Taryn Manningsays she had to go “method” in order to play inmate Tiffany “Pennsatucky” Doggett on the Netflix seriesOrange Is the New Black.
In a recent interview withThe Hollywood Reporter, the 40-year-old actress — who has starred as Pennsatucky since season 1— agreed that the character is “racist, homophobic” and “horrible.”
“Everything that I’m not is what she was, so it was very tough,” Manning explained.
“I gave myself a lot of pep talks: ‘Just muscle through this and you’re going to come out the other side. But if you’re going to do this, do it well,'” she continued. “So, I didn’t make many friends that first season. I isolated myself.”
“‘She wouldn’t talk to them anyway, she doesn’t like them,'” Manning explained of her thoughts at the time. “As they all got along and had a great time, I was sitting over on the side in character like, ‘Screw them.’ That’s when I realized that I was a little bit more method than I thought.”
Faye Sadou/MediaPunch
Manning then said she thought she’d “be assassinated” for playing the role of Pennsatucky.
“She’s such a horrible person!” the actress said. “But when it first came out, I will never forget. I was with Lea [DeLaria, anOITNBcostar] in New York the day after and it was like the Beatles were walking down the street. Girls screaming and crying and wanting a hug. I’ve never hugged so many people in my life. … People just relate to this show on such another level.”
The actress also shared that she’s learned “so much” from her time onOITNB.
“I learned so much from that role, it changed my life,” Manning said. “I became very, very religious … And I’ve said ‘no’ to about six roles that I’ve been offered since [that are similar]. I definitely need to work, but I can’t continue to play awful people or stereotypes. It just doesn’t resonate with me … I’m a good person and not this horrible person that people want to send me roles for; I don’t want to play it anymore. It’s exhausting and it hurts.”
Taryn Manning inOrange is the New Black.JoJo Whilden/Netflix
On Sunday, Manningclaimed that her Instagram account was hackedafter she shared a postseemingly slamming the show and her costars.
“My account was so epically hacked. I am back in and I am sorry,” the8 Mileactress explained alongsidea photofromOITNB, one day after sharing a post that claimed the show “hurt me more than anything has in my life” and accused her castmates of not caring about her.
“This show hurt me more than anything has in my life and if this is what I have to do to push what I stand for I will,” the post read. “I have to speak out before anything happens to me. F— fame! This show hurts humans. You will never truly know but many were hurt!”
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The message concluded with, “Not one cast member cares about me. Just watch.”
Lori Petty, one of Manning’sOITNBcostars, commented on her now-deleted post, leaving three heart emojis and writing, “Hey. I love you.”
“Thx bubs I know you do,” a response from Manning’s account read. “And I love you. I am giving up everything to speak on how awful this career is and how awful we are treated. How I never knew if I was coming back yet I had seven optional seasons. How I didn’t even know how to plan my life, organize anything cause everything was a secret. Self serving bulls—, for whatever sick agenda. How some of the most dear characters were just not there anymore. My pals. F— this show. This show hurt me so bad.”
source: people.com
