Tag Archives: Tatiana Maslany

Orphan Black: The cast and creators say goodbye

This is it, Orphan Black fans. The last dance. The final farewell. Or, as the production sheets said during filming of Season 5: Swan Song. This Saturday at 10 p.m. ET on Space, that beloved club of clones returns to the small screen for the last 10 episodes.

Earlier this year, TV, Eh was among a handful of media who were invited to the set for a super-secret tour guided by co-creator John Fawcett (I’ve included some images in this story) , got up close and personal with the experts on hair, makeup and wardrobe and locked in a few precious moments with Fawcett and Graeme Manson and stars Tatiana Maslany, Kevin Hanchard, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Jordan Gavaris, Evelyne Brochu and Kristian Bruun.

Here are the answers we got to the queries we gave:

Co-creators John Fawcett and Graeme Manson
What are you most proud of when it comes to Orphan Black?
John Fawcett: There are so many things. I think I’m most proud of the fact that this was a show that shouldn’t have gotten made in the first place. Nobody wanted to make it and the show is a bit weird. What Graeme and I had in our brains was a mashup and I don’t think there was a lot of conviction from anyone. It was a ludicrous premise that we somehow made a believable place and garnered enough support from the media and from fans that we could keep the thing going for five seasons. It’s been a really, really wild journey. Graeme and I were new coming into this. Tatiana was new. We had all worked in the industry before but this was kind of our first show. It’s been life-changing.

Graeme Manson: We’re also all very proud of the fact we took this somewhat ludicrous sci-fi conceit, grounded it enough and imbued it with enough character that it became inspirational for so many young people, so many young women and that Tatiana and so many other women who work on the show kept the feminist themes of the show—identity, nature versus nurture, themes of diversity, inclusion—this is the fabric of the show and we were able to say important things on this crazy clone show. That’s something we’re all pretty proud of.

Did you always have the same final scene for the show in your heads from Episode 1 of Season 1?
John Fawcett: Graeme and I have had the same thing in our head from the very beginning. The process of making this show … there has been a very organic nature to it. Sometimes you absolutely know how things are going to go and often it doesn’t and it goes in a different direction. Our collaboration goes beyond just us. We have a much bigger collaboration because we have a very talented group of writers and really talented performers and we have a small family around us from the beginning and we’re very tight. The inspiration comes from all different directions. Things have altered, but have kind of stayed the same.

Season 5 will be a hair-raising ride

Jordan Gavaris and Maria Doyle Kennedy
Jordan, you said you grew up on Orphan Black. What did you learn about yourself as an actor and a person?
Jordan Gavaris: I learned I’m an activist. I learned that, if I wasn’t an actor I’d probably have gone to law school and probably working for the ACLU or in politics. What I learned more than anything is about the intersection between genders. I’ve been watching some very interesting artists over the years and the really, really great ones that everyone seems to celebrate culturally are these people who understood that gender is not real. David Bowie is a really good example. He got the intersection between masculinity and femininity, men and women. He figured out that women are great. And they always have been great. I’ve also learned a lot about leadership watching Tat. She moves through a business that is very much about aesthetic and it can be very oppressive. She is a unique paradigm when it comes to how she leads a set and there is a trickle down effect of her leadership. That perspective is what makes Orphan Black so unique. Her voice is in everything you see. Felix was such

Felix was such an exploration of all my feminine parts and I think it’s important to take the femininity to other characters that aren’t necessarily Felix or look like Felix or sound like Felix. They might be an attorney or doctor or whatever … I can bring what I discovered about my own feminity to them.

Are you taking anything from the set as a souvenir?
Jordan Gavaris: Oh yeah, I’ve gone full klepto. I’ve taken paintings, necklaces, cool pieces of costume. I’m stealing stuff.

Maria Doyle Kennedy: The only thing I want to take aside from my memories is this little wire bracelet. I think it’s the only thing I’ve had since Season 1 and I pretty much never take it off.

Kevin Hanchard
What are these final episodes going to be like for fans?

Kevin Hanchard: I don’t think we’re going for cheesy gotcha moments, it’s about the wonderful base and the wonderful story we’ve built and the tangents we’ve built from that. It’s time for the laser focus. It’s only 10 episodes, so it’s gotta go really quick. It builds to a head. I think fans will be happy.

Tatiana Maslany
Where did you put your Primetime Emmy?

Tatiana Maslany: My mom didn’t know it was in this box and she put a plant on top of it. It’s in a pretty chill zone.

Orphan Black airs Saturdays at 10 p.m. ET on Space.

Want to make Alison’s face lotion? Here’s the recipe!

 

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Link: Tatiana Maslany says shooting the final season of Orphan Black has been “Extremely Emotional”

From Ryan Roschke of PopSugar:

Link: Tatiana Maslany says shooting the final season of Orphan Black has been “Extremely Emotional”
“We’re five episodes into the last 10, and it’s been extremely emotional. I think, because of what’s going on in the world, it feels vital to be telling these stories. And, all of your clones are very much experiencing things that are related to all of this crap. They’re disparate, they’re separated, and they kind of have to come together.” Continue reading. 

