New York: Elisabeth Moss and Madeline Brewer reflect on scenes which they found emotionally difficult to film.
Some scenes in 'The Handmaid's Tale' can be difficult to watch—the handmaids are sexually assaulted in acts called "ceremonies" by the Gilead commanders, sometimes chained, and abused physically and mentally— remember when the handmaids were taken to the baseball field and had nooses placed around their necks? Or what about the time Janine, played by Madeline Brewer, had her right eye cut out for talking back to Aunt Lyida?
There are also those scenes when characters are sentenced to death by drowning or stoning. But it turns out some of the cast find it difficult to film some scenes as much as viewers may have trouble watching them.
"It's different for us because we see everything that goes into it and it looks much more fake when you're there and, you know, we've been involved in the writing of it and so it's different for us. We're not as objective about it. But there are definitely times when you see something visually and it looks too real and it's not fun to watch," said lead actress Elisabeth Moss, who plays June, also known as Offred.
"There was a hanging scene I think in episode seven or eight that takes place in the square and incredible actors and stunt actors did—they did an amazing job and looked very real and it was uncomfortable to watch."