Katie Holmes was almost cast as the lead role on the hit TV show “Orange Is The New Black.”
According to the creator Jenji Kohan, Holmes was seriously considered for the part of bisexual, drug-smuggling, prisoner Piper Chapman, which ultimately went to Taylor Schilling.
Kohan, who also created the hit series Weeds, told E! Online that she spoke to Holmes about the role, but suggested the actress was too busy with other commitments to sign on.
Speaking at an OITNB event in Los Angeles, Kohan said, “[Katie] had other things to do. And also in the beginning, no one knew what this was.”
The show, of course, has since been a monumental success, having recently been nominated for 12 Emmy Awards (including a nomination for Schilling as Lead Actress In A Comedy Series).
Holmes spoke about the possibility of appearing in the show in a cameo while promoting her new film, The Giver.
Asked if she had any tattoos to show off, the actress told E! Online, “No, I don’t have any tattoos. My child [Suri] would kill me.”
During the OITNB panel, the cast was asked who Holmes could play.
“[Katie] could be friends with Lorna or like Lorna’s Boston sister,” Taylor Schilling said. (Lorna – played by Aussie Yael Stone – is in prison for stalking a man she dated in addition to fraud charges.)
If Holmes did turn up at Litchfield Prison, Kate Mulgrew – who plays Red – suggested she should watch her back.
“She better watch herself. Pretty girls have to watch out in prison,” smiled Mulgrew.
This article originally appeared on News.com.au.