Drunk on power
As The Handmaid’s Tale returns for a new season, Joseph Fiennes, who plays the menacing Fred Waterford, talks about his character’s marriage to Serena (Yvonne Strahovksi) and reveals what is it like having the show’s star Elisabeth Moss (left) as a director.
As Fred Waterford, Joseph Fiennes plays one of the most unlikeable characters on our screens. In The Handmaid’s Tale, set in Gilead, a place where women are second class citizens, Fred rules the roost at home and has no qualms about resorting to violence when it comes to his handmaid Offred (Elisabeth Moss) or his wife Serena (Yvonne Strahovksi).
Fred’s relationship with Serena is rocky but it wasn’t always like this.
“Though we don’t get a lot of airtime to examine this dynamic, we have seen a flashback in the early days of Serena in front of the crowds and Fred supporting her,” says Fiennes.
“I would love to see an episode where we delve back into the early days to examine the headlines and support that Fred provided Serena.
“Following how it went wrong would show the corrosive effects of power, especially when you have a weaker character like Fred who hides beneath double-breasted jackets, political positions, and mahogany desks. Once he got drunk on that, he figured he could live out the fantasies, and never be held accountable.” The Handmaid’s Tale, inspired by a Margaret Atwood novel of the same name, is now in its fourth season. Elisabeth Moss’ character Offred is still central to the storyline but this time she is also one of the show’s directors. “Elisabeth Moss, if she wants, will become one of the great directors,” says Fiennes. “Her ability to direct The Handmaid’s Tale is extraordinary because she is an extraordinary actress and her depth and knowledge of the story is unparalleled. Elisabeth’s acute awareness, her instincts as an actor, her ability to communicate, her sense of truth, her love of actors, and her brilliant cinematic eye make her a dynamic, powerful, and exciting voice as a director.”