Posted in: Hulu, TV | Tagged: Carey Cox, the handmaid's tale

The Handmaid's Tale: Carey Cox on TV Transition, Show Fandom & More

The Handmaid's Tale's Carey Cox spoke with Bleeding Cool about the final season of Hulu's dystopian drama, starting in television, and more.

It didn't take long for Carey Cox to acclimate from the stage to TV after coming into the scene in 2022 in a series of shorts before landing her big break on the Hulu dystopian drama, The Handmaid's Tale in its fifth season as Rose Blaine, the daughter of High Commander Wharton (Josh Charles) and wife of Nick Blaine (Max Minghella). Entering the sixth and final season, Cox spoke to Bleeding Cool about the uphill changes she faced with her first onscreen role in one of the most politically-charged and relevant TV shows, how star Elisabeth Moss (June Osborne) acclimated her to the series, how she compares Rose to a certain Tennessee Williams' character, and transitioning from showrunners (and creator) Bruce Miller to Eric Tuchman and Yahlin Chang.

The Handmaid's Tale: Carey Cox on Being in Safe Hands in Her TV Debut

Bleeding Cool: You came into the series late, starting with season five, so what was your biggest challenge getting into the universe of 'The Handmaid's Tale' and your role as Rose Blaine?

The biggest challenge was rising to the set standards for the show. It was my first TV show, but I had some background in film training and some film experience. Coming into a show with an established storyline and just as established, a fan base was something new to me. I mainly wanted to do it justice, and for the role to be so interesting, unique, and also, in such an interesting position, relationship-wise. Anybody who follows the show knows it's a serious, deep show that looks at a lot of socio-political issues, but there's also this love triangle that a lot of people watch the show for.

It's a contentious relationship among the base where there are those passionate about the love triangle, while there are others who watched it for other reasons, and at the same time, judge the love triangle fans. It's a very passionate fan base in every direction. It's fun to read their dialogue and their back and forth, but going into it knowing that I would be the second wife to kind of stomp on the "June and Nick shipping situation" and their hopes and dreams of that community.

That was interesting but exciting, and people kind of hated my character before they met her once they knew that she existed, and then, because she's such a unique character, I feel like a lot of people were surprised once I appeared on the screen. Rose is so unexpected in so many ways, which is typical of this show; it keeps you guessing in the best ways. This season, in particular, is going to be representative of keeping people guessing until the very end.

When you joined the show in season five, was there a liaison who acclimated you to how TV worked, and maybe an actor who showed you the ropes a little? How'd that work out?

Well, it was mostly character conversation, and the person who did that for me was Lizzie Moss. She texted me and then called me. We had a long conversation, so it felt no different from an intimate theater project, and how that would have gone. We talked about the scenes and that character. That was the focus as opposed to any of the external pressures about getting a TV show made, like giving the best take on the first take, not wasting time, and how to show up with all these other actors who are so accomplished.

It was focused on what we needed to do, which set me up in a wonderful way. Working with Max Minghella off the bat, he was so kind and calm that he made me very calm. It was nice to start the first scene we shot, which was him and me in our little kitchen, and it was easy to pretend it wasn't this huge TV show. Now, I've done scenes or been a part of scenes where there are hundreds of background actors and a huge amount of crew, the fact that this show can do massive shoots and so many moving parts. Starting with something so small and intimate was perfect for me. It was wonderful, Yvonne (Strahovski) and Bradley (Whitford), everyone on the show treated me like one of the gang from the beginning, so it was very helpful. It was wonderful and I miss them.

Was there a part you did before as a familiar space you re-entered to inspire Rose?

Yeah, but there are some similarities between Rose and [the character of] Laura Wingfield, whom I have played a couple of times. I understudied her for 'The Glass Menagerie' on Broadway, and then I got to play her as the principal for a few months at the Guthrie Theater (in Minnesota). The biggest similarity between the two of them is that they're both quiet characters, who have a lot going on underneath, where a lot of the performances are in the subtext, their deep wants and desires, but they might not say what they want all the time. They're characters who have a lot going on underneath the surface.

There are a lot of parallels between the playing of those characters, and I've gotten to play such a variety, from the loudmouths and those who are bold and confident people. The role I did right after Rose, between season five and season six [of 'The Handmaid's Tale'], is a character named Cynthia from an indie film, 'Where Did the Adults Go?', and she's as far in the opposite direction as Rose as you can get. The thought comes into Cynthia's head and immediately comes out of her mouth, so it's fun to get to play such extremes. I'm not somebody who has been typecast in my career, and I feel very fortunate for that.

From season five to six, you had a transition of showrunners from creator Bruce Miller to Eric [Tuchman] and Yahlin [Chang]. Was there anything noticeably different about how the sets were on between seasons, or was it a seamless transition?

It felt very seamless to me. It always felt like a family. Everybody always felt happy to be there. I got to experience some more ambitious set days in season six, so it'd be hard for me to compare it to season five, just days where there are multiple units working simultaneously, and cameras on drones coming in. That was new for me in season six, but it was a similar excitement, and everybody was working like a perfect machine to get things done. On my final day, Eric and Bruce were there. Bruce was still very much keeping an eye on things, or keeping his heart in things, and I had gotten to meet Eric and talk with him a few times before. They were all kind. That's the best way I've always experienced it; everybody was very kind, warm, and made me feel so much a part of things, always.

The Handmaid's Tale, which also stars Madeline Brewer, Ann Dowd, O-T Fagbenle, Samira Wiley, Amanda Brugel, and Sam Jaeger, streams Tuesdays on Hulu.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!