‘Orphan Black’s Tatiana Maslany On Twerking: ‘It Was So Much Fun’

When the series Orphan Black is brought up in conversation, one of the first things to be commented upon is Tatiana Maslany’s versatility as an actress for playing so many clones of herself. Many wonder how the Orphan Black star manages to keep her roles straight and Ms. Maslany, confirming the suspicions of Orphan Black fans, admits that she finds the task daunting at times.

“Honestly, when it comes to the storylines and the plot, I have to just stay in the moment because…it is confusing. My brain doesn’t function in the long term, it’s more in the moment. So I think my instincts at this point are with the characters, in that I understand them to the extent that if I’m present in that moment, I trust that that’s where the character’s at. And I work with awesome directors who keep me in the right zone and make sure that it’s all moving in the right direction.”

Many Orphan Black fans feel slighted for Tatiana, as Emmy season nears each year and there is no win for Maslany. Certainly, one who slips into so many roles so seamlessly on a weekly basis deserves the recognition an award would represent, say some Orphan Black fans. Ms. Maslany would like to win, of course, but Tatiana points out that many women are doing extraordinary things in television.

“I think television is the place that all of the unique characters are coming from right now. I think it’s a societal thing, and I think that women are really stepping into a place of power in TV, in terms of all leading series…I mean all these series that are helmed by women…I think that I’m really lucky to have the job I do, and any actor would dive at it the way I do. But TV right now is where women are just killing it, I think.”

One of the most compelling scenes in this season of Orphan Black was the twerking scene, but Tatiana reveals that it wasn’t as hard to film as it might have appeared.

“You’re kind of naked in front of 40 men who are filming you and just kind of waiting for the day to end. For me and Kristian [Bruun], it was kind of a dream come true because he had always wanted to be in a music rap video. So it was just like getting to play out your childhood fantasy and it was just the most fun. We shot it in two takes. We had done that whole day with Rachel grieving the death of her father–it was like the most dark days you could possibly imagine. And that was the very last scene with the Alison and Donnie twerking. So it was just like a really nice release. It was so much fun.”

Tatiana reveals her hopes for the future of Orphan Black in a way that shows her own growth, as well as the advancement of Orphan Black as a whole. For Ms. Maslany, she feels that, as an actress, plot is far less important than character development for the success of a season.

“I feel like there are a lot of possibilities. And again, plot, to me, is really foreign and doesn’t really mean much. But in terms of the characters growing and changing, I think that they’ve grown up so much in the past three seasons, and I think that if we continue to change them and challenge them, that’s all I’m interested in really.”

Orphan Black airs on Saturdays on BBC and BCC America.

[Featured image: Tatiana Maslany courtesy of Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Critics’ Choice Television Awards]