Over the years, The Handmaid’s Tale has delivered some of the most thrilling moments a drama series is ever likely to offer, but it sounds like its biggest scene is still to come. Apparently, 500 extras were used to film a scene from The Handmaid’s Tale season 5 finale.
The TV series, based on the books of the same name by Margaret Atwood, has been widely acclaimed during its five year run so far. There’s high hopes for the culmination of season 5, too, as the show wraps up before the sixth and final season of the streaming service hit.
In an interview with TV Line, star of the show Elisabeth Moss revealed the team are sparing no expense and going all out for the season 5 finale.
“There were over 500 background actors,” Moss said. “It’s a hell of a lot, especially when all of those people have to be tested for COVID, protocols have to be followed. They have to be fed. They have to be housed. They have to be kept somewhere. You know, it’s a huge, huge operation.”
“It’s not just those people — there’s a lot of other people that have to be brought in to help manage all those people. It was the most amount of extras we’ve ever had on the show. And one of the reasons that that happened is because I didn’t want to do any VFX people,” Moss added.
Moss stepped behind the camera to direct the big finale, as well as playing June Osborne in front of the camera. “I wanted to make sure that we could feel that they were real people, and that we could move them around like real people, and so we had to have real people,” she explained.
It’s yet another string to add to the bow of an actor who has delivered brilliant performances over the years, most notably in the horror movie The Invisible Man. If you like The Handmaid’s Tale, check out our list of the best movies based on books for more adaptations.