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Production underway on final season of Orphan Black

From a media release:

– Canadian actors Elyse Levesque, Andrew Moodie, Simu Liu, Jenessa Grant, and Stephen McHattie join the cast for Season 5 –
– Returning ensemble cast includes Jordan Gavaris, Kristian Bruun, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Kevin Hanchard, Ari Millen, Josh Vokey, Evelyne Brochu, and Skyler Wexler –

Space, BBC America, and Temple Street announced today that production is underway on the fifth and final season of the critically acclaimed award-winning series ORPHAN BLACK. Season 5 sees the return of Tatiana Maslany to her Emmy® Award-winning role as multiple Leda clones on the Canadian Screen Award and Peabody Award-winning series ORPHAN BLACK. Set to return to Space in 2017, 10 one-hour episodes are currently filming in Toronto. All past seasons of ORPHAN BLACK are available now exclusively on CraveTV™.

Joining the cast of ORPHAN BLACK this season are Elyse Levesque (SGU STARGATE UNIVERSE) as Detective Engers, a dirty Neolution cop who is a true believer; Andrew Moodie (COVERT AFFAIRS) as Mr. Frontenac, Rachel’s new mysterious consultant; Simu Liu (KIM’S CONVENIENCE) as Mr. Mitchell, Kira’s new teacher; Jenessa Grant (REIGN) as Mud, an eclectic young islander, and Stephen McHattie (THE STRAIN) as P.T. Westmoreland, the mythical 170-year-old founder of Neolution.

Returning to the final season of ORPHAN BLACK are fan-favourites Jordan Gavaris as Sarah’s battle-worn foster brother Felix; Kristian Bruun as Alison’s incredibly devoted husband Donnie; Maria Doyle Kennedy as Sarah and Felix’s fiercely loyal and stouthearted foster mother Mrs. S; Kevin Hanchard as Art, a detective torn between being a good cop and his loyalty to the clones; Ari Millen as castor clone Ira; Josh Vokey as Scott, science geek and confidante to Cosima; and Skyler Wexler as Sarah’s daughter Kira. Also returning this season is James Frain as Ferdinand, an intimidating and scheming executive; Evelyne Brochu as love-torn scientist Delphine, and Calwyn Shurgold as Hell Wizard.

New writers for Season 5 include Jeremy Boxen (KILLJOYS), Greg Nelson (FRONTIER), Jenn Engels (BITTEN), David Bezmozgis (Natasha), Renee St Cyr (Deadly Voltage), Natalia Guled (IRL: THE SERIES), and Aisha Porter-Christie (DEFIANCE) alongside returning writers Alex Levine and ORPHAN BLACK co-creator/writer Graeme Manson. Returning to direct is co-creator John Fawcett, along with David Frazee (FLASHPOINT); Aaron Morton (SPARTACUS: WAR OF THE DAMNED); David Wellington (SAVING HOPE, VIKINGS), Grant Harvey (BITTEN), and Helen Shaver (VIKINGS).

ORPHAN BLACK is executive produced by Ivan Schneeberg and David Fortier (X COMPANY, KILLJOYS), Graeme Manson (Cube, FLASHPOINT), John Fawcett (SPARTACUS, Ginger Snaps), and Kerry Appleyard (X COMPANY). The series is co-created by Manson and Fawcett, with Manson also serving as writer and Fawcett as director. BBC Worldwide distributes the series internationally.

ORPHAN BLACK is produced by Temple Street, a division of Boat Rocker Studios, in association with Space and BBC America.

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Link: Tatiana Maslany on ‘Orphan Black’ Diversity: “It’s Something I’m Most Proud Of On Our Show”

From Ross A. Lincoln of Deadline:

Link: Tatiana Maslany On ‘Orphan Black’ Diversity: “It’s Something I’m Most Proud Of On Our Show”
“I’ve always felt, also, that our show kind of transcends the genre. The conceit is sci-fi, but it focuses more on the human aspect, what it is to be human, what is it to be an individual; how do you exist as an individual in a system that seeks to commodify you? We’re lucky that we’ve hit onto something in that balance.” Continue reading.

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Link: Tatiana Maslany of ‘Orphan Black’ on Show’s Complex LGBTQ Storytelling

From Alamin Yohannes of NBC News:

Link: Tatiana Maslany of ‘Orphan Black’ on Show’s Complex LGBTQ Storytelling
When Tatiana Maslany landed the lead role on BBC America’s “Orphan Black” she was “terrified to start” and could not have imagined what the series could become. Now heading into next year’s final season, “Orphan Black” — and its two-time-Emmy-nominated star — have a substantial LGBTQ following, thanks in part to the series’ commitment to complex LGBTQ representation. Continue reading. 

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