Yvonne is truly as remarkable in real life as she is in her performances. This interview shows the highly intelligent, complex and insightful mind behind an actress whose talent and abilities are often overshadowed by her appealing looks.
I don't think your statement is true about her being overshadowed by her looks. Most of her fan base is based on Chuck show, and since Chuck has lot of diehard fans, and Yvonne interacts with lot of them via NerdHQ, most of them are aware of who Yvonne really is beside her looks, and Chuck fans are fully aware of her acting range because she had so many different emotions in that show. Contrary to belief, majority of general public really don't care about actresses personal life. They only care about how good her acting is in the movie\show.
I'm from Australia like Yvonne is and I've never heard of Chuck. We didn't get that show here. Your comment is assuming the world revolves around the USA which is typical of Americans. I've known of Yvonne and her ability as an actor well before 'Chuck'. Although I wasn't specifically following her career, I did recognise her in Dexter and other things. She had been in many Australian interviews and talk shows, she had a good fan base here who had never seen 'Chuck' I was pleased to see her in such a major role as Serena Joy.. Now to the point in hand, Yvonne is beautiful and her looks get noticed well before her skills. It's a fact that beautiful women are noticed and their looks often overshadow their abilities. Regardless of where or what platform she was first appreciated. She was certainly regularly noticed in Australia before anyone knew her name.
I'm not American but okay. It was also a compliment to Yvonne who has many tribute videos to her "hotness" especially before the Handmaid's Tale, not videos compiling her greatest acting bits, hence my comment.
@@shrude7585 I'm an Aussie and I'd never seen or heard of her before Handmaids. She's great. She looks like a model but is too intelligent to skate by on her looks.
Very talented actress! Some serious truth and warning about the initial good intentions of movements /cults getting twisted. Handmaids tale is so good because of how scarily easy today's society could slip into a dystopian existence.
"serious truth and warning about the initial good intentions of movements /cults getting twisted." Doesnt mean the comment was advocating the ideal. You missed her point entirely.
London Xx OP has a point. The original purpose of this society was to “clean all sins” and “make the world a better place”. Sounds good, right? But how do you do it? In this case, in their minds, what they’re doing is OK: it’s OK to force women to have sex for a few babies; it’s OK to ban music & books; it’s OK to forbid people of being themselves and so on and so forth... To us, as viewers, this is a scary thing that is already and can become reality if we don’t wake up and start doing something about it. To the “masters of Gilead”, the Bible is the law and the Old Testament is the way to be and those who are against it must die. So yeah: to the master minds behind the concept of Gilead, their ideas and purposes are correct and are just and that’s the way they should be to “clean society from sins” and that is something that people tend to forget. You have to see this and understand both sides of the story: not accept, but understand. Obviously the sane ones will support the oppressed women 100% and not the comanders or the other minds behind Gilead 🤷🏻♀️
thats really nothing the joke about since its some women's actual reality, glad you missed the point of the series and you dont take yourself seriously enough as a woman to not spread dumb jokes like that
Why on earth all the hate towards the interviewer? C'mon, it's not always have to be flashy and utterly funny and full of adhd. Don't be viperish towards him, his doing his best by being himself. I personally enjoyed the interview, partly because of the guy and partly because of Yvonne. She is kind, smart and full of talent, and this kind of interview was truly refreshing.
She reminds me a lot of Lena Heady/Cersei Lannister. Both charcuterie are so complicated in the show and unimaginably cruel and evil, yet irl they are the sweetest and funniest women! Why doesn’t anyone give this amount of kudos to Lena? She’s just as great(better imo)!
@@drewfastiggi4341 ahhh autocorrect gets me every time! This one was actually funny though! Charcuterie gals! 😂😂😭🤦🏼♀️ nice catch! I can’t believe I missed it!
She is a great actor. Of all she is good at, I have to mention one. Even more in season 2 and 3 she a lot of times switch from evil to gentle and human. Sometimes so powerful that I get tears of relief in my eyes. And than she can switch back in a second. I find this remarkable strong acting.
