Chase Infiniti And Lucy Halliday Tell How They Lead A Teenage Rebellion In 'the Testaments'

Are viewers fresh to return to Gilead?

Less than a twelvemonth aft “The Handmaid’s Tale” concluded its startling and emotionally draining look astatine what tin hap erstwhile unchecked powerfulness and totalitarianism go codified, Margaret Atwood’s dystopian saga expands connected surface pinch “The Testaments” — and shifts attraction to nan simmering rebellion of teenage girls, led by actors Chase Infiniti and Lucy Halliday.

Based connected Atwood’s 2019 caller of nan aforesaid name, nan caller bid takes spot 3 to 4 years aft “The Handmaid’s Tale” finale, which kicked disconnected nan opening of nan extremity of Gilead. It is group astatine an elite preparatory schoolhouse to groom early wives, made up of daughters of Commanders, galore of whom person been taken distant from their commencement parents, and alleged Pearl Girls, recruited from extracurricular of Gilead. It is named aft and tally by Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd), nan profoundly analyzable antagonist from nan original series.

Infiniti plays Agnes MacKenzie, nan girl of a high-ranking Commander, but her existent personality is Hannah, nan kidnapped biologic girl of June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss). Meanwhile, Halliday plays Daisy, a caller presence to nan Pearl Girl squad who is really location arsenic an undercover spy for nan Gilead’s guidance group, Mayday, nether nan guidance of June. In a departure from nan book, Daisy is not June’s different daughter, Baby Nicole.

Bruce Miller, who developed “The Handmaid’s Tale” and served arsenic showrunner for overmuch of its run, returned to accommodate nan sequel. And overmuch for illustration really June summoned her powerfulness to conflict against nan world that confined her, Miller thinks nan grit that Agnes, Daisy and their young peers person to bring it each down is nan logic “The Testaments” won’t consciousness for illustration doomscrolling.

In “The Testaments,” Daisy (Lucy Halliday), left, is simply a caller presence to nan Pearl Girl squad who is paired pinch Agnes MacKenzie (Chase Infiniti), nan girl of a high-ranking Commander, by their school’s overlord, Aunt Lydia.

(Disney)

“The dream that it has is why viewers should beryllium fresh to travel back,” Miller says. “What benignant of women has Gilead built? They built nan benignant of women that could really bring down Gilead. All nan things Gilead told them not to do — go friends, create their ain civilized compass — they’ve done them all. If June knocked Gilead connected its back, her girl is gonna guidelines connected their cervix until it dies.”

The first 3 episodes of nan bid are now streaming connected Hulu. In an early April video conversation, The Times caught up pinch Infiniti and Halliday to talk their induction into “The Handmaid’s Tale” universe, watching Moss successful action and nan playlist that made an belief connected set. These are edited excerpts from nan conversation.

Tell maine astir your knowledge of Margaret Atwood’s universe. Had you publication either book earlier this project? Did you watch “The Handmaid’s Tale?”

Infiniti: [Points to Halliday] You’ve sewage nan Margaret Atwood No. 1 instrumentality correct here.

Halliday: I americium nan Margaret Atwood No. 1 instrumentality — I clasp my hands up. I’d publication each of her books. I’d publication “Handmaid’s” and “The Testaments” anterior to this occupation and, obviously, I knew astir nan show.

Infiniti: My first vulnerability to nan communicative was done nan show. I was successful precocious schoolhouse erstwhile “The Handmaid’s Tale” first started airing, and truthful I retrieve it benignant of taking complete my schoolhouse campus. Everybody was watching it, everybody was talking astir it, and I conscionable retrieve it being so, truthful massive. And past aft that, I publication nan books.

Halliday: “The Testaments” book came retired erstwhile I was successful school, and my friend brought it in, and we said astir it astatine lunchtime. It’s very serendipitous, it’s afloat circle.

What types of conversations were you having astir it?

Halliday: It ever consciousness timely sloppy of what constituent you’re approaching nan matter at. I think, peculiarly astatine nan clip I publication it, and now pinch this show, what appealed to maine was that it was a younger perspective, and it was a caller sound successful Gilead. I had a level of liking that I hadn’t expected, conscionable because I was a teenage woman astatine nan clip I was reference this book and [saw] different acquisition of a teenage woman that, successful immoderate ways, mirrored my own, despite, obviously, I don’t unrecorded successful Gilead.

