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Los Angeles-born actress Ever Carradine has been embodying the quietly complex Naomi Putnam in acclaimed series The Handmaid’s Tale for almost a decade. As the show finally enters its last season, much remains to be seen, with Naomi’s involvement in the storyline among the unknowns. However, this is by no means Ever’s first Hollywood rodeo; she’s been in countless projects spanning across genres, with appearances in Goliath, Shameless, and Marvel’s Runaways. She took some time out of her busy schedule to talk about her experience filming the show, her relationship with co-star Madeline Brewer (on and off camera), and what she hopes viewers walk away with once the season is over.

Jumping right in, what was it that first drew you to the The Handmaid’s Tale?
I mean, I have to say the script for The Handmaid’s Tale; the pilot is probably one of the best hours of television that I’ve ever read. I told my agent and manager, I want to be a part of this, no matter the role. I initially auditioned for a different role in the pilot, which I didn’t get. But then the role of Naomi came up in episode two and thank goodness I got it.

It’s awesome. How was that character of Naomi initially described to you?
I actually went back into my email and dug around and found the initial audition that was sent to me where it kind of describes the character. And she’s described as a proud, imperious wife, which I think pretty much sums her up. And my audition scene was actually the scene where she’s giving fake birth, so subsequently that was my first day on set, which is like hands down the most insane first day I’ve ever had on any job ever.

I mean it was totally nuts; it was fabulous and nuts, and on my first day I had never met Madeline Brewer, and so to see Maddie in that scene and she just sort of floored me. It was magical. It was a magical first day.

Incredible. Naomi’s turbulent relationship with Janine is one of the show’s many charged interpersonal dynamics (to say the least). What has it been like exploring that tension across the seasons?
I mean I have to start by saying that I adore Madeline Brewer. I love her. So finding the tension and venom with someone you adore is one of the tricker parts of this job. I think, and over the course of six seasons and eight years, almost nine years actually, I have two favorite moments with Janine. My first is at the end of season five where Janine kind of tells Naomi off. You know Naomi is so self-absorbed and such a Gilead–she’s in this Gilead bubble that it doesn’t even occur to her that she and Janine aren’t friends and that Janine would hate her. And then kind of playing that scene on the day and watching Maddie, watching Janine come up with the words and the language like they’re bubbling out of her that she couldn’t hold them in any longer. Like that to me is one of my favorite days on set.

And then there’s another, there’s a moment I can’t really get into because I’ve signed all sorts of NDAs and this is the paper that says that I won’t give anything away. But there’s a moment later on in the season where Naomi sort of, you see a little glimpse of her humanity. And I have to just give props to our writers because I feel like they really stuck the landing for everybody. You know, there’s a big show and there’s a lot of cast and a lot of mouths to feed, and they really did manage to give us all out own delicious, giant piece of chocolate cake. You know what I mean? They really sort of honored everybody’s exit.

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As we were saying before, Naomi is kind of a true Gilead spokeswoman, and not really willing to join any of the reform efforts that Commander Lawrence champions this season. How did you approach portraying those complexities?
I mean, Naomi is very uptight. Naomi is very much in her head. I always thing that she’s a little like a hummingbird. You know what I mean? She’s just very present. So playing her requires me to also be very present. But I don’t know, we’ve all been with these characters for six seasons spanning nine years, so we all know em pretty well and the writers know them really well and they do a lot of the heavy lifting for us.

Veering off of just the character, do you feel your original focus on anthropological and sociological studies prepared you well for the show? How has that background informed your work as an actress, if at all?
It’s so interesting because I get asked this all the time. My college days are pretty far in the rear view mirror at this point. I do think that actors have a natural interest in other people and different cultures and taking in humans in their space while trying to exercise empathy and understanding with as little judgement as possible.

So if you look at Gilead through that, through an anthropological lens, it;s very interesting. And the thing that always blows me away being on this set is when you look around Gilead, everybody’s miserable there. And they’re all miserable in this world of their own making.

