Elisabeth Moss (June Osborne)

It’s hard to imagine anyone other than Elisabeth Moss playing the lead role on The Handmaid’s Tale. Her performance as a woman driven to her breaking point who claws back her freedom helped create one of TV’s most powerful arcs.

“This show inspires me as a woman just as it does any other fan,” Moss told Entertainment Weekly in 2018. “I truly draw inspiration and strength from the script and the book and these characters.”

When the show began, Moss was fresh off her star-making run as Peggy Olson on Mad Men, not to mention headlining Jane Campion’s Emmy-winning crime series Top of the Lake. Prior to that, she was best recognized as President Bartlet’s daughter, Zoey, on The West Wing.

Just as she was developing The Handmaid’s Tale, her movie career was taking off, with her work in Queen of Earth (2015) and the Palme d’Or-winning The Square (2017) leading to acclaimed lead performances in Her Smell (2018) and Shirley (2020). She even became a bit of a scream queen with Us (2019) and The Invisible Man (2020).

More recently, the veteran actress appeared in The French Dispatch (2021) and Next Goal Wins (2023). On the small screen, she toplined Apple TV’s miniseries Imperfect Women alongside Kerry Washington and Kate Mara.

And she’s not quite done playing June, having appeared in two episodes of The Testaments. The character remains an active force within the Mayday resistance, meaning future appearances on the show are likely — contingent on the busy actress’ schedule.

Joseph Fiennes (​​Fred Waterford)

When June is forced to become a handmaid for the Waterford family, she’s given the name Offred, meaning she is the property of Commander Fred Waterford, played by Joseph Fiennes.

Though Fred longs to be seen as a fair and decent man, he ultimately proves cruel and violent. He’s the series’ primary antagonist until he’s (spoiler alert) murdered by June and her fellow handmaids in the season 4 finale.

“It was a dream to do, a dream scene, and a dream end to a despicable character,” Fiennes told EW in a postmortem interview. “I’ve come to the end of the road with Fred. I won’t miss him so much.”

Prior to The Handmaid’s Tale, Fiennes — Ralph’s younger brother — was mostly known to American audiences for the title role in Best Picture winner Shakespeare in Love (1998). His other prominent film work includes Elizabeth (1998), Enemy at the Gates (2001), and The Merchant of Venice (2004). TV fans also took notice of his performance as Monsignor Howard on American Horror Story: Asylum.

Since ending his run as Fred, Fiennes has starred alongside Jennifer Lopez in The Mother (2023) and played Sherlock Holmes’ father on Young Sherlock.

The English actor also has Terrence Malick’s biblical epic The Way of the Wind on the way. It’s unclear when the movie — which wrapped shooting in 2019 — will see the light of day given Malick’s notoriously protracted editing process.

Fiennes has been married to Swiss model María Dolores Diéguez since 2009. The couple have two daughters.

Yvonne Strahovski (Serena Joy)

Fred’s wife, Serena, quickly established herself as another formidable adversary for June. The Handmaid’s Tale allowed Yvonne Strahovski to show considerable range over the years, even if her true redemption didn’t arrive until the very end.

“I do think that Serena has always seen herself as someone who also has to survive and who made the best out of a terrible situation for herself,” Strahovski told EW in 2022. “She can’t really see outside of her own sort of narcissistic fault.”

The Australian actress was a TV staple before The Handmaid’s Tale, having starred as the female lead on Chuck for five years before joining the final two seasons of Dexter.

In recent years, she’s found something of a niche in action films, with roles in The Predator (2018) and The Tomorrow War (2021). Her last movie was the more grounded dramedy Scrambled (2024).

The 2-time Emmy nominee already has her next major role booked. She joined season 2 of Apple TV’s Bad Monkey as a series regular.

Strahovski has three children with husband Tim Loden, whom she quietly married in 2017.

Alexis Bledel (Emily Malek)

Where would June be without Emily, whom she first meets as Ofglen? A secret member of Mayday, Emily introduces June to the resistance movement. Played by small-screen vet Alexis Bledel, she suffers greatly throughout the first four seasons, but shows incredible resilience.

