Orange Is The New Black – Cast & Crew talk about Taylor Schilling in THR interview 

From THR

JEN EUSTON, CASTING DIRECTOR People were passing. That first season was a lot of begging. Nobody knew what this was. Piper was the hardest role to cast. Jenji said she needed a unicorn and I had nobody. I was looking for Piper the entire pilot and didn’t end up casting her until two weeks before.

HERRMANN We met with Katie Holmes and Kate Hudson.

EUSTON I had been tracking Taylor Schilling the whole time we were reading people but she was on vacation. I finally got her in and sent her best readings to Jenji. I said, “I found her.” And Jenji said, “You did.” [Editor’s note: Taylor Schilling was not available for interviews and did not respond to emailed questions before publication.]

HERRMANN There was a naturalism to Taylor that is undeniable. And the match was made during the chemistry read between Laura Prepon and Taylor.

LAURA PREPON (ALEX VAUSE) A lot of the girls read for other characters. When I read Alex, I was like, “This makes way more sense.” When Taylor and I read together, it was that X-factor you can never explain. When I left I thought, “That was awesome and special.” I got the call and moved to New York three days later.

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