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Many of the themes of The Handmaid’s Tale are very timely, despite the source novel being published in 1985. What does it mean to you to be a part of something representative of the kind of battles still being fought today?
It is truly a privilege to be a part of this shoe and to be a part of a show that has sort of become the face or the image of resistance. The show really is a warning shot to people of what could happen here in the United States. You know, when we began the series, Obama was still president. So we hadn’t seen the protests like you see today. Roe v Wade was still the law of the land. Ukraine hadn’t been invaded. Children weren’t being separated from their parents at the border. All of those things happened while we were filming this show. And I think that another thing I love about being a part of it is this show kind of turns the volume up on my voice a little bit. I always tell my kids “if you see something, say something.” And I think I have always done that in my life. If I see injustice, it’s important to speak up. And being a part of the show just means my volume has risen to higher level, which I am so grateful for.

LD: Totally, yeah. I mean, it’s eerie to even watch from my end, so I can’t imagine.

I always say to the writers, what deal did you guys make with the devil? You’re ahead of everything that’s happening in the news. It’s also important to remember that the book, like you said, is coming up on forty years and Atwood says nothing that’s in the book hasn’t happened somewhere in this world. And the thing that’s frightening is you used to have to look a lot further from home as Americans to see it. And now it’s right here in our neighboring states. It’s super scary. So I do, I do tell everyone, go back and watch the pilot. The pilot of this show is the loudest warning shot of all.

Did being a mother influence your portrayal of Naomi’s relationship with “Angela” in any way?
I mean, as a mother, I’d say I don’t think Naomi is a very good mother. So as far as me being a mother influencing Naomi, I think it’s been more helpful on set being an actual mother with the girls who come in to play Angela. You know, we’ve had everything from babies to toddlers to young kids to, I think the girls at the end were five or six. So it’s helpful that I know kid games, and can carry a baby in very high heels.

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We’ve touched on this a bit, but as the show reaches its finale, is there anything in particular that you hope viewers take away from the series?
Yeah, I think it’s very important to remember that June is just a person. She’s not a superhero. And the message of marketing this season has been revolution. And I really hope that people listen. You don’t have to be a superhero to make noise. And you don’t have to be a superhero to fight. To quote the show, “don’t let the bastards grind you down.”

Speaking of superheroes, you’ve played an incredible range of characters, from Naomi to a supervillain mom in Marvel’s Runaways. What do you look for when picking a role or project?
Well, I would say the moment I would love to do something that my kids can watch. My daughter’s finally old enough to watch Runaways, but she hasn’t started it yet. And then as far as what I look for, it could be anything. It could be the cast. It could be the writer, It could be the studio. It could be the director. It could be the location. You know, there’s no place like home.

Is there any genre that you feel speaks to you most, or do you enjoy variety?
I kind of love bopping around from genre to genre. It’s fun to be funny. It’s fun to dig a little deeper. That being said, I would kill to do a Western. The idea of going to work and getting on a horse would be a dream come true.

If you could revisit or redo one project from earlier in your career as an actress, which would it be? Why?
I have to say, I did this show many moons ago called Lucky starring John Corbett and directed by the Russo brothers. And we only did one season, but that was just, it was a magical show and a magical group of people. And it balanced comedy and drama and farce and gambling and Los Vegas. That is a show I would, given the opportunity to go back and revisit, I’d clap my heels three times to be there.

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White Button Up by THE 2ND SKIN CO.

CREW CREDITS:
Talent: Ever Carradine
PhotoBook Editor-In-Chief: Alison Hernon
PhotoBook Creative Director: Mike Ruiz
Producer: Alison Hernon
Photographer: River Chad
Fashion Stylist: Monica Murillo
Hair + Makeup: Olaf Derlig for Exclusive Artists using LeRouge Francais and Balmain Hair
Tearsheets by Daniel López, Art Director, PhotoBook Magazine
Interview by Logan Dutra, Contributor, PhotoBook Magazine
Location: Vision Studio LA

Ever Carradine on The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6