Uzo Aduba on Creating Crazy Eyes for "Orange Is The New Black"

Uzo, thank you so much for coming in. There are so many fans of the show in this room right now. Obsessed. And we loved your reaction when you walked in the studio. You like it here?

Oh my gosh, I love this place. Like, I'm I want to live in this hotel. I want to live on this bed. I want to stay here.

Well, none of us would mind if you just stayed. Yes. I wore orange and black in the spirit of the show today. I love it. But I wanted to ask you, cuz you have incredible style. Everywhere I see you on the red carpet, you're so styled out. Was it sort of a slingshot like I'm always have to be in this prison garb on the show. I think I'm gonna go totally in the opposite direction.

Absolutely, probably that, but I also love like, you know.

You're into fashion.

Yeah, exactly. But like, definitely, when you're in the tan every day, I think the immediate thing is, okay, I want to wear something a little bit not that like that. I don't want to. Just completely look different from the from the show.

But I heard people recognize you a ton on the show, or do people have to do a double take cuz you look so different on the show, obviously.

Yes, it is a double take. Like, I think what happens is people will be walking down the street, and so if you and I are walking towards each other, and you're me and I'm just like a stranger. People walk by me, and I just watch this head tilt thing happen where you can see them just slowly figure it out, and then they're

They're giving you the crazy eye.

Exactly. I'm like, oh, you're doing Suzanne on the street. Like you're doing amazing job. You're giving me that impromptu.

Now I have to congratulate you, you just ran the New York City marathon.

I did! Incredible.

Oh my gosh. Okay, where did this fit into your schedule of shooting the show?

The real challenge was when I was doing a play, actually, at the time. Um, because we were in rehearsal, and it was really strict. Uh, in the late spring, finding time to do it. So, I started doing it in the summer, and I was pretty, you know, stocked up and ready to go. Um, fell off a little bit as things got picked up, but um, definitely got my long runs and stuff, and and I'm just so

What does that feel like when you cross the the finish line?

Overwhelming. It's really overwhelming. I put a picture of a video on my Instagram about it cuz I just started, you know, getting closer to the finish line, and I could not believe that I'd just run 26. 2 miles.

Wow! You weren't you a runner before?

I was. Growing up. Yes, I was.

So, before you ever an actress, did you is that what you wanted to be before when you said, when I grow up, what did you want to be before you discovered acting?

Well, I wanted to be a lawyer for real.

Did you really?

Yeah, for a really long time. I I thought I wanted to be a lawyer, and then I had a teacher who introduced me to the arts and made put that in my, you know, my mind to do.

When you talk about being fearless and that being your New Year's resolution, I think your character is so fearless on the show. You're and and people, I know you've you auditioned for a different role.

Yeah.

And then they offered you this role. And I think to create somebody somebody so original, I think that's what audiences respond to, is that they've not seen her before. They've not seen a character like that. Talk to me about sort of creating her and and sort of embracing that fearlessness when you go in for a role like that.

I think it's just about trying to tell the truth, really, and just doing it fully, you know, and not not being afraid to go past the line, to take it as far as you need to take it in order to tell this person's truth, because I feel it is my responsibility playing Suzanne to to live her completely authentically, and to really give her as big and great a voice as I possibly can. And if that means challenging myself in ways or doing things that might be scary as an actor to do, I'm I'm ready to jump.

How do you think Netflix, you know, having such a breakout show on Netflix has brought a sort of a fresh take to the way people consume television?

Oh, I mean, that's how I've watched TV. You know, Netflix to me, I had Netflix before Orange, you know. So,

Like already a fan.

Yes, I was already a fan. Netflix was like absolutely. I'd been watching Breaking Bad on Netflix. That's how I discovered it, you know, and I was just eating it up. Loved it, loved it, loved it, loved it. Would watch hours of it. And um, I know that's how all my friends watch TV. Yeah. So, the idea um, you know, I have an Apple TV that seems like the way we watch TV now. So, the idea of it is just regular normal to me. It feels really normal. And I think I like the idea of being able to watch TV how I want to watch TV.

Do you have a moment sort of throughout your career, maybe getting this role, maybe a moment on set, that it it almost felt inevitable? Like, I was meant to be here at this time.

Oh, wow. You know, I was just telling this story today, um, how this part even come like came to be in my life. You know, um felt like like the day there was a time I was feeling overwhelmed, you know, with um, the auditioning of, you know, cuz I was doing theater, and then I was pursuing this, and you know, I was still trying and trying for a summer. I tried for three months that I was feeling like, oh my gosh, I'm hearing a lot of nos. And the day I thought maybe I shouldn't maybe this isn't for me, the TV, and then it was the same day that my agent called and told me that I got Orange Is the New Black.

Wow. The same day. That you're right. So, there was a sign.

Yes. The very same day. It was written in the stars. Uh, yeah.

Well, I know fans are so anticipating season two. Has there been a moment from season one or season two that you can leave us with that has been sort of your moment on set that you said this was the most fun I had.

Season one? I mean, I definitely love throwing that pie. Laura, I mean, when I you wanna talk about like, somebody who is a team player, Laura that day and Taylor were just I mean,

So okay. She took that pie.

They were just, I was like, I love you, girl. Cuz I was just, she was just like, you know, she was like bring it, you know, just ready to play. Came ready to play that day, and that was so much fun. Um, any cafeteria scene, obviously, or because we have all the girls in, and we just gabbed. I mean, they don't the crew doesn't even know what to do with us when we have everybody in there. They're like, shhh shhh shhh. We're like, just one second, we're just talking about last weekend. We had to have you know.

I love it. It's so good. Yeah. And season two, just leave us with that you can tease us with?

Season two, um, we have a lot. I mean, I I think people are gonna really like it. I hope so, at least, you know, that's my my wish. Um, we just have a good time shooting every episode, and it's like just as exciting. We have some uh Lorraine Toussaint is on our show now this season. She's coming in, recurring, and she's incredible playing um on the outside a drug runner who uses children as um her mules.

Oh.

Um so, I'll leave you with that. It's like a new idea coming in.

Yeah, yeah. Chilling. Yeah. Love it. So great to have you here. Thank you so much for coming in. We're all such big fans.

I'm a huge fan of y'all, so. Thank you. I mean, I already told you, I'm living on the couch, so you guys have to find another place to

We go. Cut the cameras. She's moving in.