Completely hooked on this series, my wife and I have binge watched season 1 and up to the latest episode of season 2. Congratulations to all the actors and behind the scenes crew on making a phenomenal piece of filmmaking.
DayStorm i believe people have gotten too used to interviews a la graham norton and late night shows where everything is goofy and upbeat but not really deep. I love this video but I also usually do enjoy longer, deeper interviews
I really like how calm the interviewer and Yvonne are. I can really understand what they are saying. English is not my native language and i also have a hard time understand some interviewers who talk way too fast. I like this better
Ironically Serena Joy and June Osborne/Offred paralleled each other in almost every way. As brutal as she was towards June I think that she had a grudging respect for her as they’re both very intelligent and cunning women.
Yvonne is so beautifully articulate. I am in love with Serina as a character. Yvonne plays evil so well and there are so many layers to Serina that makes it so freaking interesting
She had an idea, a vision, to try to solve/address the falling birth rate issue and followed it through when others had no ideas, no vision, and no follow through. The idea didnt pan out. It didnt turn out well. Sometimes you try something new, something different and it doesnt work out the way you hoped. Entrepreneurs and policy makers know this all too well.
@@louisgraham9959 umm that's a weird comparison bc she literally aided in creating theocratic totalitarian society that thrives in the systemic rape of women.
I'm watching this in March, 2021 after the 1/6 assassinations attempt at the Capital and to hear mention of the scene where Serena and the Commander talk about assassinating Congressmen in order to launch their Authoritarian Theocracy is beyond chilling.
They are not addressing one of Joy's driving motivations. She was always desperate to have a child, and I think this is what drives her to such extremes. If she had been able to conceive, I don't think she would have gone as far. I have experienced infertility, as many women have, and it is a powerful motivation or force in your life. I think not speaking to this is missing a key point.
I think she mentioned it in another interview by BUILD. I only thought of it as one of the reason she's gone so far, but not the primary reason. Now that you say it like this I realize how much her infertility could affected her. Thank you
In the series you find out that she's well aware that her husband is infertile, but because of Gilead Laws, men "can't" be sterile. It's why she more or less forces Offred to sleep with the driver. The sooner Offred gets pregnant, the sooner everything gets "better" in their home for nearly everyone.
Oh yes. You can clearly see she doesn’t always see eye to eye with what’s happening (now that it’s her reality) but she states to the commander that the ONLY THING she had asked for in return was a child. I completely agree that if she was fertile (or the commander, at that) and able to conceive that maybe she wouldn’t have walked down this path as easily.
I wouldnt think wanting a child is a strong motivation, but I suppose it could be in an environment where children are scarce. Or maybe it's a gender issue.
Louis Graham even now in this moment not being able to have a child can completely devastate someone. Not everyone has that view point but I can see Serena focusing on that being her outcome and letting all the other things go (such as her voice she use to so strongly have, her independence, etc) for motherhood.
Yvonne is truely remarkable...Love Her in 24 as well....Handmaid's tale has got Me hooked !!! I sit on the edge of My seat with every episode... I'd live to see more background of how this all happened & Aunt Lydia 🤗 ??? Where did She come from & Her background ? Keep up the good work & can't wait to see much more !
Melody Carter I was thinking the same thing. We need a lot more back story. Especially with Aunt Lydia. What the hell happened to make her so terrifying?
And now we’ve seen Aunt Lydia’s background story, which seems to be quite parallel to Serena Joy’s as they both have roles in Gilead that they wanted before the “revolution”.
Melody Carter, I love the series!!! It's so interesting!! And the mix of emotions, you almost feel sorry for Serena, and for the other characters.Bu at the same time you don't. I wonder how it's going to be later in the episodes!!!!
Her character is one of the most interesting characters in television right now! She’s so complex and I just can’t hate her like most people seem to do. Even if she was the architect, this was not her vision at all. They pushed her out and the men did the rest... I feel like she’s a victim just like all the other women. Also, I think it’s really funny how people hate her and then love Nick because in season 3 we find out that Gilead would never have been created if it wasn’t for him, and other soldiers 😅 And when June talked to the Switzerland people (or what country was it?) to keep Nichole in Canada, Nick completely betrayed her
all the women in gilead or victims in some way. serena and the wives only have power if the commander allows it. thats why they act so harsh to the handmaids and marthas, its them trying to hold any power they can. same w the aunts. women in gilead have no power what so all, its a mans society and only men have real power
@@emmaking8596 Remember the scene where Commander Waterford asks Serena if she knew about such-and-such law? And she says, casually, "I should. I helped write it."
