WATCH: the official Season three trailer, then read what Taylor Schilling and Alex Prepon had to say after we saw the first episode of Season two. We can't wait for Season three, out 12 June on Netflix.

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Here's what Taylor Schilling (Piper) and Laura Prepon (Alex) had to say when we caught up with them after seeing the episode.

ELLE: Was the first episode a big challenge for you?

Taylor: Yeah, it was really exciting. It was important for that much to happen after we left it the way we did at the end of season one. Piper needed to come through.

ELLE: Taylor and Alex have a love/hate relationship. How’s the atmosphere in rehearsals?

Laura: We’re so comfortable that can rely on each other to get each other through. When we were doing the scene in the pilot where Taylor did the strip dance in the bedroom, our director at the time, Michael Trim, explained our relationship like I’m the spider and she’s the fly. I lure her in and we have this tumultuous crazy relationship, but as the first season progressed, you saw those roles shift.

ELLE: What are the similarities between you and your characters?

Taylor: I like that Piper doesn’t stop trying. She messes things up but she just doesn’t give up. I like that she’s not completely likeable, and she’s pretty flawed.

Laura: I love that Alex is true to herself and she’s very open with her communication. I like to think I don’t mince my words. And she’s a badass – I love playing her.

ELLE: What part of Piper’s character you enjoy playing the most?

Taylor: It is such a gift of a role – all of these different elements of who she is are able to come into play. Even parts she didn’t even know existed. It’s interesting to watch someone surprise themselves in such extreme circumstances.

ELLE: Jodie Foster directed an episode in the first season – how was that?

Taylor: Amazing. She’s an icon in every capacity, as a director, producer, writer, actor. To have her breadth of experience focused on us was so extraordinary. I was so scared when she came but she spun some magical thing and made it not scary to be around her.

ELLE: What book are you reading at the moment?

Taylor: The Easter Parade by Richard Yates, and Searching For Mercy Street: My Journey Back To My Mother by Linda Gray Sexton. It’s Anne Sexton’s daughter’s autobiography – it’s pretty dark. Piper Kerman actually gave me a book of Leonard Cohen poetry.

Season three of Orange Is The New Black is out on Netflix on 12 June

Want to know more? Download the June 2014 issue of ELLE to read our interview with the real Piper Kerman