In The Testaments, the sequel series to The Handmaid’s Tale, Agnes (Chase Infiniti) grows up at a school for Pearl Girls in Gilead run by Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd) and meets Daisy (Lucy Halliday), a newcomer from Canada who has chosen to give up her old life, as they begin to learn what’s actually true about the world around them.
Awards Buzz spoke with Brad Alexander, who plays Garth, a Guardian whose true allegiance is to Mayday, about how much he knew of this universe before coming into it:
“I had watched Handmaid’s and stuff. I hadn’t read the novels at this point, so as soon as I got the casting call, I immediately bought both the novels and consumed them very quickly. It became more familiar in the end, but I’m a big fan of dystopian fiction and stuff, so it was really a pleasure to be a part of it. 1984 was obviously a great one, Hunger Games is also quite interesting. Yeah, there’s a lot of options out there.”
When asked whether the book and the show are different, he stressed that they certainly are:
“Especially with relation to my character, most definitely. Garth is almost a completely different incantation in the TV series, but they were both interesting to read, and I think that reading the original novel was actually helpful in creating Garth as a character. He’s confused but he actually is well-intentioned. He wants the best for everyone, he’s just confused about the way in which that needs to happen, but he’s well-intentioned, so that’s good.”
He discussed what was hardest for him to relate to about Garth:
“This whole soldierly aspect of him. He’s a Gilead guardian. He’s been trained in certain ways with weapons and stuff. This is all fairly unfamiliar to me. I got to practice shooting, which was quite fun, in the process of this, but that was definitely a new element for me.”
He shared what it’s like to enter the headspace of this world:
“It’s obviously an interesting challenge for an actor. You have to carry the weight of Gilead. It’s a lot of pressure constantly. You’re constantly looking around your shoulder for some authority out there. So it was really fun to chew on as an actor. All of that stuff is really creatively satisfying.”
New episodes of The Testaments premiere weekly on Wednesdays through the season finale on May 27th.
