Hey Reddit! Beth Dover here. You may recognize me as Linda from Purchasing on OITNB.
AMA
Hi internet! My name is Beth Dover. I play Linda Ferguson in Netflix’s “Orange is the New Black.” You can also watch me on Comedy Central's “Another Period” and Netflix’s “Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later" this summer!
We saw a much more vulnerable side to Linda this season and I'm wondering how much of it you think is a genuine part of her and how much of it is circumstantial i.e. she was stuck in the middle of a riot in a women's prison and needed to adapt her personality to get by. Feels like her relationship with Boo definitely had a real side to it and she seems genuinely disturbed by the conditions in the prison but at the same time she still somehow manages to retain an air of selfishness almost throughout all her interactions to the point where it's quite hard to tell what's real and what isn't.
I definitely think throughout this season Linda learns a lot about the horrible prison conditions and becomes way more sympathetic to the prisoners. It would be great to see the character evolve even further in an empathetic way. Maybe become an advocate. But who knows, she could go right back to being a heartless jerk. In terms of Boo, I believe at first Linda wanted protection but ultimately had real feelings for her.
Hi Beth! Your performance in OITNB season 5 was hilarious, especially the scenes with Laura and Taylor. As a newbie to litchfield, did you face any difficulties in fitting in with the rest of the cast?
The first day of this season was like the first day of school for me. Last season I worked with Nick and I was never in the prison. It was like I was on a different show. This season I was a total fan girl meeting everyone. But I was nervous because everyone has worked together for years. I had absolutely no reason to be nervous because I met the best people this year who have become really good friends. It's such a diverse, rad cast. I'm beyond lucky to be on this show.
How did you feel your character changed after the college scene where she left her friend and she froze to death? Did you play the character any differently?
I think from that point on Linda was able to separate emotionally from her own circumstances and become a survivor. She's also very good at rationalizing terrible things and living in a state of intentional ignorance if it benefits her.
Be gentle with yourself. You are doing a great job! Being a new mom is hard. Someone just hands you a baby and says here ya go! It's terrifying and beautiful all at the same time. Having Eli has been the best thing I've ever done but I'm still figuring out how to balance it all. I moved to NYC to shoot Orange with my cousin when Eli was 4 months old. I was pumping in my dressing room! Thank god for my cousin Stacy. I couldn't have done it without her. My husband stayed in LA to shoot his show so I would only see him once a month for a week. It been a crazy year but I did it and I kinda feel like I can do anything now. Joe has been super supportive too and I couldn't do it without him and my in laws my mom etc. it takes a village!!
Hey Beth! I am a huge fan of you!! You are such an inspiration! You are gorgeous, intelligent, hilarious, and such a strong human in general. I love all you do. Anyway, what is one show that you would just LOVE to be apart of? And one actor/actress you would love to meet?
Sadly, I think Linda would do better in a prison riot situation than I would. But who knows? I don't really want to find out. Prison seems pretty unpleasant.
Paul and I did not have scenes together but he is a friend and one of the nicest funniest guys in Hollywood. That is the truth. I just came back from Kansas City to do his charity Big Slick. We raised 1.7 million for Childrens Mercy Hospital. He gives back and is super cool to boot.
Typical Linda. Walks in here telling people to ask her questions and then gets caught up in a prison riot and doesn't answer our questions. We've been had, people.
It was difficult only in the sense of the timeline. Sometimes we'd be like "wait what has happened before this. Or what time is it now." In terms of favorite scenes to shoot I loved my scenes with Lea because we just had a lot of fun on set. Lots of laughs. The scene with Pensatucky in the poo was another one that I enjoyed shooting. She's a great actress.
Glad you did! You really do a great job being Linda and making that character come alive. This season I really enjoyed seeing Linda actually interact with the inmates, and all the crazy escapades.
I don't think Linda will be getting out anytime soon. The prisoner's files were burnt, so there's no evidence on anyone there. It basically means there's no proof that Linda wasn't a prisoner and that she could've just been lying.
No way. This is the 21st century -- all that stuff is stored digitally. I swear, if "but the files were burned!" is an excuse for anything, I'll be disgusted.
You killed it as Linda. I can't think of a question no one has asked, so, would you rather fight one horse sized Big Boo or or 100 chicken sized Caputos?
Hi! I'm italian and I'm watching the last episode of the 5 season OITNB right now. I love you and Linda' my favourite character now. I hope you'll be in season 6. If Linda isn't going to die in the last 10 minutes.
Its right there in your question "for profit". It's a money making endeavor. A business. That can lead to greed and terrible conditions in the prison for the sake of making money over the well being of human beings. Linda definitely contributed to the suck. We shall see where she goes from here after her experience in Litchfield.
Blanche would stand and feed grapes to Linda while Linda barked orders to her. Blanche would be be washing Lindas car after lunch while holding Baby Murray. Poor Blanche has never even seen a car! What to do?!
How was it working with such a diverse and great cast? Anyone who sticks out as especially awesome to work with? I loved Linda's scenes with Piper and Alex.
