Fans of The Handmaid’s Tale will spot several familiar faces in sequel series The Testaments, from Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd) to Rita (Amanda Brugel) and June (Elisabeth Moss). But The Testaments‘ Season 1 finale features the mother of all Handmaid’s Tale cameos: the author of the novel herself, Margaret Atwood.
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Atwood plays a jailer to Becka (Mattea Conforti), who murdered her abusive father in the show’s penultimate episode.
“I was so fortunate to be in that scene with her when she made that cameo,” Conforti told Mashable in an interview alongside castmates Lucy Halliday and Rowan Blanchard.
“She was an incredible actress,” Conforti continued. “I really think that she should pursue that side of her career, maybe. But it was so surreal, being able to have the opportunity to work with the woman that created this world that we are all working together on was so incredible, and she had such wonderful insight to offer as well.”
Halliday recalled seeing Atwood on set, having lunch with her, and even watching The Testaments‘ first three episodes alongside her.
“What I really loved is they had all these snacks laid out [for the screening], and I remember being like, ‘If no one takes any snacks, then I’m not gonna take any snacks,'” Halliday said. “Whereas she sat down and immediately picked up a bunch of popcorn, and I was like, ‘Okay, we can all eat now,’ and that was a joy. But she’s so animated, so if she found something funny, she was roaring with laughter, and if she was shocked, you really felt everything that she went through watching it.”
Watch the full interview above to hear Halliday, Conforti, and Blanchard dive deeper into the season, including their hopes for their characters in the now-confirmed Season 2.
All episodes of The Testaments Season 1 are now streaming on Hulu.
