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The actress also weighs in on the show’s relevancy as it returns — once again — during a Trump administration, and shares how becoming a mother through the show’s run has made her feel the “weight” of the series “really, really differently.”
The Handmaid’s Tale star Samira Wiley is opening up about her character returning to where it all began for the final season: Gilead.
While speaking with TooFab at PaleyFest LA for the Season 6 of the Hulu series, the actress reflected on her journey starring as Moira Strand, and shared her thoughts on her character putting on the red handmaid’s dress once again as she joins the revolution against the totalitarian government.
Hulu/Toofab
“I hadn’t worn that dress since Season 1, since, like, the fourth episode of Season 1,” said Wiley, 37. “So I think I felt, Samira actually felt a lot of things that Moira felt in terms of trepidation, a bubbling fire, being part of the fight again in a way that is on the front lines and not having to just be a voice and, ‘How do I do this from Canada?’ But being able to step, almost step back into herself.”
“The [circular] journey of playing Moira has been very satisfying,” she added.
Wiley — who won an Emmy in 2018 for her performance in the series — teased what fans can expect for the sixth and final season.
“Honestly, I think when it comes to these six seasons, Season 6 is in real contention with Season 1, on which one is the best … And I do not say that. Go back to my other interviews, I don’t,” she told TooFab. “The way our writers have been attuned to women, to global politics, to what is relevant, what people want to see, but also the story that we are telling. I think the dedication of our fans who have stuck with this show will be rewarded.”
As many fans have pointed out, The Handmaid’s Tale appears to be more relevant than ever as it drops a new season during a Trump administration — with a conservative-majority Congress and Supreme Court — bringing the future of women’s rights into question.
Wiley agreed that it “definitely” does feel like life imitating art.
“I think specifically when it comes to our first Donald Trump presidency that happened in the middle of us shooting Season 1,” she said of the first season of The Handmaid’s Tale, which premiered in April 2017, just a few months into Trump’s first term in office. “And to have that happen again in Season 6 was, I don’t know, I guess I would have imagined back then that the show might not be as relevant as it was then. And we see that that is not the case.”
Wiley also brought up how a major milestone in her personal life resulted in the show making even a bigger impact.
“Me becoming a mother during the time playing Moira, the weight of that has hit me really, really differently,” added Wiley, who welcomed her daughter, George, with wife Lauren Morelli in 2021. “Having those gigantic things be a part of my legacy as an actor, to be a part of a show like this is something actors dream of.”
And as for if fans can expect to see Wiley’s Moira in the upcoming sequel series, The Temptation, which is an adaptation of a Margaret Atwood sequel novel of the same name, Wiley said, “We will not. We will not. I think I’m done with Margaret Atwood right now and the trauma that she has so expertly written.”
However, it’s safe to say that Wiley will be remembering her experience starring on The Handmaid’s Tale for many years to come, as she hinted that she may have a very special keepsake at home that likely holds many memories.
“I might have a red dress in my closet,” she told TooFab when asked if she stole anything from set. “I mean, I don’t know. Maybe.”
Check out Wiley’s full interview in the video at the top of this post!
The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6 begins on Hulu on April 8, 2025 with the first three episodes premiering that day.
