Red vs. Vee: An Interview with OITNB’s Kate Mulgrew and Lorraine Toussaint
PRESS: Did you research your character, Kate?
MULGREW: No, I didn’t. First of all, they gave me one page. I’ve even forgotten what the audition was — just a tiny page. And it said at the top, “Just a hint of a Russian accent. She’s been in America since she was two.” But that’s not at all what came into my imagination. A real peasant came into my mind. This peasant, she’d been through it, and that’s what I gave it. And [Jenji] liked it.
I know they probably wanted a real Russian actress to play it. And it’s hard to find somebody. So Jenji just said, “Hmm, okay,” because she could see that it was a good fit. Sometimes you have to take that leap, you know? It doesn’t seem like a normal fit, does it? But it was a good one. Love is an odd thing, when it happens in acting.
PRESS: You made me completely forget about Captain Janeway from Star Trek Voyager, one of my favorites of all time.
MULGREW: Then I’ve done my job, haven’t I? [Laughs.] Red’s antithetical to Janeway, actually.
PRESS: Completely.
MULGREW: And never once did it cross my mind, because I love Janeway, too. But I mean it when I’m talking about the alchemy. You know what I’m talking about? When you fall in love, and it’s really organic and true, then everybody sees it. It’s just like life — if I fall for you, I fall. There’s nothing to be done about it — it’s done. Right?
[My love for Red’s character] is genuine, and it’s the great joy of my life. I’m 59 years old. And to find a part like this is an incredible thing.
Don’t ever forget, it springs from the pen of Jenji Kohan. It’s nothing if it’s not on the page. And it’s so gorgeously on the page. She just understands. And I get it. I go back to romance, you get the chemistry. “I get it, I get it, I know how to kiss you.” I know how to get her. I know how to take her in. And Jenji then can work it. And it’s a marvelous thing of luck, chemistry, skill sets coming together at a time in life, and a feeling of liberation.
PRESS: Why do you think Red hasn’t exhibited a need for a relationship with a woman at this point in prison? I realize she’s not inherently lesbian, but…
MULGREW: Oh, but she has. It’s very, very close and intense, indeed with Norma [Annie Golden]. That’s a very adult, mature relationship I have with her. The others are my “daughters.” But with the Golden Girls, that’s a level playing field. No, I get it where I need it.
PRESS: What is it like being on Netflix? Because the Netflix model of television is so groundbreaking.
MULGREW: It’s great. It’s exciting, very exciting. We’re riding the wave, aren’t we? Everybody says it’s the Wild West of television. That’s what it feels like, too. They’re making up the rules as they go along.
TOUSSAINT: But they have done something amazing — they’ve tapped into a sort of primal drive in the human spirit — obsession. They’ve tapped into it, and they’ve hooked you into it. That’s powerful, because as human beings that’s how we learn, that’s how we love, that’s how we survive. That element of obsession, you get obsessed with a thing, get obsessed with life.
MULGREW: Coupled with our love of titillation. If it’s good enough, we’ll wait a year. Netflix understands the psychology of the viewer.
PRESS: So, something a little more fun. What would you say your guilty pleasure is, either on or off set? Whether it be, the perfect cup of coffee in the morning, or coming home and having the best bath of your life after a hard day on set?
MULGREW: Oh, my goodness. My pleasures are much more serious than that.
TOUSSAINT: I’m obsessive about tea. Obsessive. I lay a tea set every night to greet me first thing in the morning. I lay it out on the counter, and it makes me very, very happy. I’m also obsessive about plants. I’ll spend days planting gardens. It is an obsession.
PRESS: What kind of tea is your favorite?
TOUSSAINT: I’m a Brit – I like black teas. But, you see, you’ve got to get the pot the right temperature. The cup has to be heated. The cream has to be warmed. And it has to be a particular color — no one can make my tea for me.
MULGREW: Do you take sugar?
TOUSSAINT: I do not.
MULGREW: Well. [Laughs.]
TOUSSAINT: It spoils it.
MULGREW: I think that says it all.
Orange is the New Black, Season 2, is streaming exclusively on Netflix. Season 1 is available on Netflix and on Blu-Ray and DVD at Amazon.com.
More interviews from “Orange Is the New Black” by Metro Weekly:
- Danielle Brooks and Samira Wiley (“Tasha ‘Taystee’ Jefferson” & “Poussey Washington”)
- Kate Mulgrew and Lorraine Toussant (“Galina ‘Red’ Reznikov” & “Yvonne ‘Vee’ Parker”)
- Laura Prepon & Jason Biggs (“Alex Vause” & “Larry Bloom”)
- Laverne Cox (“Sophia Burset”)
- Selenis Leyva (“Gloria Mendoza”)
- Yael Stone & Natasha Lyonne (“Lorna Morello” & “Nicky Nichols”)
- Piper Kerman (author of the original book)
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