Matt McGorry – Orange Is The New Black

Q) What are the recent projects that you have been working on?

A) There has been a lot, which has been pretty awesome. At the end of Season 2, I started filming an indie film called Webcam. It stars Ashley Benson and it is sort of a psychological thriller. We finished Season 2 of “Orange Is The New Black” and then after that I did a guest star on the new TNT TV show “Public Morals.” Ed Burns is writing and directing it. It was a lot of fun and I have never done a period piece before. For some reason, I never really thought that I could look not from this time (I think partly being ethnically ambiguous), but it’s amazing how much shaving your sideburns does. After that, a week later, I shot the pilot for the new show “How To Get Away With Murder” in Philadelphia for about a month. It’s a Shonda Rhimes produced show and written by Peter Nowalk that stars Viola Davis. In between that and starting to film Season 3 of “Orange Is The New Black,” I filmed the lead in another movie called How He Fell In Love. The pilot got picked up for ABC so I am going to be heading out to Los Angeles to do some work on it while I am doing Season 3 of “Orange Is The New Black,” which we started filming already.

Q) For those who haven’t seen it yet, what can you tease is in store for Season 2 of “Orange Is The New Black?”

A) It’s more of the same things that people loved before and a lot of new stuff that people didn’t even know they wanted, really. There are new characters and there are old characters that they get to find a lot more about. Yael Stone’s character, Lorna, has her backstory explored and it’s one of my favorites. It is one of my favorite plot twists from any show ever done. It’s really brilliantly done. It’s funny because on one hand, it gets darker, but it also gets funnier, too. It’s an amazing dichotomy that only Jenji [Kohan] can do!

Q) You often participate in “Ask Orange” online through social media. How do you feel about the international attention the show has gotten?

A) It’s cool to see it in all different countries and I’ve done some traveling since it came out. In Puerto Rico it was a huge thing and I got recognized a lot there. It’s pretty incredible to see how widespread it’s been in some ways. Because Netflix doesn’t release their ratings, the most clear example to me is social media. Last week, I made a video because I reached fifty thousand followers on Instagram. That was over the course of a year. As of today, a week later, I now have one hundred and ten thousand followers! That’s like almost ten thousand a week. That’s pretty incredible and that has to be a pretty small percentage of people that watch the show, too. I think in some ways that is my most immediate gauge. And I really like being on social media to interact with all the fans. It gives me sort of a pulse as to what people are thinking.

Q) You’re also featured on show merchandise and in fan art. That has to be a bit surreal, as well.

A) It’s extremely weird…if that makes sense. I remember in Season One I was flipping out when I was a part of the big group poster. And I hoped and prayed that one day I’d have my own poster. Now, I do! It’s cool, but it actually does remind you that as cool as it is it’s really about getting to do work that makes acting such a pleasure. I’ve heard that before and I used to say, “Oh yeah, that’s bullshit.” People would say awards were more about the work, but the further I go the more I understand that it really is true. What we do and how we got into it is preserved in the quality of work and doing good projects. So, in some ways being in the group poster in Season One was more shocking and crazy for me than even having my own poster.

Q) What are some of your favorite places to film when you are in the prison?

A) In the utility closest is a fun one. There was a handjob in this season and throwing up in last season. It’s a place that given the space, the tightness and the lighting really fosters additional stress and anxiety, which I think always makes for fun and interesting story telling. Particularly with Bennett, I think the writers like to see him sweat and being in that pressure cooker only increases his odds of flipping out a bit.

Q) You have gotten to work with some incredible directors on the show. Who have been some of your favorites?

A) Jodie Foster was really incredible. I worked with her in Season One and I think she did the first episode in Season Two, which most of the regular cast weren’t in so I didn’t get a chance to work with her again. She’s really incredible and that was sort of a wonderful experience. Michael Trim was one of the Co-Executive Producers on Season One and he directed episodes in both seasons. He is wonderful, too. He has a very calm energy that just sets you at ease. He’s very sparse with his directing. He only says the most essential things and in directing that is a critical component to be able to say the fewest amount of words to get what you are looking for because the more you explain and keep talking a lot of times it gets confusing to the actor and you might not get what you want. Or the actor might think you want something different and be pushing in one direction. So, I really appreciate when someone has that energy. Another one would be Constantine Makris and he is just a veteran. You always want to feel like you are in good hands and he cares about you in letting you do what you want to do while also doing what is best for the show. But making you feel comfortable is the only way to have a successfully creative experience.

Q) Who would you most like to see make an appearance on “Orange Is The New Black?”

A) That’s a good question. I think Robin Williams could play the warden. I think that would be pretty awesome. I think his dramatic-comedic sensibilities would fit really well in the show. He’s someone that obviously does both sides really well and gets that very specific tone. He also happens to be one of my favorite actors as both a comedian and as a dramatic actor. That would be pretty incredible.

Q) Who have you not filmed with from the cast that you would like to see have some scenes in Season 3 with Bennett?

A) Uzo Aduba, who plays Crazy Eyes, we really haven’t had any scenes together. The closest thing that we’ve had is that we’ve been in the same room together. I just sort of gotten to watch her, but we’ve really not had any interaction. I think that would be a lot of fun. And, oddly enough, outside of an episode in season one Taylor [Schilling] and I haven’t had any scenes together either. It’s funny because there are so many characters on the show that even though we’re all in the same place it’s possible to go multiple seasons of the show without ever having any interaction, which I think is incredibly rare for a show. Sometimes you have different plotlines that take place or maybe different work environments where a character’s wife won’t interact with the people he works with, but when you are all in the same working place – at the same prison – I think it is pretty rare not to have those characters overlap a bit.

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of the show and your work?

A) I would just like to say that I am incredibly grateful beyond the point of explanation. I’m very well aware that there is no career for Matt McGorry without the fans. Everyone has been so supportive. I try to read everyone’s tweets and comments. I’m not always able to get around to it, but I wish I could respond to everyone. Unfortunately, time doesn’t allow it, but I have a great appreciation. I hope people continue to enjoy my work and continue to be surprised by it. I hope they enjoy the different things I get to do and all the different projects as well.