I wonder why Serena never tried to get pregnant from any other guy apart from her husband, since she was always so desperate for a baby?! They thought she was barren, but she found out that it was her husband, who couldn’t have kids! Maybe she’s barren too - we don’t know for sure, but she could have tried with another guy to find out for herself! Why she never did - although had no problem asking Nick to secretly impregnate the Handmaid? I know there’s a registry of some sort, where all the fertile women are marked. Serena’s obviously not on it. But maybe it’s because she was never checked out, or on the other hand, maybe she had tests in the past and she indeed can’t have kids as well as Fred. I’m very curious!
she was shot in her uterus which i believed to be intentional because of what she was trying to implement in this "new nation" gilead. also, serena is a strong woman of "faith" as far as what she thinks "faith to god" is, i don't think infidelity would ever have been an option.
Serena Joy is just as much a victim as Offred. One has to only see how Gilead has stipped ALL WOMEN of autonomy, from body to mind. This world is without autonomy for half of the society. Also, in trying to bring back fertility, they have destroyed the family unit forever. I am hopefully going to teach this book to my seniors this year. I only need 40 copies, one class set!
Even though her character is such an awful bitch, I can’t help but like her. I can’t help but have some sort of sympathy for her and I think that’s a reflection on how good of an actress she is. She holds this character very well. And she’s absolutely stunning. It’s such a breath of fresh air to see the real her and not have to make myself hate her 😂
I made to mistake of watching an awful movie - I, Frankenstein, and want to know more about the HOT blonde. So Google, then discovered Chuck, then Handmaid's Tale. Wow, can she act and with the craziest range.
This reminds me of a class I took in university in african studies. It was called african literature and we focused a lot on feminist writers. In africa the word "feminism" is seen as quite critical, since it was mostly shaped by western white women who were initially very negligent of the complex realities of black women. A lot of african feminists understandably distance themselves from the term. One type of african "feminism" I read about was called "motherism" and it was pretty much what Serena Joy is about: empowering women to fulfill their "biological destiny" of being a mother... Motherism has been widely criticized by other african feminists though. What is so genius about Serena is that in one way she is empowered and a feminist and in another she's very misogynistic.
Valhalla It sucks how white feminism really hurts women of color. White women often use feminism to gain the power of white men, so of course most Black women are gonna look at that and disregard it completely despite how feminism could help them. "Motherism" is just trash. Women aren't Mothers, we are people.
I was shocked to discover she's from Sydney. I couldn't believe she grew up in Werrington - about 15 minutes from where I grew up, in the blistering heat of outer-Western Sydney, in the midst of the working class. She's come a long way. Great actor, like all the cast of that awesome show. Handmaid's Tale should be on the High School syllabus. A cautionary tale for anyone voting for Right Wing Republican Christians or those who are anti women's reproductive rights. Vote Progressive, people, or you could end up with that kind of dystopia.
l am not eaither & l am a everyday Australian, wife & mother of 3 & proud of all three. As for bogan there is more than one definition. Us aussies have the best exports, just look how many are in Hollywood now. As for Yvonne she is a everyday aussie who made a name for herself.
Yes, according to the book, she is much older, even though they do have her made up to be a little older in the series, but not much. She just is not able to have children, even though it could be the female's physical problems, or woe be unto the man's problems. They don't even dare consider it to be a man's fault, even in the book.
I wonder why Serena never tried to get pregnant from any other guy apart from her husband, since she was always so desperate for a baby?! They thought she was barren, but she found out that it was her husband, who couldn’t have kids! Maybe she’s barren too - we don’t know for sure, but she could have tried with another guy to find out for herself! Why she never did - although had no problem asking Nick to secretly impregnate the Handmaid? I know there’s a registry of some sort, where all the fertile women are marked. Serena’s obviously not on it. But maybe it’s because she was never checked out, or on the other hand, maybe she had tests in the past and she indeed can’t have kids as well as Fred. I’m very curious!
