Joseph Fiennes doesn’t have many kind words for his “Handmaid’s Tale” character.
In an interview with TheWrap, Fiennes compared The Commander’s relationship with Offred to that of a “cat with a ball of string,” calling their dynamic “perverse and horrific.”
“He’s a complex character, that’s what I loved about him,” the actor said the man to whom Elisabeth Moss’ handmaid Offred is assigned. “Their relationship is complex. She’s navigating her survival with him … he needs the contact. He has no contact with his wife. She’s barren, possibly. And they have no sex, as sex is outlawed unless you’re procreating.”
“He uses his power to exact what he wants,” Fiennes said. “He’s like a cat with a ball of string. Whenever she emerges and shows her intellect, he shuts her down. It’s a very perverse and horrific relationship, but to begin with, it’s seemingly nice.”
An adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel, “The Handmaid’s Tale” follows Offred (Moss), a servant in the household of a high-ranking official in a totalitarian society called Gilead. Being one of the few remaining fertile women in Gilead, she is forced into sexual servitude to bear the child of Fiennes’ character and his wife, played by Yvonne Strahovski.
“I was told that we should never talk about sex, politics or religion, which means you can’t really talk about the show. But I’m going to break those rules because this is a show worth talking about,” Fiennes said.
“It is a horrific show. It’s prescient and timely,” he continued. “A lot of the events that were written in Margaret Atwood’s great feminist piece of literature, and in Hulu’s great rendition of that piece of literature, have happened in our time and age. So it’s not so far fetched, and I think that’s why it’s so difficult to stomach.”
And Fiennes promised that there’s only more to come: “It gets worse,” he said. “In the best possible way.”
“Handmaid’s Tale” airs Wednesdays on Hulu.
The Scene at TheWrap's 2017 Power Women Breakfast in Washington DC (Photos)
Elisabeth Moss at Power Women Breakfast
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Margaret Atwood and Elisabeth Moss at Power Women Breakfast
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Elisabeth Moss, Margaret Atwood, TheWrap CEO Sharon Waxman at Power Women Breakfast
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Margaret Atwood and Elisabeth Moss at Power Women Breakfast
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Elisabeth Moss, Margaret Atwood, Sharon Waxman at Power Women Breakfast
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CEO of the Creative Coalition Robin Bronk, the Grover M. Hermann Research Fellow for budgetary affairs at the Heritage Foundation Romina Boccia, SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris and Sharon Waxman at Power Women Breakfast
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The scene at the Power Women Breakfast.
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Elisabeth Moss, Margaret Atwood, Sharon Waxman at Power Women Breakfast
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Elisabeth Moss, Margaret Atwood, Sharon Waxman at Power Women Breakfast
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Elisabeth Moss, Margaret Atwood, Sharon Waxman at Power Women Breakfast
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Romina Boccia at Power Women Breakfast
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Attendees at the Power Women Breakfast
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Robin Bronk, Romina Boccia at Power Women Breakfast
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Recode Executive Editor Kara Swisher, Politico Editor Carrie Budoff Brown, White House reporter for The Huffington Post Christina Wilkie, and White House reporter for The Huffington Post Cecilia Vega at Power Women Breakfast
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Kara Swisher, Carrie Budoff Brown, Christina Wilkie, Cecilia Vega at Power Women Breakfast
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An attendee at the Power Women Breakfast.
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Elisabeth Moss greets attendees.
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LA Times writer Laura King at the Power Women Breakfast.
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Paul Almeida, Gabrielle Carteris, Katie Thompson, Emily Larsen, and attendees at the Power Women Breakfast.
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Elisabeth Moss at Power Women Breakfast DC 2017
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An attendee at the Power Women Breakfast.
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Attendees at the Power Women Breakfast.
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Attendees at the Power Women Breakfast.
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The scene at TheWrap's Power Women Breakfast in Washington, D.C., on April 19, 2017.
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Attendees at the Power Women Breakfast.
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Attendees at the Power Women Breakfast.
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Attendees at the Power Women Breakfast.
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Attendees at the Power Women Breakfast.
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The scene at the Power Women Breakfast.
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The scene at the Power Women Breakfast.
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The scene at the Power Women Breakfast.
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Power Women Breakfast.
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Emily Larsen at the Power Women Breakfast.
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The scene at the Power Women Breakfast.
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The scene at the Power Women Breakfast.
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Katie Thompson at the Power Women Breakfast.
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”The Handmaid’s Tale“ star Elisabeth Moss and author Margaret Atwood headlined the event