Crazy Good

UZO ADUBA was a jobbing actress on the verge of quitting when she landed the role of Suzanne ‘Crazy Eyes’ Warren in Orange Is The New Black. Two Emmys later, she’s a lesson in never giving up.

- Lucy Pavia

Uzo Aduba was at a remote spot in the woodlands of Utah when the first season of Orange Is The New Black (OITNB) dropped on Netflix. ‘There was no internet or phone signal anywhere (other than in my cabin),’ she says. ‘At the end of the day, I checked my Twitter and it was like, “You have 5,000 new followers”. I only had about 100 at that point. I just thought a tweet I’d sent the day before must have been really popular.’

OITNB was an instant hit, and made its largely unknown cast famous overnight. Set in a women’s prison with a cabal of female characters diverse in race, sexual orientation, class and age, it didn’t so much pass the Bechdel Test as slam right through it. Although the ensemble style of the show means there is no single star, Aduba’s extraordinary portrayal of mentally fragile Suzanne ‘Crazy Eyes’ Warren has arguably set her apart from the rest. In 2015, she became one of just two actors to win an Emmy twice for the same role.