When Selenis Leyva’s character Gloria replaced Red (Kate Mulgrew) as the head of the kitchen at the end of the first season of “Orange is the New Black,” a massive power struggle was born and continued through season two. Gloria may have found herself in charge, but that didn’t mean she was in control.
But kitchen power dynamics is just one of the subjects Leyva sat down to discuss with TheWrap on the latest episode of “Drinking with the Stars,” presented by Jose Cuervo.
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“Gloria just wants to cook and they keep dragging her in to all kinds of drama,” Leyva said, adding that although she and Red were often at each other’s throats, she really enjoyed working with Mulgrew. “She’s so giving. She’s so present.”
In terms of Season 3, Leyva added that — though they introduce her character’s family in season 2 — she hopes to explore Gloria’s background more and see “what makes this woman really tick.” Particularly as she continues to find herself the leader of Spanish Harlem, the prison’s community of Latina convicts.
Watch Leyva dish on all the prison drama in the video above, and answer fan questions in the video below: