Emmy award-winning actress Elisabeth Moss has been very busy. Moss has hung up her Handmaid’s uniform temporarily to work on two big projects at SXSW. The musical drama, ‘Her Smell,’ features Moss as a punk rock musician struggling with sobriety. The other is a small little horror flick you may have heard of called ‘Us’ from Jordan Peele which premiered at SXSW as the opening night feature.
However, her starring role in the Hulu original drama, ‘The Handmaid’s Tale,’ is the timeliest role, as the current climate for women and marginalized communities in the United States has become a source of contention. In fact, since the premiere of the show, many have likened the events of the series to what was happening in the country, even wearing full Handmaid costumes to women’s rights protests.
During the Q&A portion at her featured session at SXSW, Moss was asked how long of a walk it is from Gilead in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale‘ to Trump’s America. While she admits that the treatment of women is far from perfect, she expresses hope that the extreme and oppressive Republic of Gilead is a considerable distance from real life.
Moss said:
“I hope it’s a long walk. There are other countries that that are a lot closer. There are some countries that are Gilead…we are farther.”
Moss also revealed that she spoke with Margaret Atwood, author of the novel of the same name that inspired Hulu’s series, about the same thing. Atwood agreed that, while we are not there yet, we cannot ignore what is going on in the world. When it comes to the treatment of women in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale,’ Moss reminds us that “It’s based on what has happened before”.
Moss’ next film, ‘Us,’ will hit theaters on March 22 while ‘Her Smell’ opens April 12. The 13-episode third season of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ will premiere on Hulu on June 5 beginning with three new episodes and subsequent episodes released every Wednesday.
