Orange is the New Black exclusive interview

by Daniel Falconer | 4 June 2014

Danielle Brooks as Tasha 'Taystee' Jefferson / Credit: Netflix

There are just mere hours left before we can all soak in the glory of the second season of Orange is the New Black, so to tide you over, we've got an interview with the incomparable Danielle Brooks who takes on the role of Tasha 'Taystee' Jefferson in the series.

FemaleFirst caught up with Danielle to chat all things Orange, her funniest and most exciting experiences on-set as well as what to expect from her character going forward.

First up, what was it that drew you to the role of Taystee?

The fact that was not your typical 'angry black woman'. I loved that she made light of situations that seemed so heavy, so I liked the fact that she was 'sunshine' - the 'sunshine' of the group. That's at her core. That excited me about the character and I knew that it was gonna have different layers of her, just from reading the first episode.

Did you initially think because she is such a loveable character that she would be taken in by the audience or did that come as a surprise to you?

That came as a surprise to me you know, this is my first major role, my what you can say I guess is called a 'breakout role', so I didn't know how people were gonna respond to Taystee.

It's been quite a fun ride and I'm excited to see how people respond to her in season two, being that she's definitely got a lot more going on!

This season we learn some more about Taystee's past, what should fans expect from that?

I feel like they should expect, Taystee dealing with some, stuff! (laughs)

There's a particular new character that comes in this season that really shifts Taystee's demeanour in that Taystee cannot use her old habits to deal with the things that she's dealing with for season two, so get ready to see Taystee a little flustered! A little shaken-up, a little out of control in season two.

Danielle enjoyed working with Lorraine Toussaint / Credit: Netflix

You do have a lot of scenes with new character Vee, how was working with Lorraine Toussaint?

I love Miss Lorraine Toussaint. I think she's brilliant. When you're acting alongside her you cannot do anything but be honest and truthful with your work. There's no other choice but to be honest.

So, I admire her very much when it comes to her acting.

What have been some of your favourite scenes to film from the first season?

My favourite scenes - I really enjoyed the Taystee rap because there were so many women on set that day, you know? It really just shifted the energy and how we all did our rap when everyone got in the room. It was so much fun that day because everyone was there, and hyping each other up and I really enjoyed the scene with Poussey in the library. I felt I got to show a different side to Taystee and you get to know more about who she was, and why she came back to prison, so that was fun to play, especially alongside a close friend of mine who I've known for seven years now. That was a lot of fun too, those are two of my favourite scenes.

What do you think it is about the show that makes it so popular?

I think the diversity. I feel like people don't just relate to people who are similar to them, I feel like people are relating to people that are actually - the world would say 'very polar opposites'. Because the show is so diverse, you're getting to watch the 'chocolate girls' play alongside each other and learn that they're totally different, and that they aren't all the same, we're not all the same as well as with the white women and the Hispanic women.

I feel like it's also diverse in the sense of age too, and gender, and sexual preference, as well as the balance of comedy and drama. The writers are freaking brilliant. They are amazing. I think people really respond to great writing and great acting. You get flashbacks. I could go on.

Netflix have a lot to do with it too, the fact that you can watch it whenever the heck you wanna watch it. You go back and watch it, and watch it again, and watch it with your spouse, and watch it when you cook! (laughs) I'm just being silly now!

Just don't watch it with your parents!

Yeah, maybe not with your parents or your five year old child! You can watch it with the dog! It doesn't matter.

Taystee's got a hilarious personality at times but are there ever any hilarious moments off camera?

Danielle Brooks as Tasha 'Taystee' Jefferson / Credit: Netflix

Yeah, season two I'll never forget - episode one - episode two actually because I wasn't in episode one! (laughs) But episode two! They were setting up the camera for the next shot and Lorraine, I mean Laverne Cox who plays Sophia, she's always just like dancing and singing on-set, and I joined her this time, which I do, and she was playing Tina Turner and I was being her back-up dancer!

(sings) River Deep, Ain't No Mountain High!

It was fun! (sings) Da-doop-doop-doop-doop-doop-doop!

Going forward what hopes do you have for your character?

I hope that she, I don't really know honestly!

I suppose it's hard to answer when you've filmed season two!

It's hard to answer because I don't wanna say: 'I hope that she stays in prison!', I don't want her to stay in prison, you know? But at the same time, I hope that if she does stay in prison, that she starts to really grow as a woman and kind of gets rehabilitated mentally, and learns that she can survive without this place. I just hope that Taystee comes out on top, you know? I don't wanna see her in a bad head space when Orange is wrapped and over with.

What would you say are some of the most challenging parts to playing Taystee?

I think season two has brought a lot of challenges. She's taking a lot of different directions and like I said previously - Vee comes in and really shakes up her world - and I feel like that was difficult to watch her and be in her shoes and her struggling - that was challenging, to struggle with Taystee, because Danielle would handle situations very differently than her - so, that was challenging.

And also not getting the scripts ahead of time and having to stay in each moment, wondering 'what is she gonna do?' - that's challenging.

Taystee and Poussey's relationship will be explored further / Credit: Netflix

What is the time span between you getting the script and going to film?

About a week! We're shooting next week (from May 31) and I just got the script like, two days ago.

Finally do you have any other projects in the works that you can share some details about away from Orange?

Well, everyone knows I did an episode of Girls, where I played a character named Laura, and I just wrapped two movies this summer on hiatus, which was fun. I hope to still see myself in them! (laughs) And right now I'm just gonna wait for season three!