Could Sophia Burset be returning to our television screens? Laverne Cox, 35, is certainly open to the idea after playing the groundbreaking character on the smash Netflix series for seven years. “I love Sophia. She has been very good to me. [The show] been very special,” Laverne told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY in a new interview. “[But as for] a spin off… I have no idea. And I never say never. Who knows? Maybe. I love [Sophia].”
Laverne came to prominence in 2013 playing Sophia in the female-led prison drama, and was one of the first primary characters in a television series to be transgendered person of color. The show was an immediate hit, and one of Netflix’s first major successful series. “That kind of storm of popularity and critical acclaim for a television show [like Orange Is The New Black] is really rare. And especially in this television landscape, it’s hard to even just get noticed,” Laverne told us. “It’s not lost on me how special that was.” Much to fans’ disappointment, the popular show came to an end after seven seasons earlier this summer.
The stunning Laverne continued to break down barriers in the entertainment industry, becoming the first openly transgender person to be nominated for an acting Primetime Emmy in 2014. She’s nominated again this year for her work in one episode in the final season of OITNB and fans are certainly rooting for her. “I’m just really grateful that I can be in a space to reflect on that as a three time Emmy nominee and just get to talk about it and relish in it,” Laverne reveals. “I think about how difficult it is to create a show that the public likes as much as they the public likes Orange Is the New Black and then that critics also like — and that people want to nominate for awards.”
“This little Emmy season getting to reflect on my journey as that character and how it’s changed my life. And I just love her so much,” Laverne added. “And because I think it’ll allow me as I move into the next phase of my life to be more intentionally and consciously aware of how special this journey has been.” We’re wishing Laverne all the best on her Emmy nomination tonight, and hope to see Sophia return to our TV sets soon!
Laverne spoke to us thanks to her work with the BAND-AID® Brand, Johnson & Johnson, and (RED) to #BandTogether in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Every purchase of (BAND-AID®)RED bandages is enough to provide a day’s worth of life-saving medication to someone living with HIV.