Miriam Morales – Orange is The New Black

By starrymag | September 23, 2016

By: Kelly Kearney

 

Q) Last season on “Orange is The New Black” you played Pidge. For the fans who haven’t watched the show yet, can you tell us a little about Pidge?

Miriam: Pidge is really loyal and extremely feisty and she’s always there for her friends. She’s loyal to the new group she’s formed an alliance with. She’s like that “ride or die” girl. I feel like she’s always down with the cause. She maybe has some anger issues because she’s always ready to fight someone. It will be interesting to see how they continue to develop her and that particular characteristic. For those who haven’t seen Season Four, and there are a few that exist, you can expect to see her get into some bad situations.

Q) What was it like coming in as a new cast member to an already tightly knit cast?

Miriam: Initially, I was really nervous and excited because it was my dream show to be on. So when I booked it I was just like in a state of constantly pinching myself thinking is this happening? Luckily, everybody I’ve met and worked with was extremely welcoming which made it a lot easier to go to set every day and work with them. They’re a great cast. They’re extremely passionate, smart and talented and it made it easier to go to set and not feel like I’m the new girl on the block, even though I am you know what I mean? They were just so warm… there aren’t enough words to describe the love and the feeling of family that I have with the people I get to work with.

Q) How did you get the role on “Orange” and what was your audition process like?

Miriam: That’s a really interesting story actually. From what my manager tells me they had been looking for this character Pidge for a while. A specific characteristic or trait they were looking for in an actor was the shorter the better. So when my manager saw they were still looking for someone for Pidge, she wrote to casting and said,” I don’t think you’ve seen Miriam yet.” Everything happened so last minute. My manager texted me and asked, “How tall are you?” and I said five feet. She said, “I know you’re not five feet because I’m 5 feet and I’m taller than you.” Then, she told me “Orange” was looking for this role for an actor five feet or under and “you’re under so I’m submitting you.” So, I got an appointment and I had literally a day to prepare. I worked with my acting coach the day of my audition that’s how little time I had. Part of my process is meditating and visualization…I really believe in the visualization because I had an audition for the show before and didn’t book it so I always said to myself that when I book “Orange” it’s going to be a recurring role. After meditating and visualizing with my coach, I went home, changed, went to the audition and I have to say it was the first time I went into the room and didn’t think about what they were looking for because the description was very minimal. Pidge was short, Dominican and tough. That was it. That’s all I had so I knew I had to create an interesting character. I had to find who Pidge was and then I found out a few days later that I booked it.

Q) When you landed the role, was there anything about Pidge that you connected with or that particularly stuck out for you?

Miriam: In the beginning it was tricky because I didn’t have that many lines. What I noticed about her is when she did speak there was always this facetiousness to her. She’s serious, but she sounds like she’s joking. That’s kind of how I am. I can be sarcastic at times but a little bit of a funny girl I guess you could say. That’s the main thing that stood out for me when it came to Pidge. She’s in a serious situation but almost making light of it at the same time.

Q) Did you do any research on prison life or the problems prisoners face in privatized prisons to prepare for the role?

Miriam: Honestly, I didn’t do any research on the problems in privatized prisons the only thing I knew was one or two episodes from that season so I didn’t have any information on where the storyline was going. I did have a relative in the system so in terms of prison life and things of that nature. I called them and asked them a few questions. I got a sense of what it was like, what I would do, how I would wear my hair, what’s allowed what’s not allowed, can you wear makeup, how you shave your legs – just the simple things from everyday life.

Q) Since Pidge works in the prison nail salon, you get to work a lot with Dascha Polanco. Have you had any fun behind the scenes moments with Dascha or any of the other actresses on set, that you can share?

Miriam: Yes, the people I worked most with in Season Four are Laura Gomez, Rosal Colon, Daniella De Jesus and a few times with Dascha and on set it was always a lot of fun. We clicked really well together and rather quickly. It was just so fun because being a fan of the show for so long and getting to work with them was amazing. Meeting the new inmates as well was really cool. It was a really supportive environment. I remember when another new character was working on a scene and she forgot her lines and she apologized and Dascha was like, “It’s ok. It’s ok, baby. Don’t worry about it.” So, that type of support where you’re new on set and you have this feeling that you want to be perfect and not mess up, but that’s not realistic because it happens. So, it was great to be working with people who constantly remind you that they can cut and we can start again.

Q) Besides the women in the salon, who would you like to have more scenes with in the next season of “Orange is The New Black?”

