How does one discover the humanity in a morally ambiguous (at greatest) character?

Such was the conundrum for Bradley Whitford as he introduced the position of Commander Joseph Lawrence to life on The Handmaid's Tale. Initially offered as one of many architects of the tyrannical Gilead — a crafty man whom you're by no means certain can ever completely be trusted — Lawrence can also be portrayed as being racked with guilt after the dying of his beloved spouse, and is ultimately altruistic to June (Elisabeth Moss) and her fellow handmaids.

"How will you do these issues and stay redeemable?" Whitford ponders throughout EW's Awardist drama actors roundtable, which additionally consists of fellow Emmy contenders Aimee Lou Wooden (The White Lotus), Tramell Tillman (Severance), Antony Starr (The Boys), Marisa Abela (Trade), and Sharon Horgan (Dangerous Sisters).

He continues, "It's an fascinating a part of the present to me that Lizzie [Moss'] character is principally blowing on the spark of decency. And it's a form of hopeful message that I hope individuals are getting at this second that comes from June's character, which is despair is a luxurious that our youngsters can not afford, and motion is the antidote to despair. And he or she is doing that with all people."

Elisabeth Moss on 'The Handmaid's Tale' finale and why she isn't saying goodbye The Handmaid's Tale boss on the 'impossibility' of [SPOILER's] finale return

As for his character, whom he has performed for the reason that second season of the Hulu drama, Whitford says, "As a younger actor, I felt like I used to be making an attempt to slim it right down to what a personality was. And with this man, I acquired to form of open up the aperture, which was fascinating to me. Additionally, ethically, it was nerve-racking as a result of he was disappointing usually."

Whitford beforehand opened up concerning the "fascinating" nature of his ambiguous character and what makes him tick in an interview with EW again in 2022. "Effectively, it's a captivating factor to play as a result of he's not static. There's two issues that I'm all the time interested by," he stated. "One, is his love for [his wife] Eleanor was actual. After which, instantly after I acquired this half, there's a man, Robert McNamara. He was Secretary of Protection, and escalated the Vietnam Warfare, and a superb economist, who streamlined auto manufacturing in the US, after which used those self same concepts to incinerate about one million individuals on the opposite aspect of the planet."

Whitford continued, "He's one in all these guys that I all the time thought Lawrence was, somebody whose enormous mind obliterates his humanity. [Now] I believe Lawrence seems like he has a chance — and it might be naive, and it might be misguided — to some path of redemption that has to do with Eleanor, and I believe it's an fascinating dialogue on this planet of Handmaid's Story."

Join Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV information, unique first seems, recaps, evaluations, interviews along with your favourite stars, and extra.

The sixth and last season of The Handmaid's Story — which is now streaming in full on Hulu — lastly solutions the query of which aspect of historical past Lawrence finally needs to be on. Primarily based on the 1985 Margaret Atwood novel of the identical identify, the collection has received 15 Emmys from a staggering 76 nominations by means of its first 5 seasons. For his position as Commander Lawrence, Whitford received the Emmy for Excellent Visitor Actor in a Drama Sequence in 2019, and was nominated for Greatest Supporting Actor in a Drama Sequence in 2020 and 2021.

For extra with Whitford and EW's Awardist Drama Actors Roundtable, watch the total video above.