O-T Fagbenle Takes Us Inside Hulu’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’

O-T Fagbenle stars in Hulu’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale.’ Photo Credit: Isaac Sterling/Courtesy of Persona PR

Hulu’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ is getting TV audiences talking, and star O-T Fagbenle gave us his insight about being part of the sensational new series.

The Handmaid’s Tale has generated plenty of buzz for Hulu since its premiere on Friday, with the Margaret Atwood adaptation painting a vivid picture of a controversial future. But what was it like to be part of that picture?

Hidden Remote spoke to O-T Fagbenle, who co-stars in The Handmaid’s Tale as Offred’s (Elisabeth Moss) husband Luke, about his experience working on the series and what made it stand out to him.

Get to know more about O-T and about The Handmaid’s Tale below, and you can stream the first three episodes of the series now on Hulu.

Hidden Remote: What was it about The Handmaid’s Tale that spoke to you? Had you read the novel when the script came your way?

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O-T Fagbenle: To be honest, I hadn’t read it before I got sent the script. So what first stuck out to me were basically three names. [Director] Reed Morano, [writer] Bruce Miller and of course Elisabeth Moss. When you’ve got three people of that caliber attached to a project, that really was the first thing that struck me. And then once I got a bit further into the process and I read the source material, I was just completely blown away. That’s an easy sell.

Hidden Remote: The novel is mostly about Offred’s life in servitude and we don’t know as much about her husband. Is that different in the series? How much of you do we get to see?

Fagbenle: One of the great things about doing a television show, even now having the possibility of having multiple seasons, is that you can take a line or a character that Margaret came up with and build from that. One of the things I find most exciting is to explore parts of this world which are only kind of hinted at in the book. Bruce does a great job at mixing both the narrative from the original text and expanding that, because that’s what you do in television.

Hidden Remote: Were there any particular parts of The Handmaid’s Tale that stood out to you? What did you take away from being a part of the series?

Fagbenle: The thing I’m most excited about is Luke’s relationship with June. I just loved working with Elisabeth; she’s such an extraordinary actress and wonderful person and I love our onscreen relationship with each other.

Bruce Miller, who’s our showrunner and head writer is so extraordinary at storytelling—being concise and leaving the audience wanting more and still feeling satiated. It was a real privilege, because I write and direct myself, to watch him work along side Reed.  That was one of the greatest things I took away from it. Just watching how much goes into television work.

Hidden Remote: Has having that experience on the other side of the camera influenced your acting?

Fagbenle: Absolutely. The thing that comes to my mind right now is the greater appreciation for the people who work behind the camera. Television is such a team effort and you realize just how crucial a focus crew is. How crucial your lighting person is and your makeup artist. These people are as important as your actors. I can come on set and really understand.

When you watch a movie, the 200 people [whose names] come at the end of the credits, you’re like what the hell are all these people doing? Directing, you get to know each person is a crucial part to the puzzle. Secondly is understanding how the editing process can affect performance and understanding that in some ways, you can make an editor’s job easier or harder.

Hidden Remote: If people are fans of The Handmaid’s Tale and want to see more of O-T Fagbenle, what would you tell them to watch next?

Fagbenle: I did a tv movie called NW which was based off a book by the amazing Zadie Smith. That’s a project that I’m really proud of. There’s a series by another writer named Harlen Coben called The Five, and that was directed by a dear friend of mine and an extraordinary film maker called Mark Tonderai. And Looking; I’d point people towards that as well.

Hidden Remote: Is there anything else you want to say to the viewers as they dive into the series?

Fagbenle: One of the things Handmaid’s Tale looks at is the relationship with our environment, our relationship with gender, our relationship with power. I think these are really important things going on in our world and they’re threaded through the exciting narrative of Handmaid’s Tale. I just think it’s going to resonate on so many levels.

Next: Dressing for the Patriarchy in 'The Handmaid's Tale': Q&A with Ane Crabtree

You can see O-T Fagbenle as Luke in The Handmaid’s Tale, which is streaming now on Hulu. The first three episodes are currently available.

New episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale premiere Fridays on Hulu.