Woman of the Week: Samira Wiley

Wiley reprises her mesmerizing, Emmy-nominated role as activist lesbian Moira in the much-anticipated second season of The Handmaid’s Tale this month. As best friend to Elisabeth Moss’ character June, Moira provides a much-needed glimmer of hope in Margaret Atwood’s eerily pertinent dystopia. The award-winning show aired in a fraught political climate – one putting the human rights of women, immigrants and the LGBTQ community at risk – and on screen, Moira is the rebel unafraid to speak up, managing to escape the handmaids’ nightmarish training house, The Red Center – just the kind of inspiration needed. This isn’t the first time Wiley has been involved in a hyper-relevant show, either: she starred as Poussey in Orange Is the New Black, the Netflix comedy-drama that captured the zeitgeist and started vital conversations around race, sexuality and beauty ideals.

“The choice to be brave has been the journey of my life. From the characters I play, I try to think what traits from them I would like to take away. Moira encourages people to speak up; we look at this Trump era and this political climate and we can’t afford to be silent or live in the shadows any more.” Samira Wiley, Stylist, 2017

“Acting with Samira is like being in a beautiful boxing or tennis match… She reacts physically and emotionally to every ebb and flow. She is one of the absolute most present actors I’ve worked with… Samira is who she is unapologetically. She’s the definition of a powerful woman. She doesn’t bulls**t. I lucked out with this one and I know it.” Elisabeth Moss, Stylist, 2017

Season 2 of The Handmaid’s Tale begins on Hulu on April 25 2018