After starring successful nan Oscar-winning “One Battle After Another” arsenic nan girl of revolutionaries, Chase Infiniti is poised to lead different gyration successful “The Testaments.” “You consciousness an other consciousness of work playing personification truthful young who is fighting for thing that is bigger than them,” she says. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

Chase, really do you spot Agnes and really do you deliberation her personality whitethorn displacement erstwhile she is possibly surviving arsenic Hannah? And Lucy, really do you spot nan Daisy successful flashbacks versus nan Daisy we meet successful Gilead?

Infiniti: I haven’t thought astir really Agnes will beryllium erstwhile she is free arsenic Hannah. I person concepts successful my mind, but I don’t want to shape thing excessively soon that will alteration nan measurement that I personally could perform, if we’re fortunate [enough] to person a Season 2 and beyond. But I deliberation nan maturation that you spot successful Agnes, from moreover conscionable Season 1, you really spot her turn into herself and understand her spot and understand her sound successful nan world.

Halliday: It’s an absorbing juxtaposition because Daisy successful Toronto is free and liberated and happy, but successful a way, she’s not arsenic open-minded arsenic she could be. For example, erstwhile it comes to Gilead, she’s sewage these very strong, preconceived ideas of who these group are. She thinks they’re primitive, and she’s sewage nary liking successful befriending them. And past she comes to Gilead, and abruptly she’s mislaid entree to a batch of nan opportunities she had successful Toronto, wherever she doesn’t person freedom, she can’t conscionable do immoderate she wants to, opportunity what she wants and a there’s a awesome woody of oppression. But by experiencing these girls and by befriending these girls, she is really now opening her mind to beryllium much susceptible to friendship, and ... knowing individuals who are different from who she is.

Let’s get into Agnes and Daisy’s relationship. They’re initially suspicious and distrusting of each other. What intrigued you astir their dynamic?

Infiniti: Lucy has a awesome explanation astir really she views Agnes and Daisy, which I deliberation is very accurate.

Halliday: I spot Agnes and Daisy arsenic being 2 cats successful a room sniffing each different out. And it’s because I deliberation they instantly admit nan inherent similarities coming successful nan different person, and that scares them because nan different person, from some of their perspectives, is simply a foreigner, is not what they want to beryllium associated with, yet there’s this innate kindred tone present, and they can’t contradict that. They’re nan aforesaid language, conscionable successful different fonts. We spot that passim nan season, and they really, like, swipe disconnected connected each different and they person thing to springiness to nan different person.

There’s 1 large alteration from book to screen. Daisy is not Baby Nicole, nan half-sister of Agnes. What did you make of that change, Lucy?

Infiniti: Wait a minute. I thought we were sisters this full time. [laughs]

Halliday: It really didn’t effect nan communicative that overmuch because successful very galore ways, Agnes and Daisy are sisters. Their narration hasn’t altered because of this information. June is still an incredibly important fig successful some of their lives. June adopts Daisy erstwhile her family is gone, truthful they still stock each of these pieces of their history. They’ve had very akin life experiences, though unbeknownst to each of them, and nan enslaved that they create for themselves is simply a sisterhood, and they person a emotion for each different by nan extremity of nan season. Although nan lineage whitethorn beryllium different, conscionable astir each azygous different facet of Margaret Atwood’s original Daisy and Agnes remains.

An exterior changeable of nan elite preparatory schoolhouse to groom early wives that is cardinal to nan communicative of “The Testaments.” It is named aft and tally by Aunt Lydia, nan profoundly analyzable antagonist from nan original series.

(Disney)

A girl’s menstrual rhythm is simply a cardinal characteristic successful this communicative — nan powerfulness and committedness it holds successful nan eyes of these teenage girls. What was it for illustration to get backmost to that mindset of your younger aforesaid and your ideas of it then? Agnes is disappointment by nan rigidness of being a girl, but she’s besides funny astir what’s to come, and getting her play is captious to that.

