Orphan Black is poised to have a huge third season, and actress Tatiana Maslany is leading the charge with her critically acclaimed (and fan beloved) performances on the show. Not only will this season of Orphan Black introduce the first set of clones not played by Maslany, with Ari Millen playing the male clones from Project Castor (bro clones?), but the Orphan Black Season 3 premiere will be broadcast on BBC America as well as all of the AMC Networks (AMC, SundanceTV, IFC and We TV), due to the acquisition of BBC America by AMC.
With the stakes raised this season and Maslany’s stable of Project Leda clones facing more threats from all angles than ever, the actress took some time on a recent conference call with journalists to give us a look into what to expect from Orphan Black Season 3. Beware of mild spoilers for Season 2 and Season 3.
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What were your thoughts when you found out there would be another group of clones, this time male, on the show?
I was really excited about the prospect. I think Ari [Millen] is such a strong actor and I think what they offer us is an another exploration of nature/nurture – a different one, a different perspective, a different kind of experiment. The Leda clones were raised in disparate circumstanc:es, separate from each other, and so for them to discover each other is kind of their journey and to come to terms with the fact that they’re clones is their journey. But the Castor clones were raised self-aware and sort of in a unit, so there is a very different experience that they bring to that kind of question.
Did you have any advice for co-star Ari Millen, who will also be playing multiple clones this season?
We definitely talked about the challenge of it. Ari is an amazing actor and definitely had his own take and his own process, in terms of what it was for him. I think when you’re facing something like this, it’s always nice to have somebody as an ally, and we definitely have sort of an open discussion going any time something came up.
When I saw his first clone scene, I saw a rough cut of it, and it was unbelievable. His understanding of the technical side of it, while still being able to be present and be relaxed and not make it about just the technical – I was amazed by it. He was a kind of natural at it. It’s very cool to watch someone go through this, the same process I did.
Has having another set of clones played by a new actor added to the complexity and time it takes to film?
I think what we do on the show is that as soon we get comfortable with one way of doing something, we sort of try to screw ourselves up a little bit. We like to push the boundaries of what we were able to do and our limits in those clone scenes. You definitely see more complex clone work this season, and that’s just because we’re getting more comfortable with the technology and we’re excited by getting to further complicating things.
John Fawcett, who’s the showrunner of our series, he’s crazy about adding new challenges to those scenes and making them more difficult. Yeah, it’s real good fun. We never sort of get used to them. We get used to what we’ve done in them already, but we add things like pouring wine or five clones in one scene or whatever. We always try to make it more interesting for ourselves and for the audience.
Will Alison and Donnie be fully reconciled now that he knows about the clones and they had the “dead body” bonding moment?
Yeah, I think Alison and Donnie – we’ve sort of seen them come together by the end of Season 2. There’s a sense of understanding why the two of them “get” each other and why they work. We’ve only ever seen them in conflict before this, so it’s really kind of nice to get to explore their romantic feelings for each other and their sense of being a team. We definitely get to see a lot more of that in Season 3.
Can you tell us about the developing friendship between Cosima and Felix in Season 3?
The two of them have been a little bit at odds for some reason, not because of any overt thing, but Jordan [Gavaris] was just like, “I don’t think Felix trusts Cosima.” And I’m like, “Alright, that’s interesting.” So we got to explore a more sort of slow-burn relationship between the two of them, and they have so much in common in terms of a shared experience, in terms of being lonely, there is just a heartache in the two of them, so we really get to see that a little bit this season.
And Cosima has sort of been thrust on Felix because she’s living at his place and he kind of can’t get rid of her. Another unlikely coming together of two people. Felix needs to have those unlikely friendships with the clones, Alison and him came together even though they sort of despised each other. There’s an interesting “two sides of the same coin” in that relationship.
With Delphine becoming the new “Rachel” at Dyad, what does that mean for her relationship with Cosima?
I think Delphine and Cosima have always kind of been on the opposite sides of the equation, in terms of Delphine really being her monitor and sort of having to pull the wool over Cosima’s eyes a little bit. But Cosima yet continues to trust Delphine and continues to love her and sort of romanticized what they could be, and I think the two of them just love to be able to be together.
But unfortunately Delphine has to cover herself and Cosima has to protect her sisters, so they sort of end up being again on opposite sides of the equation. It’s an interesting season for the two of them, but I won’t say too much about what happens. But there’s definitely a lot of conflict.
Will we see Tony, the transgender clone, again this season?
I won’t spoil too much, but Tony was an awesome addition to our exploration of identity in Season 2. I would just like to see him and Felix, and sort of continue to explore what that relationship could be and to get more back story on who Tony is. I think there is a lot to mine there and we’ve barely scratched the surface.
Will this season address how Kira is “special” as has been alluded to previously on the show?
Kira definitely has been such a driving force in Sarah’s world, and the stakes of her relationship with Sarah continues to be a big driving force. Sarah unfortunately has to make some really difficult decisions this season and those will affect Kira, and we’ll see this family unit be compromised. I won’t say too much about it, but that’s sort of a little spoiler.
What can you say about the guest stars this season, including James Frain and Justin Chatwin?
Oh, totally awesome. I won’t say too, too much about the characters, because I don’t know what I can say and what I can’t say. But they’re definitely awesome characters. James was such a blast to work with and such a compelling actor, and kind of has this sort of darkness to him that’s so fun to play opposite of. And Justin is hilarious and offered a real great comedy to the series. We’re really lucky and honored to have these sort of people come and do the show with us and are fans of the show and take time out of their schedules to come and play.
Is it fun or exciting to see in a script that you’re going to have to do a scene as a character playing a character, or do you just slump your shoulders, sigh and try to figure it out?
I don’t do a lot of figuring out. I love those scenes so much and they’re such a confusing, disorienting experience, but I love them. They are so much fun to play. I always feel a little bit out to lunch… out to sea, not out to lunch. A little out to lunch as well, but a little bit out to sea. There’s a lot of room for mistakes and a lot freedom to play, and a lot of room to experiment with the size of things and how bad somebody’s impersonation of someone else is, or how great it is or who is a good actor and who is not. It’s really fun. And [it’s fun to] play with how the clones see each other. What Alison’s version of Sarah versus what Sarah’s version of Alison is, or Rachel. It’s really fun.
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Orphan Black Season 3 premieres on Saturday, April 18 at 9pm ET, only on BBC America.