'Orange Is the New Black' Season 4: Laverne Cox Talks Being Hesitant About Filming That Violent Assault [VIDEO]
Laverne Cox discusses the scene that brought her to tears from this past season of Orange Is the New Black.
Cox, who plays Sophia Burset on Orange Is the New Black, got a bump in screentime in season 3. Part of that was the storyline between Sophia and Gloria (Selenis Leyva), who had major conflict regarding their respective sons.
This all culminated with Sophia getting assaulted during one of the later episodes of the season and eventually having to go to the SHU.
"When I read [my character] Sophia's assault in her own salon, that brought me to tears," Cox told People. "I'm a lover not a fighter. I was bullied a lot as a kid, and I always ran from the bullies. A lot of that came back when I was in that scene and our director, Uta [Briesewitz], wanted me to be strong and sort of this defiant person and that's not really who I am. I run."
The actress initially showed hesitation towards playing this scene, due to its sensitive subject matter.
"Violence against trans people is such a huge issue in our culture, and I was concerned about the trans people watching our show ... being triggered by that," Cox noted. "But I thought it was a very important story to tell - and tell truthfully."
Meanwhile, Cox is busy with multiple projects outside of Orange Is the New Black, including the upcoming TV remake of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Cox is playing Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the TV movie.
She is also set to have a supporting role in a new CBS show called Doubt. There, she plays a transgender attorney who "fights passionately for her clients." Much like Cox made history by being the first trans actress nominated for an Emmy for acting, she is also the first trans actress to have a series regular role on broadcast television.
Orange Is the New Black season 4 is slated for release on Friday, June 17 on Netflix.