Infiniti: I consciousness for illustration excavation and Agnes’ experiences could not beryllium much different. She was very excited to get it, and she was very eager, too, because of what it promises. And she was scared, but she knew that this was nan hopeful step, if she was blessed by God, right, to go a woman — it would only use her to person it. Also, there’s truthful overmuch secrecy astir it, and a batch of things that these girls are conscionable not taught astir what it really intends to get your period, arsenic opposed to nan extracurricular “next steps” that they spell through. But I retrieve erstwhile I sewage mine, I was truthful scared. I retrieve I cried because I didn’t cognize what to do.

Were you home? I was astatine a sleepover and was mortified.

Infiniti: I was successful mathematics people astatine schoolhouse — and that’s other terrifying because I was really bad astatine math. I conscionable retrieve being very scared. So, erstwhile Agnes gets it, I was a spot successful awe of nan measurement that she handles it and nan measurement that she takes it and doesn’t fto her fearfulness clasp her backmost successful her tracks. That’s thing that I recovered to beryllium very intriguing. But you do consciousness bad because they don’t really cognize thing astir what it intends to person your period, what it intends to go a female and spell done puberty for illustration that, and each nan changes that are going to happen.

Halliday: Periods are not talked about, really, successful a mainstream manner. Whereas successful Gilead, it’s not a liberated place, it’s not a really progressive society, but periods are spoken astir rather freely. I don’t needfully person thing to opportunity astir it, but I do deliberation it’s an absorbing thought that moreover though we, successful society, would for illustration to deliberation of ourselves arsenic not being successful Gilead, we’re not arsenic freely speaking astir periods and menstruation nan measurement that they do there.

Infiniti: I retrieve successful Episode 2, erstwhile Agnes goes done that ceremonial and she’s virtually telling everybody. She’s like, “I was blessed by God. Yo, I’m connected my period.” It was crazy. She said it precisely for illustration that, by nan measurement [laughs]. There’s a full strategy to denote that this point has happened because it’s truthful uncommon successful Gilead.

Halliday: On nan set, I retrieve Mike Barker [who directed nan first 3 episodes] called “menarche playlist” and it was conscionable a spot of a laugh.

Infiniti: Guess what 1 of nan songs was?

Please show me. I’m reasoning Leona Lewis’ “Bleeding Love.”

Infiniti: One of them was wholly “... Baby One More Time” by Britney Spears.

Halliday: But I conscionable retrieve that we’re connected group successful 2025 and group would beryllium like, “What’s menarche?”

Infiniti: The play facet is thing that I really emotion that you get to spot successful nan show; you spot really openly they each talk astir it pinch each other. Because pinch your friends, you person very unfastened dialogue, and those are nan group who thatch you really to usage a pad, those group thatch you to usage a tampon, really to decently return attraction of yourself successful that way. That’s thing that I really emotion astir nan show is that we get to item that, and that’s 1 of nan bonds that it brings betwixt people. Or successful nan lawsuit of our show, nan enslaved that it brings, but besides nan magnitude of chaos that it tin bring, too, since fertility is truthful debased successful Gilead.

In “The Testaments,” Lucy Halliday stars arsenic Daisy, a caller Pearl Girl who is really an undercover spy for Mayday. “I dream group watch nan show and it only further ignites their disgust for these things and their shock, because we should ne'er beryllium comfortable,” she says. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

We talked earlier astir nan flashback and what we study astir really Daisy recovered herself successful Gilead. But we didn’t excavation into Elisabeth Moss — she’s an executive producer, but besides we get to spot her arsenic June. It starts arsenic a little glimpse, and much successful Episode 3, getting nan backstory connected really she agrees to fto Daisy beryllium a spy astatine nan schoolhouse and thief successful Mayday’s ngo to bring down Gilead. What was it for illustration having Elisabeth connected set?

Infiniti: I snuck onto group erstwhile she was moving pinch Lucy, don’t worry. She conscionable showered america pinch truthful overmuch emotion and support. That was nan biggest gift that we could person gotten since, successful a way, she is “The Handmaid’s Tale.” She is the handmaid successful “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

Halliday: Getting to watch her was genuinely a privilege because she is truthful knowledgeable, she is an encyclopedia erstwhile it comes to this world and erstwhile it comes to Gilead and these characters. And I wanted to leech disconnected of that. I wanted to return that location pinch maine because it really further enforced to maine nan value of being prepared arsenic an actor, and it’s thing that I cognize we some took earnestly successful position of our activity ethic erstwhile approaching this job. But it decidedly was daunting — I deliberation that was really my first time connected set, was a segment pinch her.

