One of the great things about Orphan Black is how seamlessly Tatiana Maslany is able to play several characters on one show, to the point that it’s easy to forget that you’re watching one actress play several parts and not several actresses. But every now and then they pull off a scene that makes you stop and really marvel at what Maslany and the series creators have pulled off.
One such scene was the dinner party at the end of season three, which involved Maslany having to play four separate clones in one shot. James Corden brought it up on Tuesday night when he had the actress as a guest on the Late Late Show. “My wife and I shouted at each other! It’s too insane,” said Mike Birbiglia, who was sitting next to Maslany.
“But you’re playing all of the characters, how do you not go mad while you’re filming?” Corden asked, incredulously. “I kinda do. I kinda did, especially in that scene,” Maslany admits, saying that just that scene alone took two days to shoot. Apparently the most challenging part was playing Helena at the very end, due to the fact that the character was literally eating steak and broccoli with straight sugar dumped on it, which inadvertently caused Maslany to take a method acting approach to it.
Incredible. Although it’s now a year old, the BBC put together a behind the scenes look at the making of that dinner scene, and it’s every bit as insane as you’d imagine.
