under the direction of Dianne Paulus, she won the prestigious Elliot Norton Award for Best Actress in a Play.
Aduba was nominated for a Helen Hayes Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Play for her work in the Kennedy Center/Olney Theater production of Translations of Xhosa. Other theater credits include Dessa Rose at the New Repertory Theatre, Turnado: Rumble for the Ring at the Papermill Playhouse, and Abyssinia at the Goodspeed Theatre.
Past films include the independent shorts Over There and Notes.
Aduba currently resides in New York City.
TAYLOR SCHILLING - “Piper Chapman”
Taylor Schilling stars as Piper Chapman, a young woman whose seemingly perfect life is turned upside down when she must serve time in a federal penitentiary, in the Netflix original series “Orange is the New Black.”
Schilling is known for her role as Veronica Flanagan Callahan on NBC’s “Mercy” and made her debut on the big screen in 2007 in Dark Matter, which co-starred Meryl Streep.
Schilling was most recently seen in the Wiebke von Carolsfeld film Stay opposite Aidan Quinn. The film, based on the Aislinn Hunter novel of the same name, follows the relationship between Dermont (Quinn) and Abby (Schilling). An unexpected pregnancy forces both characters to confront their past and examine their relationship. The film was released in theaters on March 21, 2014.
In 2013, Schilling was seen in the Academy Award winning film Argo. She starred opposite Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston and John Goodman in the film that centers on the real-life C.I.A. plan to rescue a group of diplomats from Tehran after the 1979 Iranian revolution by claiming that they were part of a Hollywood movie crew shooting a film. Schilling played Christine Mendez, the wife of Affleck's character. The film was released on October 12, 2012.
Earlier in 2012, Schilling starred opposite Zac Efron in Scott Hicks’ highly anticipated Warner Brothers film The Lucky One. The film was based on the Nicholas Sparks novel about a Marine (Efron) who survives three tours in Iraq and attributes his good fortune to a photograph he carried of a woman he has never met (Schilling), whom he sets out to meet upon his return to North Carolina. The Lucky One was released on April 20, 2012.
Taylor grew up in Massachusetts and graduated in 2006 from Fordham University with a Bachelor of Arts in Acting. She entered New York University's Graduate Acting Program and left after her second year to pursue her acting career, landing “Mercy” within four months. She currently resides in New York City.
DANIELLE BROOKS - “Tasha ‘Taystee’ Jefferson”
Danielle Brooks stars as the always outspoken and sometimes outrageous Tasha “Taystee” Jefferson in the Netflix original series “Orange is the New Black.”
A graduate of Julliard’s Drama Division, Danielle was also recently seen as “Laura” in the Season 3 premiere of “GIRLS.”
Brooks, who also has a passion for singing, released her holiday medley “Jolly Christmas Medley” with her “Orange is the New Black” costar, Uzo Aduba, in December 2013.
Danielle currently resides in New York.