“It was deeply upsetting to even imagine Emily going through something like that — being captured, powerless, with no say over her body,” Bledel told The Hollywood Reporter of the mutilation Emily is punished with for her “gender treachery.”

Bledel won an Emmy for her performance, but she’ll probably always be best known as Rory on Gilmore Girls, bantering with Lauren Graham for seven beloved seasons and a Netflix revival.

She also had starring roles in Tuck Everlasting (2002) and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005), plus supporting gigs in Sin City (2005) and Robert Redford’s The Conspirator (2010). In her post-Gilmore years, she garnered attention for her brief arc on Mad Men.

After departing The Handmaid’s Tale in 2021, the Houston native took a bit of a break from acting. She’s poised to make a grand return, however, with roles in the horror comedy Ponderosa (2026) and Joy Will Prevail.

Bledel also made a surprise return to The Handmaid’s Tale in the series finale, where June and Emily have a brief reunion.

“She’s so wonderful. The character’s amazing,” series creator Bruce Miller told EW. “It was incredibly exciting to have Alexis back just as a person.”

Bledel has one son with her ex-husband, Mad Men costar Vincent Kartheiser.

Madeline Brewer (Janine Lindo)

Few characters suffer more than Janine over the course of the show, from the removal of her eye in season 1 to her repeated brushes with death thereafter. It’s no surprise she’s plagued by psychological breakdowns.

Madeline Brewer proved adept at portraying her character’s fractured psyche, as well as Janine’s attempts to heal.

“Janine is a cat with nine lives,” the actress told EW ahead of season 5. “And if you’ve been watching the show, you know she used up several of them already.”

Brewer established herself on the small screen with season-long arcs on Orange Is the New Black and Hemlock Grove. She went on to score the lead role in the psychothriller Cam (2018) and small parts in Captive State (2019) and Hustlers (2019).

The New Jersey native is even busier now that Handmaid has wrapped. She joined the cast of You in a pivotal role for its final season, and recently appeared on the big screen in I Live Here Now (2025) and Anniversary (2025).

That same year, she took on the role of Audrey in the long-running off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors. She’s since made her Broadway debut in the title role of the Tony-nominated play Becky Shaw.

Brewer married her husband, cinematographer Jack Thompson-Roylance, in 2025.

Ann Dowd (Aunt Lydia)

Ann Dowd had quite a career before she joined The Handmaid’s Tale as Aunt Lydia, who uses her domineering nature and cruelty to keep the handmaids in line.

The quintessential character actress, Dowd has appeared in dozens of films, including The Manchurian Candidate (2004), Marley & Me (2008), Compliance (2012), Side Effects (2013), and Hereditary (2018). She was also one of the most memorable (and terrifying) figures on HBO’s The Leftovers.

Aunt Lydia turned out to be one of Dowd’s juiciest roles, with the character’s season 1 villainy gradually transforming into something much more complex.

“She’s a very smart woman, she knows men have the power at the moment. And so what she needs to do is be alert, aware, keep track, and keep it hidden,” Dowd shared with EW during season 5. “I find her very inspiring as time goes on.”

The Massachusetts native has continued to work steadily, appearing in The Exorcist: Believer (2023) and The Friend (2025). She also picked up a BAFTA nomination for the indie drama Mass (2021).

But as Handmaid fans know, Dowd is once again playing Aunt Lydia on The Testaments. She’s the only star of the original to be a full-time cast member on the sequel series.

Dowd has been married to her husband Larry Arancio since 1984. They have three children together.

O-T Fagbenle (Luke Bankole)

In Margaret Atwood’s novel, it’s never clear whether June’s husband Luke is alive or dead. On the series, Luke — played by O-T Fagbenle — has escaped to Canada and is eventually able to reunite with his wife.

“I know it was very emotional for the viewers watching, but that day for us was just great,” Fagbenle told EW in 2021 about Luke’s onscreen reunion with June. “I get to connect to all these people that I love and respect and love acting with.”

