Orange is The New Black star Laura Prepon, who plays sexy Alex Vause in the series, has revealed to Rolling Stone she initial looked to play Piper Chapman.
They weren’t even casting Alex yet; they were only casting Piper, and I knew that I wasn’t exactly right for that role, but I didn’t care. I was a huge fan of Jenji Kohan, so I went in and auditioned. Then a little bit of time went by and Jenji’s like, ‘I can’t get you out of my head for Alex Vause.’”
So, did Prepon identify with Piper, even though she had already felt connected to Alex?
It’s funny; when you look at both characters, I definitely identify more with Alex. When I talked to Jenji later, she told me, ‘You know, with Piper you’re worried she’s gonna get her a** kicked in prison. When I look at you, I’m not scared about you getting your a** kicked.’ Not to say that Taylor [Schilling] would get her ass kicked, ’cause I think she’d do okay. But Alex is Maleficent-like, sexy, sassy — she can definitely looks like can take care of herself. She’s not getting her a** kicked.”
Prepon added that being a part of a show comprised mostly of women has been a completely different experience for her.
There’s a lot of us. I normally hang out with guys so when I actually got this show, all my guy friends were like, ‘Wait, it’s you and a bunch of women? What are you going to do?’ And I’m like, ‘I don’t know!’ ”
Prepon’s character was absent for a lot of Season 2, as she was released from prison. But, going into Season 3, Alex and Piper will both be back at Litchfield, and new cast addition Ruby Rose is rumoured to come between the ladies.
Orange Is the New Black premieres June 12 on Netflix.