Laura Prepon

Actress • Director • Author • Health Advocate

On finding balance between career, health, and creativity.

Art Hive: We know you’ve been really busy with your new book called The Stash Plan, which is meant to help other busy people with eating right in their daily lives. Can you give us a break down on what a reader can expect to get out of this book?

Laura Prepon: The way that I’ve always prepared my food for work, because I work really long hours, is I would always cook a stash of food and I would make my meals in the morning and bring them to work with me. A lot of people come home late at night and they’re too tired and they just go through and grab fast food for their families. I found this really successful way of being able to eat healthy, eat what I want, and know exactly what is going into my body by doing all of this awesome food prep. I wanted to write a book about it to help people and also teach people about the inner workings of their body, how ‘bad’ food really affects your body, and what goes on once you eat it. I really just wanted to educate people in a really fun, awesome, sexy, cool way, so people would want to learn about it. It’s basically just what I do. I wanted to teach other people because everyone keeps asking me and I was like, this is really great, I really want to share this with people, and people seem to love it so far!

Photo by ©Fadil Berisha

Photo by ©Ray Kachatorian

AH: Out of curiosity, what is the craziest diet you have ever tried?

LP: The craziest diet I had ever done, I was injecting myself with this hormone called HCG, which basically tricks your body into thinking it’s pregnant, so that a “baby” could live off your stored body fat. So a doctor figured out a way to extract this and inject this into people who aren’t pregnant and trick their body into living off the stored body fat while eating a 500 calorie a day diet, which is literally nothing. That was probably the craziest one I’ve done, but I’ve done multiple. I finally got to this newest way of eating where I finally figured out what happens with my body when I eat, particularly to the liver and the gall bladder, which are responsible for burning fat and assimilating nutrients. I really wanted to educate people about that in a fun way. The book is a really great read and you learn a lot.

AH: How much does eating right affect your whole mind, body, and spirit?

LP: It’s a huge difference for me; when you eat food that’s been really altered or genetically modified, your body doesn’t really know what to do with it. It looks at it as a foreign invader. It’s funny because you know your body wants to survive at its highest potential.

When we are eating things that we shouldn’t be, it tucks it away and then stores the fat thinking it’s actually doing a good job and protecting us because you can’t have that stuff in your vital organs. For me it’s overall energy, weight, and temperament; everything is just very different because when you’re eating something, your body knows what it is. You have the nutrients, you get the energy, and you feel great. A perfect example is Stevia, and I’m like, ‘oh no, it’s from a plant’; it’s actually not, it’s completely similar to a structure of the Stevia plant or the plant that it comes from, but it’s altered. So when you actually eat Stevia, your body’s like, ‘what is this’ and doesn’t know what it is; when you use organic raw brown sugar, your body’s like, ‘oh I know how to process this.’

My advice would be don’t give up. That might sound cliché, but honestly you can not give up, because people are always going to say no.”

AH: Is there a go-to or favorite recipe you love personally in The Stash Plan?

LP: The other night we had a party for my mom’s birthday and my whole family was like, you need to make the ginger shrimp! I love all the recipes for different reasons. There’s an almond bread in there that is so good. So, it’s hard to pick just one recipe, but the ginger shrimp is definitely one of everyone’s favorites and it is so easy.

AH: Speaking of your mom, I know she was a gourmet chef so you grew up being very familiar with food; do you have a favorite recipe from your mom?

LP: My mom makes this incredible Chicken Cordon Bleu. It’s so good! Every time she would make it we would freak out! She would make these chicken rollups, and whenever she would make those we were always so excited. Total comfort food, absolutely.

AH: Besides your mom, who is your favorite chef?

LP: That’s a tough question. When I’m doing a dinner party, if I’m not doing some of my own recipes, or my mother’s, I’m cooking Ina Garten or Barefoot Contessa.

AH: We love her!

LP: Hands down my favorite! I have every single one of her books. I watch her show, I am obsessed with her. She’s the best, I love how she’s cooking for Jeffrey (her husband); I just love her.

