"Visiting Hours with Samira"

Samira Wiley was initially known for her guest roles on TV series like Unforgettable and Person of Interest as well as some smaller roles in films like The Sitter and Being Flynn. But now, thanks to the phenomenal Netflix Original Series, Orange is the New Black, the world now knows her as the tough, but secretly sensitive, Litchfield Correctional Facility inmate, Poussey Washington.

The series is based on a memoir written by Piper Kerman about her time in a women’s federal prison and centers on the lives of many of the prisoners and personnel. We mentioned to Wiley that we watched the thirteen episode first season in only three days and thought, along with many critics, that it was one of the highest quality series we’d seen in a very long time.

“That’s amazing,” Samira answers, “That’s wonderful, because I feel sometimes when I’m walking down the street, I feel like I’m one of those people in one of those boy bands, the way people react, they’ve become obsessed with it in a way. When we were filming during the first season, it was something that we felt was special, we felt like it was going to be such a great project, because of the energy, that’s what everything felt like on set.”

“But we didn’t really know for sure what the reaction to it would be, so we were doing it just for the love of doing it,” she adds, “And having it be such a great feeling on set and then having everyone else’s reaction match that, it was just amazing. It’s something that I don’t think we necessarily could have predicted.”

We asked Samira if the mood on the set for the second season currently being filmed was the opposite this time around because of the added pressure of its surprise popularity.

“So many things are different with the second season,” she says, “I feel like during the first season, I could come home after a

"Visiting Hours with Samira"

long day, and if I did something taxing on set, it was OK to talk about it with my roommates, because they didn’t know anything. Now they’re like, ‘Don’t tell me what you did today up on set, because I need to watch it,’” she laughs.

“So there’s that,” Wiley continues, “And there’s also just the feeling of the writers, the actors, everyone on set maybe feeling a little nervous and feeling we have so many expectations now of people wanting it to be good and people waiting for it and saying, ‘When is it coming out?’ So there is probably a little bit of just feeling like we really, really want to make something that’s as good as and even better than the first season for our viewers.”

We asked Wiley if Jenji Cohen, the show’s creator had a talk with the cast about focusing more on the characters as a whole rather than just on main character Piper Chapman, played by Taylor Schilling.

“Well, we didn’t have some big talk with Jenji,” she replies, “I’m sure that she did with the staff writers, but it’s always felt like that Piper has been the character that the majority of people in America and around the world identify with; because she looks like what people are used to seeing on TV and things like that.”

“But what’s so great about Piper as a character is she’s basically a gateway into these other people’s lives who maybe you wouldn’t from first glance, give them the time of day,” Samira adds, “But through her we can see all these other wonderful, diverse women from all these different backgrounds and see that these people are valuable, too, and they have a story, too. Orange is the New Black has really done a great job of giving everyone, especially in the second season, an equal voice and a chance to tell their story.”

Samira was asked if the cast was familiar with the original

"Visiting Hours with Samira"

memoir.

“I don’t know if every single cast member read it,” Wiley replies, “But I read it before, or pretty much like simultaneously when we were filming, because when I found out I got the job, I had to be on set that next week and I hadn’t heard about the book before I got the job. And so, I was kind of reading it at the same time, but there was a debate between some of the actors as to whether or not reading the book would actually be helpful or harmful. Because in the beginning, a lot of the things are really similar, but the writers have delved away from the book in our scripts.”

“So I would be reading the book and reading scripts at the same time, thinking this is not what happens,” she replies, “And so, I think with the book, I would recommend it for people who really want to know what the real story is, who want to know about Piper Kerman and her time in prison, but in order to watch the show and everything like that, you definitely don’t need to read the book.”

We asked if some of the actors didn’t read the book because they didn’t want to know what happened.

“Yeah, totally,” Samira says, “For certain things for me, the book helped me in terms of just getting in the mindset of the prison world and just certain things that happen there, just figuring out the environment we’re in.”

“But in terms of the story, my character is not even in the book,” she says, “So in terms of that, I really had to pull to the scripts and go to Jenji and what she’s writing and look to that for the show.”

