‘Orange Is The New Black’ Star Uzo Aduba on Playing Crazy Eyes, Being Recognized in Public

Uzo Aduba is Orange is the New Black‘s breakout character and the actress is more than grateful for all the attention her role as Suzanne ‘Crazy Eyes’ Warren has brought.

Aduba is nominated for an Emmy in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama category thanks to her turn as the mentally unstable inmate with a heart-of-gold.

The 34-year-old thespian chatted with The Wrap about what playing Crazy Eyes means to her, how her fans can recognize her out of costume now and more.

Her feelings on playing Suzanne ‘Crazy Eyes’ Warren and telling her story

“What I’m thankful for is that it would’ve been easy for [show creator] Jenji [Kohan] and the writers to create and draft a character that feels one-dimensional. Just “crazy, crazy.” Instead I was really grateful that they put something behind her, and something’s always going on underneath her. You discover this is a person who is misunderstood.

On being recognized in public

“People really now know what I, Uzo, look like. People always seem to be expecting Suzanne, in a jumpsuit, so I used to be able to be more incognito. That’s been very surprising. The new people are calling me by my name — I always think I know the person! Like, “Did we go to college together?” Mostly people just want to talk about how much they love the show.”

To read more of what 2015 Emmy nominee Uzo Aduba had to say about her role in Orange is the New Black, head on over to The Wrap.

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