Elisabeth Moss reveals what scene in “The Handmaid’s Tale” she had to film the day after the election
The Handmaid’s Tale has easily become one of our favorite series of 2017. The series, based on the book by the same name from Margaret Atwood, features a talented cast, hauntingly good cinematography, and, of course, a story that never fails to give us chills, the latter of which is particularly disturbing today in the current political climate.
Turns out, filming the series was just as weird as it is for us to watch it. The star of the show, Elisabeth Moss, recently revealed that, eerily enough, the series shot the day after the U.S. presidential election. She says that this sequence of events likely, and understandably, affected her performance during some pivotal scenes with co-star Joseph Fiennes.
During a recent interview with Elle, Moss says that, while she normally doesn’t go out much, especially on nights before she has to film, she decided to hit the town the night of the election to celebrate what was expected to be a historic event in American history.
She says, “I don’t go out, I don’t socialize. Especially when I’m working. I hang out with my family and I have, like, three friends. And I went out because I thought we were gonna have the first female president, and I wanted to be out for that. I thought that was gonna be an amazing moment to see.”
She later went home and stayed up until 2 a.m. watching the results pour in, only to wake up at 6 a.m. to begin shooting. In the scenes the crew shot that day, Elisabeth’s character, Offred, goes to the Commander’s office to play scrabble and ends up learning more about how he lives with himself despite the despicable circumstances. Remember?
We think Moss is incredible in every scene she’s ever in, but she’s particularly captivating in these. She says of her performance that day:
"It's hard to say whether or not my performance would have been different, but I know what I was feeling when I said that, and I can see it in the scene. I took it personally in a way that I perhaps would not have if it wasn't November 8th. It was a weird, intense day."
We honestly cannot imagine what it must have been like to shoot these scenes. We’re glad Moss was able to push through on that day and deliver such an incredible performance.
We cannot wait to continue watching this series unfold. Keep on killing it, Elisabeth.
