As fans binge-watch the final season of dystopian series The Handmaids Tale, lead actor Elisabeth Moss opens up on what the role means to her – and playing her now as a mum, herself
Fans, rejoice! The sixth and final series of powerful drama The Handmaid’s Tale is back on our screens. It’s based on the 1985 novel by Margaret Atwood about a futuristic dystopia where a patriarchal regime, the Republic of Gilead, has supplanted the US government. Following an explosive series five finale, in which June (Elisabeth Moss) reunited with fellow refugee Serena (Yvonne Strahovski) and escaped out west, we’re set to follow June as she teams up with the Handmaids and tries to bring about a revolution.
Here, Elisabeth, 42, who plays the lead character and narrator, Offred/June, opens up about the huge impact the show has had on her. She also tells us about becoming a mother for the first time after welcoming a baby in 2024 with her partner, whose identity she has not revealed, confessing that she was “so fortunate” to be have her newborn on set with her while filming the final series in Vancouver.
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Hi, Elisabeth. The final series of The Handmaid’s Tale is here – what’s it been like saying goodbye?
I love this story. I love playing this character. I still can’t believe that they let me direct the show. I’m so honoured. I still have moments standing on set where I cannot believe that I get to do that job and I get to work with these actors. It’s truly such a privilege.
Also, congratulations on becoming a mum! Has that changed your connection with June?
I think I’ve done a pretty good job playing a mom without being a mom. But I will say that being a mom, it’s different. It definitely did have an effect. It’s impossible not to think about the real child and to draw those parallels in a very emotional way – plus, I was really tired [laughs]. So it definitely was a more emotional and visceral experience.
What can we expect from this season? Is there a revolution coming?
I can’t tell you what to expect. We promised a revolution and I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that revolution is here. I really feel like it’s from our heart, our finale. So I hope that people think that.
We’ve seen videos of you all dancing between takes. It seems fun, despite the heavy subject matter…
Being a director on the show is like being a kindergarten teacher or a mum. It’s like herding kittens, just trying to get the actors and crew to be serious for two to two-and-a-half minutes – because it’s a serious scene. And I love that, I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s so much fun working on our show.
Since 2017, The Handmaid’s Tale has had 15 Emmy wins, what’s made it such a career highlight for you?
On a personal level, this show has changed my life and my career. I’ve been doing this [acting] for 30-something years. I’ve stopped counting [laughs]. And I love acting so much, it’s my first love. But after doing it for so long, you do need to grow as an artist and I got to start producing on the show, then start directing. And so, to be able to explore what I do in those two new ways was incredibly fulfilling.
What are you most proud of about being part of the show?
I think, if it in any way, at any time, offers anyone any inspiration, any hope, any idea of a better future for themselves, and their loved ones. If it in any way gives anyone a reason to get up in the morning or a reason to keep fighting for what they believe in, then I think that is something that I will forever, for the rest of my life, be beyond proud of.
Margaret Atwood wrote The Handmaid’s Tale back in 1985, but its themes still resonate today. You see the Handmaids’ red gowns and white caps at protests in America…
I’ve never said this before, but I was doing another show and I was offered a silly social thing for social media, and given a fake red cloak to wear for it. And I said, ‘No’ – not because I’m afraid of embarrassing myself. But because I really value that costume. I consider it sort of sacred. It stands for something. I think it’s fun for people to dress up their dogs. Super into that. Any pet costume is totally approved. But this, I take it seriously when I wear it. And that’s the best way of me saying what it means to me.
You’ve said June’s motherhood is central to this season. Is that right?
This season is about choice – each of these characters has to choose whether they’re going to go towards the darkness or towards the light. It’s surprising, I think, which characters choose what. And it’s complicated as to why they choose what they choose. The choices we all make in the show, even the characters that are more flawed, are complicated and are for reasons that are interesting to explore. But I hope that at the end – it’s so hard to talk about without spoiling anything – it is about, ‘rise up’.
Is the message about not staying quiet when something is wrong?
Yes, it is important to speak out. It is important to not rest. It is important to fight for what you believe in and never, ever take it for granted. And it’s important to tell that story, and to tell that story for the next generation. We don’t end in a place of despair. We don’t get everything we want, but we have to hope. And we have to keep fighting, writing and telling our stories. I’m going to get off my soapbox now [laughs]. But that’s what it’s about to me. It’s very personal, I think, to all of us. It’s personal. We’ve all ended shows before that we had personal feelings about. But this is different.
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Source: Mirror
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