Kate Mulgrew, well-known in Trekkie circles for her role on the TV series Star Trek: Voyager, has a major role in the series as prison cook Galina “Red” Reznikov; and as a result has found herself

"Visiting Hours with Samira"

responding to passers by calling out the name ‘RED.’ We asked Samira if she’s had people recognize her in the streets yet shouting, “Hey, Pussy!”

“To be honest, no, that doesn’t happen as much, but it does happen sometimes,” she replies, ““People will be like, ‘Pussy!’ and I say to myself, ‘Oh, my gosh, it’s Poussey!’ It’s really funny. I remember when I first got the role, I’m still a young person and my parents are still figuring out my life, so I pretty much call them whenever big things happen. I had to call them and tell them what my character’s name was, and at that time, the character’s name is pronounced ‘pou-say,’ but I didn’t know that, I thought it was Pussy.”

“I’m like all gearing up to tell my parents, who are Baptist pastors, that I’m going to be on this prison show and my character’s name is Pussy,” Wiley continues, “It was a hilarious phone call. My mother couldn’t believe it. She thought I was playing a joke on her. She thought that I made it up and was not really telling the truth.”

We interjected that we had to imagine that this was not what they were expecting after having graduated from The Julliard School.

“I hear that… from a lot of people,” Samira laughs, “Because when I got out of school, the only professional plays that I’d done had been Shakespeare. Going to this, it’s not necessarily away from any of my training.”

“I feel that at Julliard and just acting in general, you’re supposed to be a chameleon and be able to step into anyone’s life and bring truth to it,” she adds, “So that’s all that I hope that I’m doing, whether I’m playing Shakespeare or Poussey.”

We commented on the level of talent that surrounds the series from Taylor Schilling and Laura Prepon to Jason Biggs.

“It’s phenomenal,” Wiley says, “It’s a dream come true, to be able to be around. Kate is

"Visiting Hours with Samira"

a veteran in the business and she actually lives really near me. I’ve enjoyed getting to know her and having her around and being able to observe her on set. We have not only her, but Natasha Lyonne, who’s also a vet in this business, but also being around all the new fresh faces and new people, it’s just amazing.”

“It’s great that everyone’s not new and everyone’s not old,” she adds, “It’s diverse in age, it’s diverse in size and race and experience, just in everything. I think sometimes we tend to overvalue experience and things like that, and I think that it’s really important, but I think that people who come in and they’re fresh and they don’t have any training and they’re just here and something about them, we need them in the show. I think that is just as valuable.”

We commented to Wiley about when we interviewed Kate Mulgrew in Vegas about how deep in thought she was in describing her experience of playing Red on the series. We asked Wiley if Mulgrew was doing Method acting on set.

“Yeah, absolutely,” Samira answers, “Kate’s character speaks with a Russian accent. The entire time whenever we’re filming on set, Kate never loses her accent inbetween takes. It took a little while for me to get used to, just because I haven’t done as much TV and film as I’ve done theatre and it was really interesting.”

“But like I said, I feel like it’s almost like taking a master class for me, just to be able to watch her do that and see how it helps and informs the character,” she adds, “As we’ve all seen this season, she’s amazing, and I think I’ve always looked at how Method acting is like something other, that I really don’t understand. Watching her work is a treat.”

We felt Mulgrew’s deep description of her experience playing Red upped our game as interviewers.

“It took me a while to be

"Visiting Hours with Samira"

honest to warm up to Kate, because her presence on set, she’s ‘Red’ all the time,” Samira says, “And we all know Red’s presence, she just runs that prison basically, so it took me a while to even feel like I could go up and say something to her, because she’s always speaking in a Russian accent.”

“But once I did warm up to her and I felt more comfortable, she’s just great,” she continues, “She’s a great conversationalist, she’s a great actress, I hope that she’ll be a friend for a really long time.”

We asked Samira if anything has changed for the second season in regards to an increased budget or anything like that.

“It’s interesting that you mention that, because I actually haven’t noticed that,” she replies, “Of course, I don’t know anything about the budget and what’s changed about that, but everything seems to be pretty much the same. I say the biggest change is it just felt like when everyone came back, I felt like things are settled down, but it felt like everyone came back, people were really anxious and uptight and just wanted to do a really good job.”

