Orange is The New Black star Laverne Cox reveals why she hates being called a ‘role model’

THANKS to her turn as a transgender inmate in OITNB, Laverne Cox knew she had a big following. But one particular famous fan left her gobsmacked.

NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 06: Laverne Cox attends "Hamilton" Broadway Opening Night at Richard Rodgers Theatre on August 6, 2015 in New York City. Neilson Barnard/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

THANKS to her turn as transgender hairdresser Sophia Burset in the wildly popular prison drama Orange Is The New Black, Laverne Cox knew she’d garnered quite a following, but one particular fan left her gobsmacked.

“I met Michelle Obama and she was like, ‘Oh my God, don’t tell me what happens, I’m on the last few episodes,’” laughs Cox, sitting back during a break in filming on the show’s New York set. “That was pretty freaky and pretty awesome, thinking of the First Lady watching Orange Is The New Black at the White House.”

Triumphant ... Laverne Cox and Caitlyn Jenner have increased trans visibility worldwide.

Cox, of course, has become a global phenomenon since first appearing during the show’s debut 2013 season. Her character Sophia is a transgender woman imprisoned for credit card fraud who’s committed to fund her gender reassignment surgery. (“I love her heart and soul,” says

Cox.)

She’s an Emmy nominee (“I have the program with my name printed in it to prove it happened”), a Time magazine cover girl (“my mother and I both have huge posters of the cover in our homes”), and she, along with Caitlyn Jenner, have increased trans visibility worldwide. “Inspiration is a word I hear a lot, but I say, it’s just little old me,” smiles Cox, who describes

herself as a “possibility model rather than a role model”. “I think it’s all about authenticity. It’s wonderful that folks are connecting to my story and struggles and triumphs — and Sophia’s as well — and finding inspiration in their lives.”

Stunning ... Laverne Cox at the premiere of Ricki and the Flash in New York.

Cox says season three, which has seen Sophia go through some particularly emotional and brutal scenes, has been the most “emotionally taxing” so far.

“Sophia has been in these intense emotional places and so staying in that all day — I don’t always come out of it,” she says. “Sometimes I’m still in a hole a few days later, and it can be hard to let it go.”

As for the show’s massive global appeal, Cox says that it comes down to the diversity of the cast. “We have these wonderfully human characters who are complicated and not what you expect, based on what you might see on the surface,” she says. “It’s a world that we don’t maybe know a lot about. Women’s prisons have been sensationalised before in very fetishistic ways, and this is real.”

Harrowing ... Laverne Cox, as Sophia in Orange is the New Black, says it’s sometimes hard to let her character go.

As for her own acclaimed and emotionally nuanced performance, Cox, more than anything, feels validated as an actress. “I’m very pleased so far that I’ve been able to take what was a smallish part and I’ve been able to make a nice little moment for myself,” she says, smiling. “And for someone who has carried a lot of shame over the years, I’m feeling very proud of myself.”