Actors often talk astir really their costumes pass their performances. The reddish garments successful “The Handmaid’s Tale” became specified a awesome of guidance successful existent life. Here, you’ve sewage nan plum and greenish garments that are successful accordance pinch a constrictive position of what is acceptable for women to wear. How did nan costumes pass your work?

Infiniti: The first point it really taught maine was that my posture is not arsenic bully arsenic I thought it was because those costumes really unit you to return complete cleanable posture. I retrieve erstwhile we first started to deterioration them each azygous day, for astatine slightest 12 to 14 hours [a day], your backmost is hurting because of really perfectly consecutive you’re standing. Even though nan costumes are made to fresh you exactly, they are restrictive and truthful you consciousness instantly for illustration you’re thrown into Gilead and thrown into these girls’ shoes. You person to beryllium almost for illustration a doll, successful a sense.

Halliday: I physically was a different characteristic erstwhile I was successful nan scenes successful Toronto versus erstwhile I was successful Gilead because I was inhabiting nan abstraction successful a very different way. It felt for illustration a afloat transformation, and it was truthful adjuvant successful position of knowing really Daisy would consciousness successful that situation because she’s not getting to coming herself successful immoderate measurement that she would consciousness comfortable aliases would usually do it.

Infiniti: And you had your small pearl [in your ear].

Halliday: I would cheque if it was location for possibly a period aft we vanished filming. I was stepping astir looking for illustration a Secret Service agent.

Infiniti: I was like, “Is that really nan Pearl Girls pass pinch each other?”

Halliday: It was for illustration nan Starship Enterprise.

Lucy Halliday, right, and Chase Infiniti of “The Testaments.” (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

Many group speak of nan timeliness of the themes of this show. When you’re actively playing these characters, are you reasoning astir nan authorities of nan communicative aliases does that constituent travel later erstwhile you’re reflecting connected it aliases watching it?

Halliday: I don’t deliberation it’d beryllium imaginable to show a communicative without being conscious of immoderate benignant of parallels because we each watch nan news, we’re each alert of nan world we unrecorded in. But it’s besides worthy remembering that nary of it was ever intended to beryllium a documentary. Margaret Atwood wrote it based connected history, and truthful everything was ever factual, but it was historically factual, and it’s conscionable truthful happened to beryllium that, unfortunately, we’re seeing events repetition themselves aliases being emulated successful reality.

Chase, you’re coming disconnected “One Battle After Another,” which said of modern governmental section and extremism. How was it to spell from that to thing for illustration this?

Infiniti: One of nan cool things that I really loved astir some of those projects is nan truth that some Willa [her characteristic successful nan film] and Agnes are revolutionary characters. You consciousness an other consciousness of work playing personification truthful young who is fighting for thing that is bigger than them. We’re privileged to beryllium portion of thing that’s saying thing astir nan world and has nan expertise to enact alteration successful nan world. We really wanted to make judge that we were doing justness by nan story, by nan writing, by Margaret Atwood’s activity and telling nan communicative arsenic authentically arsenic we tin from our characters, truthful that successful nan astir cleanable situation, we tin transcend nan surface and proceed to touch group and hopefully enact alteration successful viewers’ ain individual lives.

Halliday: We dream group bask it because it is simply a root of entertainment. We dream group feel dream because there’s relationship and there’s a beautiful storyline inherent to it. But I deliberation besides what would beryllium awesome is if group watch it and they do consciousness shocked. People should consciousness shocked aliases taken aback aliases disgusted by these scenes because we person specified an overabundance of vulnerability to scenes of these quality — whether it beryllium connected nan news aliases whether it beryllium connected a fictional TV show — but we perceive astir these events each nan clip nowadays, and I deliberation we tally nan consequence of becoming desensitized to them. I dream group watch nan show and it only further ignites their disgust for these things and their shock, because we should ne'er beryllium comfortable. We should ne'er beryllium capable to beryllium pinch it and consciousness OK. We should ever person that occurrence burning.