I love hearing Laverne Cox laugh. When something tickles her, it’s the most joyful sound. This year, she was one of the people to announce the nominations for the Primetime Emmy Awards, and she brought the drama when she read through her categories. “I wanted to have fun with it,” she said.
For the last seven years, Cox has been on the forefront of fighting for transgender visibility in television and films, and this season she celebrates her fourth and final Emmy nomination for her work on Orange is the New Black as Sophia Burset, an inmate who finally begins a life that she can claim for herself.
We only see Cox briefly in Orange’s final season, but it soothes us to see Sophia doing well and running her own salon when she encounters Taylor Schilling’s Piper Chapman for the last time. Sophie encourages Piper to not dwell on her time in prison and insists that she has to look forward in order to be happy. Much like Sophia, Cox is excited for the roles that might come her way.
With Netflix’s Disclosure, she contributed to a conversation about the struggle of transgender performers to gain an inch in the entertainment industry. It’s a beautiful documentary and Cox’s involvement engages us even more from the moment we see her on screen.
When we talked about women who inspired her, Cox was quick to tell me that she binged Schitt’s Creek and Animal Kingdom. She was amazed by Catherine O’Hara and Ellen Barkin and how they own every frame they are in by just committing so fully to their stories despite being two different genres and types of shows. With Cox’s fierce intelligence and emotional strength, I’m sure she will find exactly what she is looking for to inspire her.
Awards Daily: There has been some distance from when the show ended.
Laverne Cox: Mmhmm.
AD: Orange is the New Black really launched you into the stratosphere in many ways. What are your feelings now that the show has ended and this is the final go around?
LC: I just did an interview with Rain Valdez, my friend who is nominated for her short series, Razor Tongue. She is the second openly transgender Primetime Emmy nominee. What is beautiful, for me, is that for six years, I was only one and now it’s nice to see people walking through those doors because I was given an opportunity. I think that is how I, in some ways, think about Orange. I love what’s happening with all the beautiful women of Pose and some of the nonbinary actors on television now. I like to think about the people who come afterwards and take their space up in media in so many different ways. Trans people have so much visibility in so many different ways. I’m so excited about that. I think about all the amazing people I got to work with. A lot of the beautiful people I’ve worked with aren’t singled out in this wonderful way.
AD: Yeah, that cast is so huge and so wonderful.
LC: Often one or two people are nominated several times and some people never get that recognition. That kind of happened with Orange. I always think about the people who are looked over and there are so many powerhouses on our show. They never got to have this moment, and I like to remind people that this is an ensemble.
AD: I sometimes think the Television Academy should give out an ensemble award because there are so many huge casts like Orange. Even watching your nominated episode, I was reminded of all the storylines in the final season that are so great.
LC: I could start shouting out people but we would be here for a while. (Laughs)
AD: (Laughs) We would. In your nominated episode, we see Sophia a few times and she mainly interacts with Piper now that both of your characters are out of prison. What do you think it was like for Sophia to see someone outside of prison that she shared that experience with? She tells Piper, “You don’t have to pretend anymore.”
LC: It’s such an interesting thing. We talked a lot about how Sophia would look and how she would fashion herself. She finished her transition and then got sent away to prison so she never had the chance to enjoy her womanhood in that way. Let’s make her fabulous! For me, Sophia really wanted to leave all that behind and assume this New York fabulous life. But then, you know, she has to go to the probation office. Yes, she’s formerly incarcerated, but she’s not about that life. (Laughs)
AD: (Laughs)
LC: Running into Piper almost felt like this condescending way of saying, “Why isn’t your shit together?” It felt judgmental and I think that was right. There is a bit of judgment around it and that condescension was about her wanting to leave all of that behind. Most people don’t have the privilege to do that. When you can open your own business, you have the freedom to write your own ticket and make a new life for yourself. When they are in the salon together later, they can get back into that old rhythm. It’s so interesting to think about all the times that Piper was in Sophia’s salon in prison and then we get to see them outside of prison in the same roles. It was really nice. I love our show. (Laughs)
AD: I love when you bump into her at the probation office. Your jacket has this fur or something at the top that makes it a little more fabulous. It’s like Sophia sees herself as a femme fatale anywhere she goes.
LC: (Laughs) Femme fatale at the probation office.
AD: “Just have to pop into the office for this one quick thing…”
LC: Yeah.
AD: Do you think that Sophia would keep that part of her past a secret from people?
LC: I don’t think she would tell anyone until she fell in love with someone and she would have to go through the trauma and deal with it. Ultimately, I think Sophia needs therapy to deal with the traumas she’s dealing with from her experiences in prison. I don’t think she’s dealing with them to be honest. She probably doesn’t trust people. If she met someone and fell in love and she would need to tell them in order to be intimate with them. It would bring up all this stuff, though. If there was a spin-off, Sophia would be in therapy. (Laughs) I think she’s in denial about it and I think it’s going to catch up with her if she doesn’t deal with it.
