Laverne Cox almost quit acting before OITNB role (VIDEO)

Our favorite Orange Is the New Black cellmates ditched their jumpers and donned some gorgeous gowns for the 2014 Primetime Emmys on Monday night, Aug. 25. SheKnows had the opportunity to chat with the one and only Laverne Cox, who was nominated alongside her Orange Is the New Black costar Uzo Aduba, and found out she almost threw in the towel before landing the show role.

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After gushing about her debut appearance at the awards ceremony, Cox told us that her road to success almost didn’t happen. “In 2011, I had done, like, seven independent films. I was like ‘Good. Things were picking up. I’m making progress,'” she said. Unfortunately, her goals of locking in a role on a series the year afterwards didn’t pan out, leading the actress to contemplate quitting acting altogether.

Even if Cox didn’t continue to pursue her acting aspirations, the Orange Is the New Black actress says that she still had a backup plan. “I was talking to a friend and she had just gone back to grad school and I’m like, ‘Maybe it’s time to go back to grad school,'” she confessed. “I had got all the materials for the GRE and my friend, who just finished with grad school, sold them to me at a discount.”

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Despite her nudges toward education, Cox tells SheKnows that her passion for acting prompted some hesitation on tackling grad school. Shortly afterwards, she would begin to submit herself for gigs and eventually land the role of Sophia Burset from the hit Netflix show. It doesn’t look like the show’s success is stopping anytime soon, either. Back in May, Laura Prepon broke the news that the show had been renewed for a third season.