Hypable participated in a conference call with Orphan Black‘s leading lady, Tatiana Maslany, where she discussed Project Castor, Project Leda and much more.
After the last season, how is Sarah’s relationship with Mrs. S. and Paul?
I think what Mrs. S. and Paul did to Helana definitely changed the game in terms of who Sarah can trust. I think Paul was always someone Sarah was weary of and at this point it sealed the deal on how she feels about him. But Mrs. S is definitely more complicated because Sarah really started taking on the idea of her being her mother, and this betrayal is so enormous that it forces Sarah into some of the most difficult choices she’s had to make so far on the series.
Is Alison and Donny’s the strongest relationship this season?
We’ve definitely seen them come together at the end of season 2 and there’s this understanding of why the two of them get each other and why they work. We’ve only ever seen them in conflict before this so its nice to get to explore their romantic feelings about each other. And we definitely get to see that a lot more in season 3!
What does Delphine’s new job mean for the relationship between Delphine and Cosima?
I think Delphine and Cosima have always been on opposite sides of the equation in terms of Delphine really being her monitor and sort of having to, you know, pull the wool over Cosima’s eyes a little bit. Cosima continually trusts Delphine and continues to love her and romanticize what they can be. I think the two of them would love to be together but unfortunately Delphine has to cover herself and Cosima has to protect her sisters, so they end up being again on the opposite ends of the equation. It’s an interesting season for the two of them, but I won’t say too much about what happens.
Any chance to see Tony again?
I won’t spoil too much but yeah, Tony was an awesome addition to our exploration of identity in season 2 and I would like to see him and Felix continue to explore what that relationship could be and to get more backstory on who Tony is. I think there’s a lot there and we barely scratched the surface.
Did you have any advice for Ari about playing multiple characters this season?
We definitely talked about the challenge of it and Ari is an amazing actor and has his own take on the characters. I think when you’re facing something like this, it definitely takes something like an ally and we had an open discussion going any time there was something that came up. When I saw his first clone scene it was kind of unbelievable, his understanding of the technical side of it while still being able to be present and relaxed and not make it about just the technical, I was just amazed by it. He’s a natural at it, so yeah it’s very cool to see someone else go through the same process I did.
Is it gratifying to see how inspirational your characters have been to so many women at cons?
Yeah, those events are the most exciting part of the “other stuff” of the job. It feels amazing to get to meet the fans and interact with them in a personal way. For them to tell us how the show affected them is unbelievable, I never expected that. We’ve always been really humbled and inspired by our fans and their dedication to this show and their breaking down of the show and also just how it changes their own lives. It’s incredible. You don’t expect that and we’re lucky that we’re in a world where we’re able to interact and discuss important things with our fans.
You play so many integral characters on the show, so do the showrunners give you a heads up when you’re about to do something huge or do you learn as you get the script?
There’s a lot that I learn when I read the scripts, which is nice for me because I can’t keep too much plot in my head. It’s nice to be in the dark a little bit but John [Fawcett] and Graeme [Manson], the creators of the show, have this great open door policy in terms of what’s going on and where we’re headed, and have asked for my input and my ideas about characters and new characters so it’s a really collaborative thing. Not every TV show can really say that. It’s a really unique position to be in as the lead actress to have that kind of say, I appreciate it.
Now that Ari [Millen] is in the mix, have his clones increased the complexity and time it takes to film these scenes?
Yeah, I think what we tend to do on the show is as soon as we get comfortable with one way of doing something we kind of screw ourselves up a little bit, haha. We like to push the boundaries of what we’re able to do and the limits of those clone scenes. You’ll definitely see more complex clone works this season and that’s just because we’re more comfortable with the technology and we’re excited to further complicate things. John Fawcett is crazy excited about adding more of those scenes and making them more difficult. It’s really fun, we never sort of get used to them — we’re used to what we’ve done but then we start adding on to it to make it more interesting to the audience.
Obviously Rachel had such an important season 2 finale. Was that, for you, a really important episode for her showing where she was mentally? What about her scenes were your favorite?
It’s always cool to take a character that’s always been seen one way and get to expand her in a different direction. Rachel has always been sort of buttoned up and aloof and difficult to access emotionally, so it was fun pushing her in a different direction and letting things unravel. I think a lot of these clones are dealing with identity and family has a lot to do with that and any time we get a little glimpse into the backstory of into any of them it’s always a little exciting seeing them be shaken up by it, especially by Rachel who’s always buttoned up and seemingly together and untouched by any kind of pain or fears.
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