Orphan Black’s Tatiana Maslany hints at Season 3 direction

Tatiana Maslany wants fans to know that Season 3 will offer introspection to the lives of Leda clones. But expect some bumps with Castor clones suddenly disrupt the Leda truce.

Orphan Black returns to the small screen tonight for Season 3 on BBC America. Tatiana Maslany opened up to Entertainment Weekly on what it’s like to play so many clones.

Maslany plays multiple clones and characters, often in the same scene, and each one are individuals without a lot of bleed over in experience. So when EW asked the actress what it was like to play strong women with complicated lives, the answer seemed to indicate what really touches the production the most is fan reaction.

Being strong, seeing the stories engage fans helps keep the quality of the show up. “Whenever things get tough on set or we don’t know where to go from here or something, I think the fan response definitely plays into how we move forward and what inspires us.”

As for those story lines, “we definitely don’t take them lightly but it’s not like there’s a burden carried by these stories. We’re bolstered by it. We see the impact of the storytelling and it just emboldens us to continue telling those stories.”

Saying the response is “like fuel for us,” the actress also says it’s nice to be able to support another person experiencing the act of cloning. While Maslany plays 10 different clones, Ari Millen will be playing a few as the male version this season.

And she adds, “It was really nice to be on the other side of those scenes and get to experience what the other actors get to do all the time.” In fact, she /4/have just been a little excited to finally “take a little breather and not have a clone change” in the middle of a scene or storyline. For once, she gets to see the other side.

When Millen spoke to EW in March, he said the hard part revolved around remembering that when shooting multiple clone scenes, “you can only shoot one side of the scene at a time.” The largest difficulty involved planning out “what the other guy wanted to do in the scene as well.” Probably similar to having three versions piping up in the mind without a leader in sight.

So the compliment she pays him about getting it on day one being impressive really offers the harder elements of playing such distinctive characters against your own memory and digital manipulation. BBC America and production provides a physical stand-in. Millen complimented Nick Abraham, his performance double, since the reactions help to round out the performance.

Letting it slip that “there’s more of an internal” struggle starting tonight, Maslany says this season is a lot different than being able to simply “recognize their archetypes” by sight now. Instead, the characters and story lines progress in an “an out-of-reality element” that really pushes the boundaries of the sci-fi series. What that means for the clones, like Helena, Sarah, and Alison remain to be seen.

The trailer hints that different intention for cloning each gender means an all out-war /4/be starting. And last month the magazine set down with show runner and creator John Fawcett, who promised a deeper mystery with the military cloning. Tonally, the shift will happen due to the set up gender dynamics. But another big shift will be in dynamics of power.

“Topside is a kind of cabal and Dyad falls under its control. Castor is outside of that.” So that means the war will be happening on many angles and conflicts. And while the Castor clones will appear, the “Leda clones are the heart and soul of the story.” He also revealed that Ksenia Solo (Lost Girl) shows up in clone Cosima’s world, too. The women are still going to be the center. There’s just a new agency out to make a few waves.

Hopefully next year, the industry will recognize that Tatiana Maslany plays seven characters without snubbing the star for best actress. After all, that’s a lot of dialogue, characterization, and memorization to remember in every single scene. BBC America’s line up isn’t HBO, but the network is bolstered by the fact it’s a BBC production and the star manages to invite more and more fans in every season.

Orphan Black premieres Saturday, April 18, at 9 PM ET/PT.

Source: Entertainment Weekly