Over seven seasons,Kate Mulgrewappeared on Netflix’s hit seriesOrange is the New Blackas Galina “Red” Reznikov,a tough-as-nails characterwho was just as dedicated to leading the kitchen in the daily preparation of meals as she was to her “girls” as their prison mom. There are many characters who audiences meet in Season 1, who, by the end of Season 7, have their worlds completely flipped upside down. At the end of the day, series creatorJenji Kohanwasn’t in the business of passing out happily-ever-after endings, sending some of her characters to horrific fates with immigration services andwatching others move onto the next chapter of their lives behind prison bars. For Red, viewers watched as the strong-willed and determined woman slowly descended into a bottomless pit of confusion due to early-onset dementia.
For many fans, this seemed like the most devastating and unfair way to wrap up the tale of the prison’s fiercest inmate who had been through so much both on the inside and outside the penitentiary. Over the weekend atFan Expo Boston, a fan asked Mulgrew about how she felt about Red’s final season and the character’s fate when the credits rolled after the series finale. Like many of us, the award-winning actress was less than pleased with Red’s farewell. She explained:
“I dislike it. And I told Jenji I didn’t like it. No, I didn’t like it.Jenji knew that my mother died that way. I didn’t see it in Red. I have to be honest with you, I didn’t see it in her strength, her mettle, her courage, her sharpness, her acuity, her heart, her sensitivity, her strategic sense, I didn’t see it in her culinary gift. It wasn’t represented. Was she at any point represented as an eccentric personality? Not really. [Putting on a Russian accent] Of course, she was deeply eccentric, she was a rotten prisoner with red hair and chopping people’s heads off and doing stuff like that, trying to find the chicken. [Drops accent] But she herself was not.
So,I thought it was a little hurried… If you’re gonna go that way, then let me have a minute with the audience to play it, you know what I mean? I felt a little…disappointed, I suppose, but that’s fair, it’s alright. Acting is largely just working. You never get what youreallywant because you’re not the boss. Unless you’re, you know,George Clooney.”
Kate Mulgrew Explains Why Red Appeared Less as ‘Orange Is the New Black’ Continued
The first season ofOrange is the New Blackhit screens in 2013 and immediately became Netflix’s most talked about and watched original series of all time. While there were plenty of faces involved in the show’s early days, it was characters likeTaylor Schilling’s Piper Chapman,Laura Prepon’s Alex Vause,Samira Wiley’s Poussey Washington, and Mulgrew’s Red who shared the most screen time. But, as the production grew in popularity, the story began to branch out and, by Season 4, there were fewer moments with the original gals as others stepped into the spotlight.
Explaining that this was simply the natural progression of things, Mulgrew told a fan:
“There were four of us, maybe five series regulars, in Season 1. There were eight or 10 in Season 2, 15 or 20 in Season 3, 30 in [Season] 4, 50 in [Season] 5. You get the picture? When you’re a series regular, you have to be written for because they’re paying you a lot of money, right? SoRed always was central, she never lost her centrality, she never lost her critical presence.[It] was naturally diminished over time. But I had three great seasons and, as you know, it was a game changer.Orange is the New Blackbecause Jenji Kohan knows how to break the law. Cindy Holland, who was then vice president in charge of programming, was genius.”
This isn’t to say that Mulgrew was thrilled about being featured less and less, blaming her ego for her pangs of jealousy:
“Was I sad about not having lots to do in 4 and 5? Of course, because we are full of ego. We’re truly full of ego. I’d really love to die without it. That’s my goal in life. I mean it just hangs on, I mean, I’ve [been] an actress [for] 50 years and did plenty [I’d like to think] I’d say ‘That was good. I’m done.’ But you never do. You say ‘Why am I not in more scenes? Why am I not [in frame at the moment]? What the hell is going on? I need to see the President about this.’
I really hate my ego and my vanity and, frankly the ambition has not been favorable either. What I like is my talent, my depth, my decency andmy absolute capacity to commit to a character 150%.”
You can stream all seven seasons ofOrange is the New Blacknow on Netflix in the U.S. Stay tuned to Collider for more news out ofFan Expo!
Orange is The New Black
Convicted of a decade old crime of transporting drug money to an ex-girlfriend, normally law-abiding Piper Chapman is sentenced to a year and a half behind bars to face the reality of how life-changing prison can really be.
