We were joined on the Popternative show by Mattea Conforti (Power, The Many Saints of Newark) who stars in The Testaments, the new sequel series to The Handmaid’s Tale that premiered on April 8 with the first three episodes on Hulu.
The coming-of-age series is based on the novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood and is set in the same world as The Handmaid’s Tale, within the dystopian society of Gilead. Ann Dowd reprises her role from the original series as Aunt Lydia Clements.
In addition to Dowd and Conforti, The Testaments also stars Chase Infiniti (One Battle After Another, Presumed Innocent), Lucy Halliday (California Schemin’, Blue Jean), Mabel Li (Safe Home, He Had It Coming), Amy Seimetz (Sweet Tooth, Pet Sematary), Brad Alexander (You, Lynley), Rowan Blanchard (Snowpiercer, Girl Meets World), Zarrin Darnell-Martin (Ginny & Georgia, Mistletoe Murders), Eva Foote (The Miniature Wife, Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy), Isolde Ardies (Wayward, Ruby and the Well), Shechinah Mpumlwana (13: The Musical, Blue’s Clues & You), Birva Pandya (The Institute, The Umbrella Academy), and Kira Guloien (56 Days, Murdoch Mysteries).
The Testaments follows young teens Agnes (Infiniti), dutiful and pious, and Daisy (Halliday), a new arrival and convert from beyond Gilead’s borders. As they navigate the gilded halls of Aunt Lydia’s elite preparatory school for future wives, a place where obedience is instilled brutally and always with divine justification, their bond becomes the catalyst that will upend their past, their present, and their future. Conforti plays Becka, Agnes’ friend from school who resists Gilead’s oppressive system, fears forced marriage, and longs for a chance to escape.
“When I first sat down with the first script and I looked at Becka’s character, I was really intrigued by her initial hesitation and doubt stepping into this world. These girls have no outside reference or material to really see any alternative solution other than being a wife at the end of the day. That is supposed to be their ultimate destiny, and Becka already enters [being] hesitant about that, I was really excited to take on this role that reinforces audience’s hesitations about the world these girls have to grow up in,” Conforti says.
When asked about her preparation process, Conforti shares whether she reflects on The Handmaid’s Tale series and its books—or if the project feels more like a standalone experience: “Having that knowledge and that insight is super helpful, but I think about them separately just because The Testaments is a show that can really stand on its own. We kind of had to think in a separate light just because it explores so many new themes that The Handmaid’s Tale either briefly touched on or didn’t really have the chance to explore. So, I think separating the two and and respecting them in their own separate manners was what helped me the most.”
Watch the full conversation with Mattea Conforti below.
A new epiosde of The Testaments premieres Wednesdays on Hulu through May 27.
Follow Mattea Conforti: Instagram
_