Laura Prepon Revealed The Reason Alex Is Not In The First 4 Episodes Of The New 'OITNB' Season
13 August 2018, 15:52
Fans worried where Alex had gone at the start of 'Orange Is The New Black' Season 6.
At the start of Orange Is The New Black Season 6, the fallout from the chaos of Season 5's finale left fans feeling uncertain about some of their favourite character's fates.
With all the violence that ensued during Litchfield's riot, Alex's absence at the start of Season 6 did have many wondering whether she'd been gravely injured at the end of the last season.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Laura Prepon, who plays Alex, explains more about how her absence from the season's first few episodes actually worked out well with the birth of her new daughter, Ella.
"They wanted to create mystery around my character in the beginning of the season. I told them that was great because Ella was actually born on the day we started production on season six."
Prepon and her husband Ben Foster welcomed their daughter in August 2017 and the actress returned to work just six weeks after giving birth.
"I went back to work at six weeks, which is fast. But because of the storyline, it was pretty perfect that you didn't know what was going on with Alex," she told THR, "I was able to be at home with my brand-new baby as a first-time mom, having no clue what I was doing, while they were getting the storylines going, and then I come back for episode four."
At the beginning of Season 6, Alex's whereabouts weigh heavily on Piper. In the Suzanne (aka “Crazy Eyes”) dream sequence, Piper even has a humorous exchange with Alex Trebek in which we get to hear the legendary game show host say the words "I'm here, bitch."
On top of returning to play Alex on the show, Prepon also directed episode 11 in the latest season. This is Prepon's second directing credit on Orange Is The New Black.
Laura Prepon did brilliant work as an actress and director this season and fans were thrilled to see Alex and Piper on screen together again.