'Orange Is the New Black': Lorraine Toussaint on Vee's (Possible) Return and Getting her "T--s" Ready for Primetime

Orange Is the New Black’s third season is less than a month away, and one of the biggest questions fans have about the new episodes: Is Vee really dead? She definitely got swiped by Miss Rosa’s getaway van, but fans also swear they see her in a recent Season 3 trailer. So with Season 2 on Blu-ray, DVD and Digitalhitting stores May 19, we went straight to the source, Lorraine Toussaint, to at least pose the question about Vee’s fate — not that we expected to get a straight answer.

We’ve all seen, and studied, that Season 3 trailer where Vee appears to be sitting in the Litchfield cafeteria. What can you say about her possible return to the show?
You know, all I can say is, you have to watch.

So you’re not saying yes or no, whether she’s dead or alive?
I had someone recently say, “So, is Vee dead, or is she dead dead?” All I can say is, “Well, as far as I know, she’s dead."

Strange things can happen on this show.
The mind of [creator] Jenji Kohan is such that I would never presume to even think I know what she’s doing, where she’s going, how she’s rolling. Nor should I, because good Lord, she created some extraordinary moments.

What was the best part of playing Vee and being on this show? It’s still rare to see a show with this large an ensemble cast, with this many well-written, well-developed female characters.
One of the best parts was just going to work every day with women. I like women. A gang of women is a powerful, scary thing. I would watch the men on set, the male actors. Literally, they’d come into the cafeteria scenes, and they would skirt the perimeter. They would walk the edge of the room. I loved, loved, loved the un-self consciousness of the venue that lent itself to non-glamour, which eliminated one of the areas in which women sort of look at each other, and go, "Oh, you’re thinner, you’re taller, you’re cuter…” There was none of that. We were fat, tall, thin, black, white, Asian; you name it. Gay, straight, transgendered… it really was such a smorgasbord of women. It was so creative and felt so safe.

Related: ‘Orange is the New Black’ Season 3: 11 Things We Already Know

Were you sad that we didn’t get to see more of Vee’s backstory?
You didn’t like her backstory?

I like what we got, but there’s more I wanted to know about her — her earlier years, how she got to the point where we saw her in the flashbacks with Taystee.
You know what you’re missing with that? What you’re hoping to get is what you’ve gotten with all the other characters, which is redemption. You want a reason why she is the way she is. You want to justify loving her. It’s probably a little uncomfortable. It’s understandable why you would hate her, but the thing that tends to really mess with people, more than that, is the fact that they like her, that part of them falls in love with her. A flashback that tells you, that explains the moment that caused her to go off-road, would help you. Nope, you’re not going to get that. You’re just going to be stuck with your own internal, "Oh my God, am I a bad human being? Why do I like this heinous creature so much? What is wrong with me?"

You’ve played a lot of amazing characters throughout you career, but does Vee stick with you in a way that maybe some of the other characters haven’t?
She definitely lived in a part of my being that I had to purge in a much more conscious way. I did bodywork. She was dark, you know? Vee has got a lot of darkness there. Chemically, I could feel her in my body after I’d done some tough scenes, you know? Where I had to do really awful things. There’s no such thing as pretending. You can’t pretend, the psyche doesn’t know the difference between real and pretend, so my body would generate all of the poisons and toxins that go along with that much adrenaline. Consequently, I had to physically get Vee out of my body. That was really different.

You’ve talked about doing Vee’s nude scene, and my favorite part of that story is how you had consulted your friends before agreeing to do it. What exactly did you say to them?
"Look at my t–s. Tell me, honestly, don’t be polite. Look at my t–s and tell me what you think.” I would corner them and then lift my shirt and go, “What are we talking about here?” A couple of my girlfriends were very supportive, but then I went to a couple of my gay male friends, and they don’t lie; they’re too fresh. When my gay BFF told me, “Oh no, they look good, girl,” I said, "OK.” I actually sent a photo of them to my agent, too. I went, “OK, you represent me. Do not make me tank. I do not want to tank my entire career based on this moment. Look at these girls! Tell me, are these girls ready for primetime?” Then, I got enough support to go well, “Alright. Nobody’s going to go ‘yuck.’”

You’ve been nominated for a Critics Choice Television Award for the role, and there’s been a lot of Emmy buzz. How would you feel if this was the performance that brought your first Emmy nomination?
Are you kidding? That would be like, “Merry Christmas, Hallelujah!” You know, this ain’t my first rodeo. What’s really great, ultimately, is the fact that the work is getting recognized.

Orange Is the New Black Season 2 is available on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital from Lionsgate Home Entertainment; Orange Is the New Black Season 3 premieres on Netflix on June 12.