The British actor’s most notable role to American audiences beforehand was HBO’s Looking.

Appearing on the hit Hulu series certainly raised his profile, as did being cast as Barack Obama on Showtime’s miniseries The First Lady. He also starred on the small screen in Presumed Innocent and No Good Deed.

After The Handmaid’s Tale wrapped, Fagbenle had a key supporting role opposite Dakota Johnson in Splitsville (2025) and landed another Hulu series, All’s Fair. Earlier in 2026, he was seen on the sci-fi comedy The Miniature Wife, opposite Elizabeth Banks and Matthew Macfadyen.

Max Minghella (Nick Blaine)

The chemistry between June and the Waterfords’ driver, Nick, lit up the first season. But he was always a bit more than met the eye — a fact Max Minghella leaned into as the character was revealed to be a spy with ever-shifting alliances.

“He’s quite lost,” Minghella told EW during the final season. “He doesn’t have his own compass really to make decisions. So I think that’s why he’s often ‘between a rock and a hard place.’”

The son of Oscar-winning filmmaker Anthony Minghella, Max first found himself on audiences’ radar with his time starring alongside Armie Hammer’s Winklevoss twins in The Social Network (2010). He went on to appear in The Ides of March (2011) and The Internship (2013) in addition to a recurring role on The Mindy Project.

In recent years, he’s appeared in Spiral (2021) and Babylon (2022) while also turning his attention to writing and directing. The British actor helmed his first feature, the Elle Fanning-led Teen Spirit, in 2018, and he’s since directed Moss in the horror film Shell (2024).

Minghella recently had a role in season 4 of Industry and will next be seen prowling Gotham City in Clayface. He’ll also join the cast of The White Lotus for season 4.

Bradley Whitford (Joseph Lawrence)

Much like Moss and Bledel, Bradley Whitford arrived to The Handmaid’s Tale with an iconic TV role already under his belt. Commander Lawrence, however, is a far cry from Josh Lyman on The West Wing.

As with almost every character on the dystopian drama, Lawrence was never all bad or all good. Despite his active participation in Gilead’s horrors, he ultimately sacrifices himself for the resistance.

“As a young actor, I felt like I was trying to narrow it down to what a character was. And with this guy, I got to kind of open up the aperture, which was interesting to me,” Whitford told EW in 2025. “Ethically, it was nerve-racking because he was disappointing often.”

A prolific character actor going back decades, the Wisconsin native found even larger movie roles once The West Wing made him a small-screen heavyweight. He booked key supporting parts in The Cabin in the Woods (2011), Saving Mr. Banks (2013), Steven Spielberg’s The Post (2017), and — most famously — Get Out (2017).

His recent work includes Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), Tick, Tick… Boom! (2021), and Office Romance (2026). He shows no signs of slowing down, having just been upped to series regular status for The Diplomat’s fourth season.

Whitford started dating his Transparent costar Amy Landecker in 2015, and the two got hitched in 2019. He has three children with his ex-wife, Jane Kaczmarek.

Samira Wiley (Moira Strand)

Samira Wiley won an Emmy for playing Moira, June’s best friend and an important figure in the resistance.

“I love to be involved with projects that are so relevant to the times we’re living in,” Wiley told EW in advance of the show’s second season. “I just didn’t know it was going to be this relevant. This is a little crazy relevant.”

Audiences first fell in love with Wiley when she played Poussey Washington on Orange Is the New Black. She also had a recurring part on the FX series You’re the Worst.

After Handmaid wrapped, the D.C. native appeared in four episodes of the British action series Atomic. She was scheduled to make her Broadway debut in the 2026 revival of Proof, led by Ayo Edebiri, but was forced to withdraw due to a medical condition. Next up, she’ll be seen in the sports drama They Fight, featuring André Holland and Wendell Pierce.

Wiley shares one child with her ex-wife, Lauren Morelli.

Source:  https://ew.com/handmaids-tale-cast-where-are-they-now-11995932