8 Facts About 'Orange Is the New Black' Star Matt McGorry
Is orange really the new black? According to the hit Netflix show’s supercute corrections officer, John Bennett, aka actor Matt McGorry, the answer is yes.
"Orange is definitely the new black," McGorry said in an exclusive interview with Yahoo! TV. McGorry, who has received rave reviews from critics for his role as a lovesick prison guard who falls for an inmate, says he never expected people to respond so well to his character in the first season. But we can’t help but feel for the adorable Officer Bennett and his case of puppy love.
[Related: Laura Prepon Is Exiting ‘Orange Is the New Black’ — But Is It For Good?]
Before the show picks up its 13-episode sophomore season in 2014, it’s time to get to know the real guy behind the sweetest C.O. at Litchfield Federal Prison.
Fact #1: He Had a Magical Start in the Biz
"I started performing when I was 9 or 10, doing magic. One of the wonderful things about growing up in New York City is that one of the best magic stores in the country happens to be in the neighborhood. I spent a lot of time there just hanging out at the magic shop. I started performing at birthday parties, and I went to a magic camp. I was the youngest member of the New York International Brotherhood of Magicians. It was me and a bunch of 60-year-old Jewish men."
Fact #2: He Can’t Get Behind the Wheel
"I grew up in Chelsea on 22nd Street … I am really a native New Yorker. Even to the point that I still don’t know how to drive."
Fact #3: He Won the Science Fair in Eighth Grade … and Nabbed a Unique Prize
"When I was in eighth grade, I won the science fair and my parents asked me if I wanted the gift of a personal trainer for sports. I was never particularly into sports, so I decided to kind of give it a try. I didn’t like it."
Fact #4: His Pre-Big-Break Job? Personally Training Models
"The place that I worked, we did have Victoria’s Secret models. The girls that I have trained, who have been models at a high level, and some actors, are the cream of the crop."
Fact #5: If He Had to Create His Own Prison Workout…
"Luckily for me, and for Bennett as a corrections officer, he has access to a gym. In the Litchfield world, it would probably include calisthenics, which are pushups, pull-ups, all that fun stuff. My workout now is usually three to four days a week of body resistance training and lifting, two to three days a week of cardio training, and one or two higher-intensity days followed by some lower-intensive work."
[Related: 'Orange Is the New Black' Star Pablo Schreiber: My Character Is a Despicable Man, and I Love Him]
Fact #6: His Guilty-Pleasure Snack Is Ice Cream
"I am all about the complicated ice cream. Ben & Jerry’s is my go-to. I like as many things in there as possible. Or I like the newer kind of frozen yogurt with basically Halloween candy mixed in."
Fact #7: Bennett Is Like His Teenage Self
"I like to think of Bennett as me in my mid- to early teenage years in terms of how unjaded he is. I come from a family where both my parents have such extreme empathy. I feel like that has kind of carried over to me, too. Part of playing Bennett has been getting in touch with those things, and what it’s like to meet someone that you feel so strongly about that essentially you end up falling in love with them without any preconceived notions."
Fact #8: He Gets Twitter Proposals
"The response to the show has been overwhelmingly positive. I feel very lucky that people are responding well to my character and to me. It has been very fun getting the Twitter marriage proposals and love."
Season 1 of “Orange Is the New Black” is streaming now on Netflix.
Check out episode photos from “Orange Is the New Black”:
