“It can feel overwhelming sometimes, representing so much for so many people at such a crazy time.
I just hope that our show is a warning, instead of prophetic.”
“It’s practically down the street from the White House, you know what I mean?
Ben Morris. Wardrobe Styling by Yuiko Ikebata. Makeup by Porsche Cooper. Hair by Peter Matteliano at Bryan Bantry using Oribe Hair. On Samira: Top, dress and pants by ICB. Shoes by Nike. Earrings by Sasai.
Its so interesting to have those two things side by side,” she reflects.
She says her parents are not daunted by this proximity; if anything, they seem driven by it.
We are going to be a pillar in the middle of all of this.
Ben Morris. Wardrobe Styling by Yuiko Ikebata. Makeup by Porsche Cooper. Hair by Peter Matteliano at Bryan Bantry using Oribe Hair. On Samira: Top, dress and pants by ICB. Shoes by Nike. Earrings by Sasai.
And even if our pillar isn’t that high, it’s here.
I can do that too."
“I was 20 when I came out to my parents,” Wiley says.
Ben Morris. Wardrobe Styling by Yuiko Ikebata. Makeup by Porsche Cooper. Hair by Peter Matteliano at Bryan Bantry using Oribe Hair. On Samira: Top by DKNY.Earrings and bracelet by SASAI.
Come give me a hug.'"
Wiley had a less than auspicious entree into the acting world.
“The thing is, it didn’t make me think about quitting.
Maybe I won’t be an actor, but I will work in theater anyway.
Maybe I’ll just work in a box office.'”
Wiley’s reaction was truly special, a blend of humility and toughness that shows in her acting.
Which, come to think of it, probably helped her cultivate such a kind of ridiculously perfect life.
Maybe good old-fashioned prayer helped, too.
After Wiley’s first semester at Temple University, her mother convinced her to give Juilliard a shot.
This time, Wiley was accepted.
“Thank you, Wednesday-night Bible study!”
At Juilliard, she says, “I ended up having the best time of my life.
I think I felt for the first time, like, ‘Maybe I’m good at this.'”
I was like, ‘I’m going to get this.'"
Modesty is a virtue, but sometimes you just have to own it.
“Hey, everybody wants to be able to be the star!”
Wiley is not quite a household name yet.
Like Poussey onOINTB, Moira is gay.
One day, she says, she wants to play Juliet.
“She was like, ‘Do not walk away from this.’
And it was good advice.
Also, the other day, she bought me a really dope tracksuit.”
But as time went on, its message of warning felt increasingly urgent.
People are indeed paying attention.
And, as Moira, Wiley is a big part of the show’s penetrating excellence.
She is one of the absolute most present actors I’ve ever worked with.
It’s just you and her.
Tossing it back and forth."
Shooting for season two ofThe Handmaid’s Taleis already underway in Toronto; it will be released next year.
She just seems to be enjoying herself.
Watch:The Handmaids TaleActor Samira Wiley on Being a Role Model
