She also opened up about her unusual 'Gilmore Girls' audition.
Alexis Bledel may have gotten an Emmy nod for her memorable role in The Handmaid’s Tale, but the longtime TV star admitted she was certainly self-conscious working with so many other noteworthy actresses.
The Gilmore Girls alum, 35, filmed alongside other big talents like Elisabeth Moss and Samira Wiley, and was met with the challenge of having to shoot some of her most pivotal scenes with a mask covering her mouth.
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“It was an incredible challenge, actually,” she told Seth Meyers on Late Night. “I was so excited about it, oddly. It was really freeing, in a way, just to have movement and just your eyes and looks to work with.”
She added that her looks of terror in those scenes were genuine, joking, “I think it was the fear of being the weakest link on such an amazing show.”
Part of the pressure came from the invasive camera angles, which Bledel noted were “not even a foot away sometimes.”
And though the show can be difficult to stomach as a viewer, Bledel noted that the actual filming process was quite the opposite.
“Oddly, no, it was a great working experience. It didn’t feel the way it feels to watch it,” she explained. “I have a really hard time watching it. I feel very tortured at the end of an episode. I have to watch something else and take a break.”
Bledel’s character, Ofglen, will be returning for the show’s second season as a series regular, which she was pleasantly surprised by.
“I can’t believe I get to come back because my character does not make it in the book,” she said. “So it’s incredibly exciting, unexpected, yeah, I can’t wait to get back to work.”
Bledel also noted that she has had a very unusual acting career, recalling her A-typical audition to play Rory Gilmore.
WATCH: EXCLUSIVE: Alexis Bledel Opens Up About How Motherhood Influenced Her Role on 'The Handmaid's Tale'
“I was very sick, I was a student at NYU and they kept calling me back up to audition,” she said. “I think I went, like, six times. Oddly, I wasn’t a very seasoned actor at all. I didn’t know the process. I grew a tad bit impatient. I had a little attitude, and our boss really liked that a lot. She was like, ‘That’s our girl!’”
For ET’s exclusive interview with Bledel about her role in The Handmaid’s Tale, watch the clip below!