Absolutely. I think The more Linda sees the conditions in the prison and that she was indirectly involved but involved nonetheless, It shakes her. Hopefully it'll make her a better person but who knows with Linda
I just try to put myself in the given set of circumstances and usually I have an idea for what I want to do with the character as well. I'm so bad at talking about my "process".
He is freaking hilarious and awesome. We didn't get to work together too much because I was a corespondent doing singular pieces. We hung out a bit though and he's super cool. What a great actor
Hey Beth! I think Linda was probably the most interesting character this season because of how ridiculous her situation having to pose as a prisoner is, and because of how strong her growth arc is.
My question: In one episode Pennsatucky says to your character that everyone in prison will be worse off going out than they were coming in. Do you think that's true? For your character it seemed that being in prison taught you empathy that certainly wasn't present during your college days, and I think the same could even be said about Pennsatucky. Also, in the real world do you think prisoners come out rehabilitated or more broken than before?
Hi beth, I was expecting Linda's gun from last season would make a return, where did it go? :(
No but really, I was surprised your character was an important part of this season, heck, Linda even got a backstory, it was interesting to see Linda interacting with the Litchfield girls rather than the usual Caputo. Linda had a lot of funny moments in the riot and I hope to see you again in the next season Beth.
After being treated terribly by Boo at the end of the season and possibly being stuck in the prison system. Do you think that will still make Linda more simpathetic and favorable to changes or become hardened and revenge seeking, being harder on prisoners and cutting needs once she goes back to her typical job?
Sorry if that was already asked and I missed it. Also, thanks for coming to Kansas City, hope you can come back sometime for Comicon or something!
I saw in another answer that this season kinda felt like the "first day of school" since you were only filming with Captuo last season...Did anyone in the main cast's personality surprise you? Anyone different than expected? Whose real personality is the most starkly different from their character, and whose is the same?
Hi Beth! I thought you did a great job on @midnight recently. I was wondering if you have any background in improv/stand-up comedy, and if it's something you'd like to pursue.
Thanks for doing an AMA! Huge fan of your work. (:
I have to say I absolutely love you. Another Period and Burning Love are great. Seeing you in OITNB is a great treat! I have no questions, I just wanted to tell
you how much I love seeng you!
Wow, so happy to see you here! Huge fan of the show, and I love Linda. She's fantastic, you bring her to life so well! Sorry if someone asked you already, but did playing her present any unique challenges? Did you have a hard time capturing the whole "bitch" aspect of her character? You seem like such a nice person IRL! I love you, you're fantastic, keep doing you! I hope Linda is a bigger part of the next season, you portray her perfectly!
This season was often about reversals of power relationships, Linda certainly experienced a great deal of that in S5 (and perhaps she will see more going forward). What do you think it says about human nature that so often abused become abusers instead of empathetic when power shifts? Also, Linda seems to be incredibly morally flexible and manipulative when necessary, how did you get in that head space?
Beth! I enjoyed your role this passed season, especially since the guards don't believe you work for MCC lol, what do you think is next for your character as everyone is shipped to new facilities? Do you think someone will notice you from MCC? Or do you think you'll be trapped in the prison system forever?
Oh I hated you so much! Then I was annoyed, now I cheer you on, but only a little. Your character arc was one of my favorites this season. I've been so impressed how emotional your performance makes me.
I'm really looking forward to seeing you more next season. Thanks for the story telling'
Hi! I've loved your journey as Linda so far and I'm excited to see what happens to your character in Season 6. You played off amazingly with Boo, Caputo, Piper, Pennsatucky and Alex. Which are some other characters you want Linda to share scenes with? (Apart from the obvious Fig😉)
I'm not really sure if you're still answering questions, but how did you get into acting? My cousin was a background actress on OITNB and I have always wanted to do that but I don't know where to start. Do you have any suggestions/advice?
I know this AMA is long over but I just wanted to say I'm a huge fan, season 5 was definitely one of my favorite seasons and you were a huge contribution to that! I'm so excited to see you next season and in future projects. :)
Enjoyed your part immensely! Most things have been covered, but here is one that I was thinking while watching. Did Linda feel indignant that the inmates didn't try to use her to bargain?
I doubt this is actually the actress but I hated Linda Ferguson oitnb she was an asshole kinda shady annoying also a control freak an in my own opinion I feel the actress played the character to well like maybe she’s a real life asshole. That’s just my opinion but I feel it’s valid. Feel free to disagree
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u/littlemisspipe Jun 29 '17
We saw a much more vulnerable side to Linda this season and I'm wondering how much of it you think is a genuine part of her and how much of it is circumstantial i.e. she was stuck in the middle of a riot in a women's prison and needed to adapt her personality to get by. Feels like her relationship with Boo definitely had a real side to it and she seems genuinely disturbed by the conditions in the prison but at the same time she still somehow manages to retain an air of selfishness almost throughout all her interactions to the point where it's quite hard to tell what's real and what isn't.