At most Comic-Con panels, a moderator asks some questions to the cast of a show, and then turns it over to fans for questions. At the panel for BBC America’s sci-fi clone series Orphan Black, that formula was followed. However, this time it made me cry a little.
But first, there was a standing ovation for star Tatiana Maslany:
Back to the emotional moment. It came from a woman who said,
“Before I started to watch (Orphan Black), I was really in the closet.”
The fan said that the character Cosima, one of the clones Maslany plays, is gay, but “not everything is about her sexuality.” The woman said that her mother, who was not initially accepting of her daughter’s homosexuality, has learned through the show “that it’s OK and people are more than their sexuality.”
Then it was time for the question:
“What’s it like to have that effect on peoples lives? You’re saving lives. That’s what you did for me.”
Maslany could hardly respond, she was so choked up. (As was I.) But co-star Jordan Gavaris, who plays Felix, stepped in:
“We like to be reductive in society. We reduce people down to their diseases or their gender,” he said. “People are complex and people are diverse and there are much more interesting things than your sexuality.”
The packed room 7A cheered.
Another Orphan Black fan who approached the mic was a Clone Club member who presented Tatiana Maslany with the “best actress in the world” award. (When asked about being snubbed for an Emmy, Maslany told the crowd, “The Emmys are lovely and wonderful, but for me it’s the response from the fans. That’s why we do it.”)
But the best gift may have come from the super-fan who presented Maslany with Russian nesting dolls of her different clone characters. The actress was digging it.
Back to the emotional moment. It came from a woman who said,
“Before I started to watch (Orphan Black), I was really in the closet.”
The fan said that the character Cosima, one of the clones Maslany plays, is gay, but “not everything is about her sexuality.” The woman said that her mother, who was not initially accepting of her daughter’s homosexuality, has learned through the show “that it’s OK and people are more than their sexuality.”
Then it was time for the question:
“What’s it like to have that effect on peoples lives? You’re saving lives. That’s what you did for me.”
Maslany could hardly respond, she was so choked up. (As was I.) But co-star Jordan Gavaris, who plays Felix, stepped in:
“We like to be reductive in society. We reduce people down to their diseases or their gender,” he said. “People are complex and people are diverse and there are much more interesting things than your sexuality.”
The packed room 7A cheered.
Another Orphan Black fan who approached the mic was a Clone Club member who presented Tatiana Maslany with the “best actress in the world” award. (When asked about being snubbed for an Emmy, Maslany told the crowd, “The Emmys are lovely and wonderful, but for me it’s the response from the fans. That’s why we do it.”)
But the best gift may have come from the super-fan who presented Maslany with Russian nesting dolls of her different clone characters. The actress was digging it.