Miriam: Oooh…Definitely, Selenis Leyva who plays Gloria Mendoza. I think she’s just so fierce. Elizabeth Rodriguez who plays Aleida Diaz and Kate Mulgrew who plays Red. [laughingly] I’m terrified of Red but…everybody’s terrified of Red except maybe Nikki (Natasha Lyonne).

Q) What would you like to see happen with Pidge next season on “Orange?”

Miriam: Wow, so many things. I’d like to know more about Pidge – period! How did she end up there, does she have a family outside of prison and is there a boyfriend or a husband out there? Just you know, what was her life like before Litchfield. More information about her, in general, would be great. I’d also like to see another side to her, maybe a softer side or maybe a comical side. I’d like to see more of her temper. Is she totally going to lash out at some people instead of being held back? I don’t know, I kind of want to see her fight somebody. I want to see what happens when she lets loose.

Q) The show has become a binge-watching phenomenon. What would you say is the key to the success of “Orange?”

Miriam: The platform that it’s on is so different than traditional television where you have to turn in every week to watch it. With “Orange” the entire season is available immediately there’s no waiting period. I think another thing that’s interesting the show did was they started off presenting this life through the eyes of Piper (Taylor Schilling) and they incorporated everybody else’s back stories and their points of view so it gives it a more well-rounded overview of what each person’s experience is in the prison system and also where they came from. You learn that you literally can’t judge a book by its cover because everyone has a story and you can find something in that story to relate to. Also, there are so many different kinds of people and stories. I mean you have the character of Piper who comes from this really well to do family and comes into this situation like, “Oh my God! I have to go through this situation?” Then, you have Leanne (Julie Lake) and Angie (Emma Myles) who are the meth heads. You just have all these different kinds of people where even if you yourself don’t identify with them you can relate to their story. Whether it’s Piper’s Mom or her fiancé or her brother there’s just somebody for everybody.

Q) Is there any one person from the cast that you admire and why?

Miriam: Oh wow…That’s a tough one. There are such great actresses on this show. If I were to pick one person and boy…This is really hard. I’d have to say Elizabeth Rodriguez. I followed her career for many years and I just love how fluid she is and the work that she does with her characters she takes on. As a Latina, I look up to somebody like. You know it’s really hard in this industry being a minority, being a woman and Latina and I think she does a great job and has done so for her long career.

Q) You’re on social media now. Do you enjoy the instant feedback from the fans?

Miriam: Yeah, to some degree. I haven’t had as much of it as some of the other characters (thank God) because some people forget that the characters are not real people but yeah I do enjoy it. I enjoy seeing everyone’s opinion because they’re so different and you think you created a character one way with certain characteristics and then you see what the fans have to say and you’re like “Wow! Ok, I didn’t see it that way” or I didn’t think [Pidge] would be perceived that way so in that sense it’s really interesting to hear how people are internalizing the characters and the stories. Honestly, it’s very cool but It’s an adjustment only because you can’t hide from it.

Q) You recently worked on a TV series called “Bunny and Tai.” Can you fill the fans in on what that show’s about?

Miriam: It was created by a friend of mine Taina [Elena]. She plays Tai. She’s a little bit quirky and has this stuffed animal named Bunny that she loves to be with who “speaks” to her. It’s a creative web series about Tai and her brother Geo (Ron Rivera), who’s a lady’s man (a major player) and the funny interactions and commentary they go through over his dates. I was in one episode – episode six. I played Vanessa who was one of Geo’s dates and also a sex addict. [laughs] So, that was interesting. The entire first season is available on YouTube so the fans can catch it there.

Q) What’s been the most challenging role you’ve had so far and why was it more challenging than some of your other roles?

Miriam: The role Rosy in “An Ornament of Faith” was really challenging mainly in terms of the preparation of that character. Rosy was a lesbian drug addict and when I got cast it was really close to filming and I had to lose 20lbs in less than three weeks! It was really intense and I was on a strict schedule from the moment I found out I booked the role until I wrapped. My life was literally going to the gym in the morning, going to work, leaving work and going to the gym. I watched “Intervention,” read about drug addicts, their behavior and characteristics. Developing that character was my entire life for about a month and a half. It was really intense for me because I had never done anything like that before, ever.

Q) Are you currently working on any new projects we should look out for in the future?

Miriam: Right now everything is “Orange” because I’m back to work. I am helping Asia Kate Dillon who plays Brandy on “Orange” produce a play about the Black Lives Matter movement. It’s a one night only event on October 8th in New York City. So, between ‘Orange” and helping her produce that that’s really all the time I have.