Taylor Schilling Doesn’t Watch ‘Orange Is The New Black,’ Says She Has Felt ‘Frightened’ While Filming

While you are watching Orange is the New Black, Taylor Schilling is doing something else.

That something else could be absolutely anything, but in a recent interview with the Daily Express, Schilling makes one thing clear: She does not watch Orange is the New Black any more than she has to.

Taylor Schilling said she chooses not to watch the show because, when she watches herself on the screen, Schilling finds herself being overly critical of her own performance.

“I can sometimes watch myself but I haven’t ever really watched this show. What’s more exciting to me is seeing my friends work. When I read scripts, I want to know what everyone else is doing, not myself. But when I do watch myself, I see places where I wish I’d made another choice. Or I think, ‘That’s how I use my hand.’ I see my face and my nose and I’m like, ‘What am I doing?'”

Not only did Schilling say she’s sometimes critical of her work, she also said she’s sometimes uncomfortable with nudity. While filming Orange is the New Black, Schilling is frequently faced with scenes that involved nudity and sexuality — all of which help push her outside of her comfort zone, she said.

“I’ve always had a push-pull relationship with nudity and I really have to be very clear on what the storyline is. There have been times where I’ve felt frightened, but once you feel safe you can really go anywhere.”

Often, Schilling finds that the payoff is worth the risk and the fear she feels when she steps outside of that comfort zone, Schilling said.

“I’ve realized that it is worth the risk. I believe in the show and I feel like the nude scenes are worth it. The story can hold that much danger and that much boundary-pushing. As an actor, I really like the extremes. It’s really fun to play with.”

On Orange is the New Black, Taylor Schilling’s character is in a relationship with Alex Vause, played by Laura Prepon. The relationship lends itself to intimate scenes, and it’s not uncommon for Schilling’s character to be physically involved during episodes.

Orange is the New Black is the Emmy-nominated Netflix series that follows Taylor Schilling’s character, Piper Chapman, through her incarceration. The show is in its third season and has been contracted for a fourth.

Between filming the second and third seasons of, Taylor Schilling filmed The Overnight, which is a film scheduled to be released in the UK this summer.

[Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images]