AD: I had wondered if she was in a relationship now that she’s out. I’m always curious if the characters are all right, and that was one of the things that I thought about with your character. I would love to see that spin-off. Can I ask you about Disclosure?
LC: Of course.
AD: I’ve seen that documentary about three times now.
LC: Oh my gosh. Wow.
AD: I’m personally really excited to watch anything that has to do with the history of the LGBTQ community, especially if it is told through the lens of entertainment. I want to know what it’s like for you now that the documentary is out and people can react to it.
LC: Three times? Thank you so much. Netflix doesn’t give us those numbers. (Laughs)
AD: It’s so good.
LC: We have been really blown away by the reception because it was such a hard film to make. It was a hard film to sell. We were thrilled for it to be a Netflix original. We wanted to work really hard to make sure as many people saw it as possible. The reaction is unexpected and overwhelming. Ultimately, I’ve been thinking a lot about my Emmy nomination and I think about politics and I think about the change that needs to happen in the world in terms of diversity. We need movement that creates change. How do we raise consciousness first to create a movement that can change the systems that can change the material conditions of people’s lives?
AD: Yes.
LC: Disclosure is, for me, an important consciousness-raising tool that will, hopefully, inspire people to mobilize in terms of movements so we can change Hollywood and how it functions. Who is in the room and who is telling stories to who is on crews and who is casting and making all the decisions. Then how do those movements translate into systemic change to change material conditions for people in real life. To help poor people of color and trans people. It’s an ingredient in a larger conversation. I do think that raising consciousness has been part of my job for the last six or seven years. I’m not a grassroots organizer, but I am a storyteller. I want to tell more stories. I am so inspired right now, and I have been watching so much stuff right now.
AD: Oh, yeah. What are you watching?
LC: I just watched Schitt’s Creek for the first time
AD: Whaaaat?!
LC: A week ago from last Saturday, a girlfriend told me that I had to watch it. I watched the first episode and within five days I watched all six seasons.
AD: Wow!
LC: I cried most of the last two episodes. Oh my god, I bawled my eyes out. Catherine O’Hara is a genius.
AD: She’s so great.
LC: The interesting thing about this nomination is that it will always say, “four-time Emmy nominee” next to my name. That’s so much to look up to, and it inspires me to do better work as an actress. I don’t think I’ve reached my potential yet on screen. What is required to be a really good actor is a commitment level to the work. I’ve always had that, but my brand so far has included a lot of advocacy that can be really draining. To get to the level of artistry that I want to get to requires a different kind of commitment, I think. We created characters that people loved on Orange, and I want to take that next step as an artist. This nomination has really inspired me.
AD: Do you have an idea of what type of show or movie that might take you to that next level? Do you want to try something totally different? I would love to see you in, say, a glossy romantic comedy or even something like an action movie.
LC: It’s funny that you should mention that. There is a rom-com that we’re working on developing. Our writers are re-writing it now after my notes. (Laughs)
AD: (Laughs)
LC: No, it’s great. I’m kidding. Once the script is done, we are going to be trying to raise money for that. I would love to do action films. I’ll have to get my strength up. There’s a couple shows that we have in development, and one is at Peacock. It hasn’t been greenlit yet. I have to say that another show that I just watched last week was Animal Kingdom.
AD: Ohhh, I loved that show.
LC: After Schitt’s Creek, I started that. From a Thursday to a Saturday, I watched all four seasons, so I wasn’t sleeping as much as I should’ve been. Obviously. Ellen Barkin is just…I can’t believe she was never nominated for an Emmy for that. It’s just not fair. What she did was so inspiring. The amount of layers she pulled back actually reminded me of Catherine O’Hara. She was in this sillier, borderline slapstick comedy, but she was so truthful and grounded it in such emotion. These women, who are a little older, are killing it by adding layers upon layers of humanity and giving such depth to how they walk and how they talk. I just wanted them to find a way to put me into Animal Kingdom, so I could live in this crime world. Put me into this crime situation where I can just be a badass criminal who is really fucked up. (Laughs) Ellen has got me thinking.
AD: Smurf will do that to you.
LC: Oh, yes. More than anything, I am interested in how flawed and fucked up we are. I try to make my personal life not messy and uncomplicated, but I love messy characters. That’s what I love about Moira Rose and Smurf. Catherine O’Hara is just batshit crazy on that.
AD: You could classify both performances as ferocious.
LC: Virtuosic. That’s the kind of work I want to do.
Orange is the New Black and Disclosure are streaming now on Netflix.