she’s grown a little weary of being seen as making deliberate choices to play feminist roles.
From an ambitious secretary in Mad Men to a tough-willed concubine in The Handmaid’s Tale, Elisabeth Moss has always taken on challenging roles.
But the 35-year-old actress revealed that whenever she plays a ‘strong, complicated woman’, the conversation always turns to it being a ‘feminist’ character.
The Emmy winner lamented the fact that for female characters, much of the drama is about ‘overcoming patriarchy’ rather than focusing on a plot in their own right.
Struggles: Elisabeth Moss has revealed that whenever she plays a ‘strong, complicated woman’ the conversation always turns to it being a ‘feminist’ character
‘Obviously, with Mad Men, there was a very specific feminist story. And you can’t get more feminist than The Handmaid’s Tale,’ she told the Daily Telegraph.
‘But I feel like any time you play a strong, complicated woman, then it tends to start comments about it being a ‘feminist’ role.’
She said the issue is that ‘we have been living in a man’s world for so long that a lot of the challenge and drama [for female characters] is about overcoming the patriarchy, so that becomes the thrust of the story’.
Gruelling role: Elisabeth plays Offred, a woman who is forced to live as a concubine and try to bear children in a dystopian society in The Handmaid’s Tale
Elisabeth’s comments come ahead of season two of The Handmaiden’s Tale – which certainly bears a strong correlation with the current climate of female solidarity thanks to the Time’s Up and #metoo movements.
Moss said the final episode in particular is all about women supporting each other – and rings true with today’s battle to end misogyny, sexual harrassment and assault.
She added that she finds herself re-evaluating comments men have made to her in the past – and finding that in today’s climate they would not be acceptable.
Riveting: Moss said the final episode of the upcoming season two in particular is all about women supporting each other – and rings true with today’s battle to end misogyny, sexual harrassment and assault
The star has certainly left her mark in The Handmaid’s Tale, which has become a cultural phenomenon and won five Emmy Awards and two Golden Globes, including one for Best TV drama.
The series, based on Margaret Atwood’s bestselling 1985 novel, follows a dystopian society where women are systematically stripped of their rights.
Elisabeth plays Offred, a woman who is forced to live as a concubine and try to bear children following a civil war in America.
As a result of the conflicts, the Gilead state is established, leaving women without their basic civil rights.
Landmark role: She became a feminist icon as Peggy Olson, a secretary turned copywriter who created opportunities in the advertising world of America in the Fifties
Offred – originally known as June Osborne – being made to have sex with and carry children for Gilead chiefs due to widespread infertility among women.
The program’s first season concluded with a pregnant Offred in hot water with Gilead commanders after breaking the movement’s rules.
To avoid the punishment, Offred slips free of Gilead leadership – spearheaded by Commander Fred (Joseph Fiennes) and wife Serena Joy (Yvonne Strahovski) – and appears to be on the lam with a helping hand from Nick (Max Minghella), whose child she’s expecting.
Gritty role: Moss also garnered critical acclaim as a troubled detective in the BBC crime miniseries Top Of The Lake