“People now have more ease into it,” Wiley adds, “And realize that we can trust that we know what we’re doing and people have already fallen in love with our characters and fallen in love with the stories and what we’re doing, and we can relax in that and be OK in that and just continue to produce good work and we don’t need to be walking around super-anxious all day.”

We asked Wiley if there were any little tidbits that she could reveal to us about what will be seen for Orange Is The New Black‘s second season.

“We got some new characters,” Samira says, “So it’ll definitely be everyone that everyone fell in love with last season, but also some new players, movers, and shakers in the prison. Just about my character, you’ll

"Visiting Hours with Samira"

definitely see a background episode dedicated to Poussey’s story. And just more about who she is as a woman and her morals and where her loyalty lies, and everything like that.”

We asked Samira if she and her cast have had any of the many discussions that people who watch the show have regarding morality and survival of the fittest in a prison environment.

“Absolutely, we get into those conversations,” Wiley says, “I think that it starts with whoever you happen to be on set with that day, and just organically what’s happening in the scene. If that’s something that’s big, then we automatically just organically end up in a deep conversation about it. But I think that things are a little, because we’re trying to get the season out as fast as possible, so we’re filming every single day.”

“We finish one episode one day, we’re having production on the very next episode that very next morning,” she continues, “So sometimes, I feel like in a kind of push-it-forward, sometimes, we don’t get as much time as the viewers to dwell and really think on it. I was noticing that when the first season actually came out and the cast was able to actually watch it and some of us together watch it, that’s when more of our conversations came out, rather than in the actual filming of it.”

We talk about the strange moral dilemma of Tasha “Taystee” Jefferson, who is Poussey’s friend, getting out in prison with Poussey being happy for her, but secretly not, then the flip side happens when Taystee ends up back in prison.

“Yes, it’s a crazy kind of feeling and dichotomy for Poussey, but like this happens all the time and it is so tragic,” Samira says, “How is that this woman who is, we’ve seen from the show that Taystee is smart, she’s articulate, she’s everything that she needs to be, which if she never fell into trouble, she could

"Visiting Hours with Samira"

be OK on the outside.”

“But the way things are played out, she’s comfortable,” she continues, “She knows how to play the game on the inside, and we have to, I feel like as a society, should try to fix that somehow, try to get people in programs that will reintegrate them into life on the outside, because I don’t know, but I can 100% see why she made the decision that she made, even though it’s a tragic one.”

We commented about how very few shows would go that far into revealing about human behavior like that.

“I think that’s Jenji right there,” Wiley believes, “She’s a pretty fearless woman and I’m happy to be taken under her wing.”

We asked if Wiley was just as surprised as viewers were that Laura Prepon would only be on a handful of episodes this season.

“I don’t really know exactly what’s being said in the media about that, but Laura’s around,” Samira says, “I haven’t missed her too much. She’s definitely on set and she’s around.”

We asked Samira how much time will be left before filming will be finished and a release date is set.

“I think we will be finished…” Wiley believes, “We have three or four more episodes to film for this season, so I think the prediction is sometime in mid-January when we will be finished. In terms of when you guys will get to see it, I’m really not the person to ask. I can only give you an educated guess.”

“I would probably say sometime in spring 2014, but they have been giving me a month,” she continues, “So I could be wrong in saying that. Even for me, like I’m sitting here filming it everyday, but watching it, after I filmed the whole season one, I actually got to sit down and watch it, we’re waiting for that day, too. The cast is, too, so I’ll try to bug in anyone’s ear, whoever’s influential.”

We asked Wiley what

"Visiting Hours with Samira"

else she has being made.

“It’s an independent movie,” she reveals, “The director is Raymond De Felitta and I worked with Andy Garcia, and Ray Romano is in it and Michael Pitt. I actually don’t have a big, big role in it, but I do play the opposite, the other side of the law, an FBI agent, which is pretty cool.”

“I don’t know exactly what the distribution is with that and when it will be out,” Samira continues, “But I’ll be looking forward to that, too. I saw a trailer for it recently and it looked super-cool, also based on a true story. I was honored and really happy to be there.”

We asked Samira if she got to pull out her creds and say, “FBI, FREEZE!”

“Oh, yeah, absolutely,” Wiley says, “That was the best thing about it. I was flashing it all around.”