What's great is that a lot of us are playing so against type in this, and it's awesome. All of the writers put faith in the fact that we know what we're doing. We have creative freedom, and it's awesome. I think it all worked out. Everybody on the show is so good.

I love cooking and spending time in mine.

I'm not a sun person.

Eating healthy and taking care of my body and my mind really make me come alive, and seeing others doing that inspires me to stay with it. I always feel great when I do.

Of course, we're supportive of the gay and lesbian community. I've just never portrayed that on camera. Once I met Taylor [Schilling] I knew that it was going to be really comfortable and okay, but the nudity was a little bit of an issue for me.

There's a particular hierarchy in the prison - class distinctions, high-school cliques. You have to learn how to navigate.

So, I went to Germany and ended up parasailing around this castle. I was in Germany sightseeing, eating Bratwurst and hanging out in beer gardens. And then, I got back from Germany and got a call where they were like, "We need to fly you to New York tomorrow to read with Taylor [Schilling]." I was like, "Wait, for Alex, the manipulative drug-smuggling lesbian girl?!," and they were like, "Yeah."