Did Katie Holmes almost play the drug smuggling Piper Chapman in ‘OITNB’?

Katie Holmes

We haven’t covered Katie Holmes lately because her life has finally settled down enough from a gossip standpoint. She still lives in NYC with Suri. They mostly blend into the city atmosphere even if the paps still follow them. Katie’s living her life and working steadily. She may not be making movies that anyone will watch, but she’s getting paid. I assume she’s much more fulfilled these days than when she was Tom Cruise’s prisoner of love. These are photos of Katie on the set of Woman in Gold with Ryan Reynolds. Helen Mirren also stars. Katie will be promoting The Giver soon. She’s also got a tv pilot with Rufus Sewell in the works. Now the creator of OITNB says Katie almost played the Piper Chapman character. Would that have been disastrous?

Imagine Katie Holmes in prison. Now, picture her getting down and very naughty with Laura Prepon. Well, all of that could have actually happened!

Orange Is the New Black creator Jenji Kohan exclusively revealed to me last night that she considered the former Dawson’s Creek teen queen for the starring role of Piper.

“I’m a big fan of hers,” Kohan said at last night’s OITNB event at the DGA in West Hollywood. “You know, I met with her.”

But as we know, the part eventually went to the now Emmy-nominated Taylor Schilling. “She had other things to do,” Kohan said of Holmes. “And also in the beginning, no one knew what this was.”

Funny enough, Holmes told me over the weekend while she was promoting her new movie The Giver that OITNB is one of her favorite shows.

Now let’s say Holmes snags a guest spot on the Netflix series, whom should she play?

“I’m a big fan of Katie Holmes,” Schilling said last night. “She could be friends with Lorna or like Lorna’s Boston sister.” (Lorna, played by Yael Stone, is in prison for fraud and stalking a man she went on one date with.)

Kate Mulgrew, who plays Red on the show, issued a warning to Ms. Holmes. “She better watch herself,” Mulgrew said. “Pretty girls have to watch out in that prison.”

Holmes joked that if she was ever on the show, she could finally show off her tattoos. “No, I don’t have any tattoos,” she added with a laugh. “My child would kill me.”

[From E! Online]

I think Katie would be decent in a one-off episode of this show. Sort of like Lori Petty’s brief appearance. As much as I root for Katie, I’m glad she was too busy and not right for the Piper role. People are already annoyed by the character. Now can you imagine Piper Chapman talking out the side of her mouth? Piper is also growing as a person, and I don’t think Katie has the acting range to communicate that growth. Plus, Taylor Schilling was fairly unknown when the show started. That’s part of the reason why she can act as the “trojan horse” of the show. Katie would have arrived with her own baggage, and that would be a distraction.

Here are photos of Katie wearing Marchesa in New York last week. As far as Marchesa ice-capadey fug goes, this is one of the better offenders.

Katie Holmes

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet & WENN

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30 Responses to “Did Katie Holmes almost play the drug smuggling Piper Chapman in ‘OITNB’?”

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  1. Hissyfit says:

    Thank god she didn’t. She would’ve suck.

  2. manda says:

    thank goodness she wasn’t picked! Not a fan

  3. lucy2 says:

    I can’t see her being a good fit for it. Taylor is good at portraying the yuppie ice queen part of Piper, but can also get mean and tough when needed. I can’t picture Katie doing that so much, and I like that they don’t have any huge stars on the show. I’m sure a lot of actresses would like to guest star on it, but I hope they limit that.
    I’m almost done the book OITNB is based on, and it’s very interesting.

  4. g says:

    She is an awkward actressss……wouldnt have fit

  5. TheOriginalKitten says:

    “Holmes joked that if she was ever on the show, she could finally show off her tattoos. “No, I don’t have any tattoos,” she added with a laugh. “My child would kill me.” ”

    Spoken like a true CO$. DO NOT UPSET THE CHILD!

    I’m so happy that the role went to Taylor. I was kind of on the fence about her for the first half of season one but season two of OITNB really solidified my feelings abut her as an actress. I think she’s incredibly talented. Gifted, really.

    • CF98 says:

      Oh please! There are lots of moms who are hesitant about getting tattoos for this reason has nothing to do with Scientology.

      If Katie really wanted a tattoo she would’ve gotten one she didn’t now Suri might’ve been a factor but I don’t think that’s the sole reason anyone who truly believes that is gullible.

      • TheOriginalKitten says:

        Really, lots of moms are hesitant to get tattoos because their eight-year-old would “kill them”? It was how she phrased it that seemed incredibly strange to me.

        If she had said “I would prefer not to be a mom with tattoos” then I would understand, but why does an 8-year-old get to dictate what an adult woman does with her body?

      • Mayamae says:

        TOK, this is the woman who claims Suri has been coordinating Katie’s outfits since she was two. I disregard much of what she says about her child. I also remember Katie telling a story in which toddler Suri awakened each day, threw open her arms, and exclaimed – “Good morning, Berlin!”

