Laura Prepon is giving fans a glimpse of what is ahead in the third season of the hit Netflix original series “Orange is the New Black.” In it, the actress, whose father was Jewish, plays Alex Vause, a Federal inmate who was convicted on drug trafficking charges and who is the sometimes girlfriend of the protagonist Piper Chapman.
The show, which is based on a true story, was created by Jenji Kohan, who also created the hit cable show “Weeds.”
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If you watch the show then you know that Prepon’s character cut a deal to get released early from prison last season. But just before the end of season 2, Piper set Alex up for a parole violation which saw her headed back to prison for season 3.
Prepon told The Hollywood Reporter, “She doesn’t know how she got back in, she doesn’t know that Piper is the reason for it, and I think she just feels foolish and stupid. Now that she had that freedom and it was taken away again, I think she just has lost faith in herself, has lost faith in her and Piper and is kind of a little hopeless.”
On the relationship between Piper and Alex, Prepon said, “That’s the thing that’s so great about their relationship. It’s tumultuous and manipulative, but they love each other. Whenever either of them does these things to the other, I don’t want to say they do it out of love, but it’s grounded in this authentic love for each other. They both look for themselves at times, but it’s like two magnets. They can’t not be with each other.”
Before OTNB, Prepon was best known for playing Donna Pinciotti on “That 70s Show.” The actress told Rolling Stone about how she got her new role.
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“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’s, 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.'”
Prepon spoke with Catherine Cleary Wolters, who was the inspiration for her character on the show. She told The Star, “She basically was like, ‘Thank you so much for your portrayal.’”
“I was actually really pleasantly surprised because I wasn’t sure how she was going to take the fact that I’m playing it a certain way.”
All 14 episodes of the new season of Orange is the New Black will be available for binge watching on Netflix on Friday. If you have not yet seen the first two seasons, you should.