‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Season 5: Bradley Whitford Directed June’s Emotional Phone Call With Commander Lawrence

Bradley Whitford has been a part of The Handmaid’s Tale since season 2 when he stepped into the role of Commander Joseph Lawrence. Several seasons later, Whitford took on a new job. He directed the most recent episode of The Handmaid’s Tale, “Allegiance,” which features an emotional phone call between his character and June.

[SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers ahead for The Handmaid’s Tale Season 5 Episode 9, “Allegiance.”]

Bradley Whitford directed ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Season 5, Episode 9

Actor Bradley Whitford joined the cast of The Handmaid’s Tale as Commander Joseph Lawrence in season 2, and the idea of directing an episode of the Hulu series appealed to him for quite some time. “It was something I’d always wanted to do more of,” Whitford told Vanity Fair. “My impulse to direct really rears up when [I] love the show, I love the actors.”

The 63-year-old actor made his directorial debut in 2007 for the series finale of Aaron Sorkin’s Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Whitford isn’t the first cast member in The Handmaid’s Tale to take a seat in the director’s chair. Elisabeth Moss, who plays the enigmatic June Osborne, has also directed several episodes of the Hulu series.

“Because we had Lizzie go through that experience, we’ve been able to bring Bradley along with a little more knowledge about what you need to know in order to succeed as a director,” showrunner Bruce Miller said in a featurette. “You cannot believe what a joy it is to direct these people,” Whitford added.

Commander Lawrence and June had an emotional phone call in ‘Allegiance’

The Handmaid’s Tale Season 5, Episode 9 begins with a spark of hope for June and Luke. They learn from Mark Tuello of an upcoming raid on Hannah’s school to get her out of Gilead. Unfortunately, everything goes awry, and the American planes are shot down.

Later, June speaks with Commander Lawrence over the phone. He again offers June the opportunity to be with Hannah in New Bethlehem, a Gilead settlement. June rebuffs Lawrence when he tries to say he is doing what he can to improve Gilead, like he promised his late wife, Eleanor. She tells him, “Eleanor hated you,” and confesses that she was present when Eleanor died.

Whitford told Elisabeth Moss to ‘do whatever the f*** you want’

This scene in The Handmaid’s Tale presented its own challenges for director Bradley Whitford. It required the actors to be alone for their emotional shots, where each character shed tears. Due to COVID-related shutdowns, Whitford and Moss’ sides of the conversation were shot at different points in the filming process.

Thanks in part to a tongue-in-cheek directorial note to Moss, she and Whitford nailed the scene. “Now, actors need direction; I need direction,” he told Vanity Fair. “But bad actors overact, bad writers overwrite, bad directors overdirect. At one point, I went up and said to Lizzie, ‘Pretend I said something brilliant and just do whatever the f*** you want.'”

“And I was joking, but that take is the one that we end up using,” Whitford continued. “That take, to me, her approach gets very soft; [June’s] attack on [Joseph] about Eleanor dying gets very soft. And I thought it was an extraordinary take that led into that moment with Luke [where he holds her]. And if I had said anything to Lizzie other than ‘do whatever the hell you want,’ it wouldn’t have been that interesting.”

Don’t miss new episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale Season 5 Wednesdays on Hulu.