      • TheOriginalKitten says:

        LOL Mayamae! 😉

  6. Talie says:

    A cast of lesser knowns was much smarter… but yeah, of course it would’ve been great for her!

  7. Loopy says:

    I am the only one that thinks she always seems to be on a film set yet i never hear,see any movies she is actually in???

    • Candy Love says:

      ^ This

      I was wondering the same thing so I look it up a last month and she had 2 movies that came out earlier this year but they never made it to the theaters and I couldn’t find anything about them going to DVD. Why she still getting jobs is beyond me but I guess she must have a really good manager .

  8. Reece says:

    “Would that have been disastrous?”

    Yes.

  9. DCJ says:

    Everything about Katie irritates me. I’m glad she got away from Tom Cruise, but ugh, that smirk. Trying to convince us she’s some fashion genius is a total fail. I just think she is very phony because there is really nothing behind the eyes.

    • Candy Love says:

      +100000

    • Mayamae says:

      Her smirk is from Bells’s Palsy which caused facial nerve damage. She can’t help the smirk or appearance of talking out of the side of her mouth.

      I never watched Dawson’s Creek so I don’t have affectionate feelings for “Joey”. I think her marriage stunted her emotionally, and she’s stuck in that sweet perky personality. She’s also hampered by her little girl voice. It’s said Brooke Shield saw a speech therapist to overcome her “sparrow voice”.

      I don’t watch OITNB, but isn’t Laura Prepon CO$? That would have been beyond awkward.

  10. CF98 says:

    It probably worked out for the best apparently Katie is a fan of the show so she must not be that upset over it either. I’m kind of wondering why the creator would bring this up now. Seems odd.

  11. Bridget says:

    Could Katie have actually done some of those graphic scenes? Yes, she’s gone topless once before, but OITNB really goes there.

    • TheOriginalKitten says:

      To answer your question: No. Katie is way too vanilla. OITNB is for brave actresses only.

      • Lisa says:

        IA. She shouldn’t even be in the same sentence as Uzo Aduba and Lorraine Toussaint! Piper is supposed to be boring and vanilla herself, but Taylor is the only person I can imagine in that role.

      • TheOriginalKitten says:

        Uzo is so amazing. Lorraine as well.

        True that Piper starts OFF as vanilla, but there’s quite an intense character arc for her. She really changes and hardens from her experience behind bars. Holmes doesn’t have the range or the comedic timing needed for that kind of a character.
        Schilling, however, nails it.

      • Bridget says:

        Since you can’t see the other side of my laptop, I should mention that my question was posed with a very quizzical look on my face. I mean, Piper and Alex’s scenes have been VERY sexy, and I just can’t picture her having the same chemistry with Prepon (or Prepon even being cast if Katie was hired, considering Prepon’s $ci affiliations).

      • lucy2 says:

        I don’t know if you guys saw it, but Conan had a big group from the cast on Monday. Uzo (I love her!) tried to teach him to do Crazy Eyes and Laverne did his hair.
        The cast seems pretty tight and like they have a lot of fun together.

    • jen d. says:

      Exactly. She’s also a big enough star that she could have pressured them to change certain scenes. I can see her insisting on more makeup, a better haircut, etc, etc. I feel that this is one of the few shows where the sexuality and nudity in general really matter for the story….

  12. If that’s true she should fire her agent. I bet there were a few actors that turned down that role because ew Netflix, mind you I’m sure tv is already low enough but why do tv if it’s not HBO? At least AMC? Netflix is doing great now but I doubt many actors really saw it as being anything other than Netflix. I’m still surprised Spacey and Wright did House of Cards (even if that show is really good). Who would have thought Netflix would become a contender?

    That said I already dislike Holmes. as much as I wouldn’t be able to stand watching her (her voice!) I don’t know if it would have made any difference as I really, really dislike Piper, who is just a horrible person. I have hope that she’ll get her release soon and she and Alex (and Penny and Larry) can be written off the show so they can focus on the other ladies.

  13. elo says:

    I really dislike Katie as an actress, I’m very glad they went with Taylor instead. Katie is an awful actress and her personal life would have overshadowed the ensemble cast.

  14. Oy says:

    Poor Ryan Reynolds, he knows he’s sunk pretty low if he’s starring with HER. Nothing she is in works or succeeds. Why does anyone hire her? Can’t stand her. But since I never see anything she is in, it doesn’t matter.

  15. Lydia says:

    She had “other things” to do… oh, okay. Like she deliberately chose to make that Queen Latifah bomb over The Dark Knight? Everyone knows this person cannot act. Thank God they chose Taylor Schilling.

    • CF98 says:

      Well the creator of OINTB is the one that brought it up not Katie and Katie chose to turn it down for whatever reason(I’m inclined to think it had more to do with Laura Prepon being a CO$ more than her thinking it was beneath her).

      So yeah she probably was working on another project at the time why is that so hard to believe?

  16. serena says:

    I’m so glad she found her place in movies and is happy now. I still root for her!