AH: Jeffrey is one lucky man!

LP: I know, he is one lucky man. I’m surprised he doesn’t weight 400 pounds. She is the best, I love her.

AH: You are on one of our favorite shows, Orange is the New Black on Netflix and season 4 will be premiering this summer. Do you have any teasers you can share with the fans before it comes out?

LP: This season is awesome! This season picks up right where the last one stopped off, it goes right into the next scene, completely continuous. It was an amazing season, I can’t wait for people to see it. Our writers just kick ass and all the actresses are so good! Everyone is going to be happy; it’s going to be a great season.

AH: What did you do to prepare for your role playing Alex in Orange is the New Black, which is set in an all female prison?

LP: The great thing was that there was a book, Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison, which was great, so we had a book to draw from. We went to a prison to check it out. Taylor and I actually shot in a maximum security prison, which was kind of crazy. When different story lines sprawl off of each other, it kind of takes a life of its own and it’s so fantastic. At the end of the day, it’s about personal relationships between these women and in this kind of weak environment, it’s pretty awesome to see how these women figure out how to get through their day, and laugh, and love, and friendships, and different dynamics. In order to prepare, I’ve obviously never crossed international borders like my character did [laughs], so I just try to relate to her in any way that I can. I love playing Alex Vause so much; I relate to her in so many ways. I love jumping into her shoes every day, it’s fantastic.

I’m always doing something else to stimulate my creativity and that really helps with not getting jaded.”

AH: Your character, Alex, has these very intense scenes on camera. How do you get yourself mentally ready to have an on-set sex scene?

LP: My first day actually, literally my first day on set with Taylor (Piper Chapman), we had to do the sex scene in the shower, which was in the pilot. It’s really interesting because Taylor and I just immediately were so comfortable with each other. When we first started we would be like, ‘okay my hand will be here’ and then we will do this, and now it’s like—whatever you want. We are so comfortable with each other at this point it doesn’t even matter, but sex scenes no matter what are always going to need that extra attention. It is a vulnerable place to be and even though it is a closed set there, there are still a bunch of crew hands around, and the whole camera crew, and lighting, and sound and everything. But as long as you totally feel safe with your co-star, it’s no problem. Sex scenes on a show like this are part of the dynamic; being intimate in prison, especially for Piper and Alex, you need the escape. You need that connection and that touch and that feeling to get through these bleak days that these women are in. They kind of have that tumultuous relationship, that love-hate thing, and that never makes a dull moment.

Photo by ©Ray Kachatorian

The one thing that keeps my sanity is I’m always creating other things, besides just doing my day job.”

AH: You started out at a very young age modeling, and of course the iconic sitcom, That 70’s Show; do you have any advice for aspiring actors that want to reach the level of success that you have had?

LP: My advice would be don’t give up. That might sound cliche, but honestly you can not give up, because people are always going to say no. You’re at the mercy of other people’s decisions, you just have to keep going. The one thing that keeps my sanity is I’m always creating other things, besides just doing my day job. On my down time, I’m a director—I’m writing a script that I’m going to direct, and I’m also writing this book that is coming out now. I’m always doing something else to stimulate my creativity and that really helps with not getting jaded. My thing is, once you’re jaded, you’re screwed. We go in and we audition, and we leave and we’re just waiting for a decision and it’s awful. The way that I keep my sanity is creating my other projects, and that helps me stay positive about the whole thing. When I was on That 70’s Show, I went to film school at night and directed a bunch of short films. When I was on October Road, I created a web series called Neighbros; I was a one-woman crew and I wrote it with my friend. Any kind of other creative outlet to give you some control over your own art.

WATCH: Orange is the New Black - Season 4 premieres June 2016 on Netflix Girl on a Train set to release in theatres Fall 2016

READ: The Stash Plan - 21 day guide to shed weight, feel great, and take charge of your health.

FOLLOW: Twitter: @LauraPrepon Instagram: @LauraPrepon Facebook: Laura Prepon

Photo by ©Fadil Berisha