Jason Altman Talks ‘Orange is the New Black’ Season 6 [Exclusive Interview]

SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers for Orange is the New Black Season 6, do not read until you’ve seen the entire season.

Orange is the New Black left us reeling last year when the show’s season-long riot ended not with a whimper — but a very loud bang.

For many episodes now, the Litchfield ladies have been showing viewers that inmates can still be people. However, Season 6 has been another reminder to viewers that the worse kinds of people aren’t always the ones behind bars.

I had the chance to speak with Jason Altman about his role as Officer Herrmann, that surprising turn of events in the premiere, and the possibility of justice for Taystee.

With an intense authority figure as morally corrupt as Herrmann thrown into the mix, watching his character continue to make the wrong choices has certainly been difficult. But Altman had his own challenges when it came to portraying the character. Altman said it was difficult “getting used to his point of view.”

“He’s not a good person. He’s willing to do anything to get what he needs to get done. If that means hurting other people, even going so far as to ruin someone else’s life, he’ll do it,” Altman stated. “The transition from when I arrive on set and getting prepared to walk in this character’s shoes — I think that was the challenge for me.”

The fates of many Linchfield favorites were left hanging in the balance at the end of Orange is the New Black’s fifth season, and in a surprising turn off events, the false circumstances surrounding Piscatella’s death would become the driving plot for most of Season 6 — causing everyone in turn to create their own versions of what happened during the riot.

But no one was more surprised than Altman when it was revealed just how big of a role Herrmann would play in controlling the narrative of the Litchfield riot.

“I was shocked when I got the script and I saw that I had that much dialogue in that one big scene that pretty much sets up one of the biggest storylines of the season — if not the biggest storyline,” Altman recalled.

“It was flattering too because Jenji Kohan had written it and so obviously she had seen my work in the Season 5 finale and decided to develop a character from there. So that was definitely a flattering moment for me and also the beginning of a little bit of pressure to handle that type of dialogue.”

“It was one of the most intensive — if not the most intense storyline or scene I have ever shot, really. There were so many different emotions, and the intensity of the scene was higher than anything I have ever experienced on screen or even on stage.”

Herrmann’s decision to throw an inmate under the bus for another officer’s mistake seemed somewhat premeditated. Afterall, he staged the crime scene and knew exactly which coroner had to do the autopsy.

For Altman, these details were not overlooked when preparing for the role.

“That was one of the points in my preparation for the character before I even stepped on set. I gave Herrmann this backstory of this guy who has been on the police force for nearly 20 years, and he had gone through this before when one of his superiors covered up a serious crime. And Herrmann learned from that experience,” he explained.

“Herrmann was the most experienced one in that pool area. He was working off his own experience, he acted quickly, and I think that it was definitely one of the biggest things I worked with as the backstory of Herrmann.”

Orange is the New Black, for better or for worse. has always been about finding redemption and retribution for its characters. While Altman didn’t see redemption in Herrmann’s future, he was hopeful the character would return as the show moves towards finding some form of justice for Taystee.

“I certainly think he would because the whole storyline with Taystee — the way it seemed to be heading will probably involve him at some point in the future, but who knows where the writers will take it. I don’t see any redemption for Herrmann. I think that if he does return, it will be in the vein of being questioned about what went on during the situation and the aftermath.”

“I’m sure, the audience and the fans of the show want to see justice for Taystee after what happened. So if she receives any type of justice than that would mean Herrmann would be either sent to jail, caught, or questioned,” Altman continued.

The entire riot raid scene spans the final episode of Season 5, Orange is the New Black Season 5 Episode 13, “Storm-y Weather,” and overlaps with the events of the Season 6 premiere, Orange is the New Black. Not only is the ending to Litchfield’s rebellion tense to watch, but according to Altman the shooting process was also physically demanding.

“It was pretty grueling and intense with a huge 10-day shoot over a period of two weeks. It was physically demanding, even more so than any of the other scenes we have seen in Season 6. It’s about a 10-day shoot for every episode and so the Season 5 finale, which was the ending of the riot, I worked on set every day of that episode when normally if I am in a couple of scenes for the episode I am only working one or two days,” Altman said.

“I had a real NYPD Cert. Officer as my tech adviser. He would show me everything from the way they walked to the way they held their pepper rifles to the way you talk into their walkie-talkie, and physically overall there were some pretty good action scenes in the finale.”

Altman happened to be a big fan of the show before he booked the role of Herrmann, which is one of the reasons why his experience on Orange is the New Black has made it his favorite show to work on so far.

“Overall, I would say the set and the production of Orange is the New Black was by far my favorite. Maybe it’s because I was a huge fan of the show going in as opposed to having done a whole bunch of other small roles on television shows I’ve shot here in New York that I wasn’t really watching at the time,” Altman admitted.

“Also, a lot of them were procedural shows in the vein of Law and Order, where every episode is different as opposed to Orange is the New Black which is an ongoing storyline from episode one all the way until whenever they end the series.”

As for why he enjoyed watching Orange is the New Black, Altman believed it was the pilot and the cast of characters that really grabbed his attention as a viewer.

“The first episode really hooked me. I laughed out loud so many times in the first couple of seasons and it was very heartwarming. I liked the fish out of water story, which is how it all really started. For Piper, it grew to be not only funny but increasing more dramatic as well and heartwarming all at the same time.”

“It is such a good show based on reality, yet it has so many great, unique characters to it as well. Everyone from Crazy Eyes, to Porn Stash, to Vee, to Taystee. There are so many colorful characters in the show and it is so well-written,” Altman added.

“I was a huge fan from the beginning and it was just a dream come true to be able to join it and being ingrained into one of the most intense storylines that this show has seen so far.”

And if given the opportunity to work on another show besides Orange is the New Black, Altman had a few projects in mind.

“Game of Thrones is going to be finished, but there are going to be some spinoffs or prequels, so it would be a real dream to work on that. I love period pieces like The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and stuff like that. Also The Mick, which was not continued somehow, and anything in the realm of that as well,” he said.

“But as far as a dream for the near future I would say maybe The Lord of the Rings Trilogy that is going to start production for Amazon or the prequels for Game of Thrones on HBO. That really would be a fantastic accomplishment in my mind.”

With Orange is the New Black Season 6 having now wrapped, Altman has begun working on several different projects that include an upcoming guest star role opposite Lucy Liu and Jonny Lee Miller on the show Elementary on CBS, which will air in the fall.

He is also currently working on several short films which go into production next month but is not entitled to share more details about them at this time.

—

Be sure to catch Jason Altman on Orange is the New Black, currently streaming on Netflix.

*Featured image credit: Charley Miller

Follow us on Twitter @telltaleTV_

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!

30 Amazing Shows to Binge on Netflix