Gale Andrews what perplexes me is that they have technology to artificially inseminate a surrogate mother. But they make the wife hold the handmaid while she can watch her husband commit rape. This is so Islamic-like.
Olena Yokos she was shot in her abdomen. She was attempted to give a speech. The crowd was unruly and she was escorted off stage, then outside she waa shot.
They only tested the women, never the men. It's explained in both the book, the movie (1990) and the series that the women were checked for fertility. For a man to be infertile was unspeakable and not an option. Hence why Offred goes to Nick to become pregnant by the suggestion of Serena Joy. Serena Joy (as well as the doctor and the Commander) knew the Commander was infertile, but they didn't let it on or he would be viewed as less than a man.
Firstly, read the book. Secondly, if you've been watching the series, you'll find that the Handmaids go to several posts to different Commanders. Without "outside" help, none of the HM's can get pregnant. The Commanders are the infertile ones.
Michelle Marshall maybe they didn’t test married women like Serena - only single ones? I wish it was more clear. I’ve got a feeling that Serena is not barren! But maybe she is?
Serena is an awful person, but I remember her character from Chuck and that was the opposite. ☺️ It takes some mental effort to separate the actor from the character, and the fact that it’s hard to separate means that she plays her character extraordinarily well. I’m sure Yvonne believes in women’s rights, and she’s willing to play the Anti-Hero because she believes in the message of the show 💕
4:57 The ceremony is for me the most sick thing in the show. The delivery ceremony can easily be seen as ridiculous from an outsider, and is laughable, for example but not the "ceremony". Of course, it's just a show, something imagined. But if people think it's impossible, then they have no idea what is the danger of religions... Before the religious freaks jump on me, don't forget I have nothing to sell and nothing to promise as an atheist... And that explains that religion is first about power, like any other human activity...
I have to watch her as Beloved CIA agent Sarah Walker on Chuck to counteract Serena Joy Waterford. If anyone here has never watched Chuck it’s a nice change to see her smile and in love with a great guy. Great romance. With lots of fight scenes .
Oh my God! I just realized she's Miranda Lawson from the Mass Effect trilogy! Australian accent gave her away. Serena Waterford is completely unrecognizable from Miranda. Bravo, Yvonne.
I think it's very telling that when she talks about her first job being a commericial in which she had to jump on a bed and he asks her how old she was, his first suggestion is teena- and then she says like 20 / 22 ... His response makes total sense but the producers of that commercial were like: nope, adult women jump on beds!
I don't know about anyone else, the guy made me fall asleep, but he's human :) and wow!!! Yvonne looks stunning, glowing too ;) the energy she gives too!!!
Ever since the scene in season 2, you know the scene I'm talking about, I am cemented in my hate for her. It's amazing how they have written such amazingly divisive charachters.
Very recently I started watching "The Handmaid's Tale" and understand her (Yvonne Strahviski's) larger point that much of this show is not believable. I like fantasy and I can suspend my disbelief but this show...it's just so hard to do that.
From CIA agent(Chuck-24) to serial killer to architect of a theocracy....yup! Great Actress and seem like a very nice human being in real life from all the interview/Forum she done over the year!
I think Serena doesn't think she deserves a word because of what she created. Maybe that's why she goes with it, it is very obvious she hates her conditions.
Wow....she didn't call the rape a rape, and described it as awkward for all 3 people in a "sex scene". Serena conflicts are emblematic of white women in power today.
I feel she was better in interviews here. In the current day, she keeps answers really brief and mostly stutters through. Could be a motherhood thing. I know it can cloud clarity
Was it ever explained if Serena was made barren by getting shot during this episode? Also, it seems that the only viable way of procreating was using the Handmaid, but why was science-based solutions abandoned?
The character is surely intelligent but maddening. In her eyes she's sane. Dictators think they're sane, but they are power hungry and cause so much pain.
