{"id":698312,"date":"2026-06-11T19:41:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T19:41:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/698312\/"},"modified":"2026-06-11T19:41:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T19:41:11","slug":"chase-infiniti-on-the-testaments-one-battle-fame-elisabeth-moss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/698312\/","title":{"rendered":"Chase Infiniti on The Testaments, One Battle Fame, Elisabeth Moss"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\t\u201cThis looks crazy that that\u2019s in the background, sorry,\u201d Chase Infiniti<\/a> says as she sits in front of a \u201cOne Battle After Another\u201d poster featuring herself. <\/p>\n

\n\tShe\u2019s trying to find a place in her Los Angeles home to prop up her phone for our Zoom interview on an April afternoon, and she\u2019s had to settle for a spot that immediately recalls her performance as Willa in Paul Thomas Anderson\u2019s best picture Oscar-winner. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s just going to have to stay; we\u2019ll pretend that it\u2019s not there,\u201d the 26-year-old star of \u201cThe Testaments<\/a>\u201d says with an embarrassed smile.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\n\tThat\u2019s a pretty hard thing for those in Infiniti\u2019s orbit to do these days, as her critical acclaim and popularity has only increased since her breakout role in \u201cBattle\u201d last year.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut when she was filming Hulu\u2019s adaptation of Margaret Atwood\u2019s sequel to \u201cThe Handmaid\u2019s Tale\u201d last spring, Infiniti was able to maintain a level of normalcy around her peers. She\u2019d done some theater and counted Apple TV\u2019s \u201cPresumed Innocent\u201d as her one previous screen credit. And then \u201cOne Battle\u201d began its marketing campaign.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI hadn\u2019t even seen the final cut yet. And I didn\u2019t tell anybody that I was in the movie until the trailer started to play before \u2018Sinners\u2019 at the movie theater and then Brad [Alexander, her co-star] came to set and told everybody that I was in a Paul Thomas Anderson movie,\u201d Infiniti says with a chuckle.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s rich that the one who broke Infiniti\u2019s cover among \u201cThe Testaments\u201d cast was Alexander, who plays Garth, a secret operative for the Mayday resistance in Gilead, and a sworn protector of Infiniti\u2019s Agnes MacKenzie, the daughter of one of the highest-ranking commanders in the authoritarian government that has taken over the U.S.<\/p>\n

\n\tLuckily, the hype around Infiniti\u2019s theatrical debut didn\u2019t mess with the accidental method acting occurring on set, where the largely female cast of \u201cThe Testaments\u201d was becoming fast friends. (If anything, Infiniti says the group \u2014 herself included \u2014 were most starstruck by Rowan Blanchard, as they\u2019d all grown up watching her on Disney\u2019s \u201cGirl Meets World.\u201d)<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe Testaments,\u201d which picks up roughly four years after where \u201cThe Handmaid\u2019s Tale\u201d left off, follows Infiniti\u2019s Agnes and her friends Becka (Mattea Conforti), Hulda (Isolde Ardies) and Shunammite (Blanchard), who are the daughters of commanders and other high-profile families in Gilead. The teenagers (referred to as \u201cplums,\u201d or \u201cgreens,\u201d if they\u2019ve already gotten their periods) are trained at a wife school run by Ann Dowd\u2019s Aunt Lydia. But amid all the oppressive government\u2019s inculcation in the name of plummeting birthrates, girls will be girls.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDan Doperalski for Variety<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThat was something we wanted to be very mindful of, because we knew that the show was going to have a younger perspective, simply because of who this story was following,\u201d Infiniti says. \u201c[What] I really loved about the first two episodes that I read when I was signing on was the amount of love that Agnes has for her friends, and how close-knit that friend group is. We wanted to show that it doesn\u2019t matter where you grew up, or how you grew up; friendships are universal and stand the test of culture and upbringing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tPerhaps the most important relationship for Agnes throughout the course of Season 1 is her newest: the one with Lucy Halliday\u2019s Daisy, a \u201cpearl girl\u201d who has seemingly sought refuge in Gilead after a life of wickedness in Canada. Agnes is tasked with being her keeper, and is completely unaware that Daisy\u2019s on a mission from a top Mayday rebel and former handmaid: Agnes\u2019 biological mother, June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss).<\/p>\n

\n\tThis twist is anything but to viewers who watched \u201cThe Handmaid\u2019s Tale,\u201d which ended its six-season run in May 2025. Agnes was born Hannah, the daughter of June and Luke (O-T Fagbenle), before she was taken away from them and given to a commander and his wife in the early days of Gilead.<\/p>\n

\n\tMoss, who is an executive producer on \u201cThe Testaments\u201d and guest stars in some episodes, had a major hand in Infiniti\u2019s casting. Post-audition, she continued to be impressed with Infiniti\u2019s performance throughout the season, especially during the finale, when Agnes discusses her mother\u2019s identity with Aunt Lydia.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThere are a lot of scenes that are perhaps bigger, more emotional and more dramatic, but to me, that scene between her and Ann is some of the best work I\u2019ve ever seen Chase do,\u201d Moss says. \u201cThe way that she walks that line of not revealing anything to Lydia, but revealing what she knows, but not \u2014 it\u2019s so, excuse my French, fucking brilliant. Then to see her find that part of her that is her mother\u2019s daughter, but then keep a lid on it \u2014 just simmering like a boiling pot \u2014 is one of the most brilliant moments I\u2019ve seen from her, and from the season.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile Infiniti didn\u2019t work with Moss onscreen this season, she previously worked with \u201cThe Handmaid\u2019s Tale\u2019s\u201d Fagbenle on \u201cPresumed Innocent\u201d; Fagbenle also advised \u201cTestaments\u201d creator Bruce Miller on Infiniti\u2019s casting.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDan Doperalski for Variety<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe got pretty close,\u201d Infiniti says. \u201cI remember when I first met him, he was asking if I had ever seen \u2018The Handmaid\u2019s Tale,\u2019 because at the time, I was very familiar with it, but I hadn\u2019t sat down and watched the episodes yet. And he was like, \u2018I think it might be too dark for you to watch.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThough the Emmy-winning \u201cThe Handmaid\u2019s Tale\u201d was a hard watch for many, \u201cThe Testaments\u201d is very much a lighter look at life in the normally bleak Gilead.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cYou see the blanket of beauty that they\u2019ve draped over these girls\u2019 world. It makes it more palatable for them,\u201d Infiniti says. \u201cSo, it seems like, Oh, my gosh, you\u2019re so lucky that you\u2019re getting all of these wonderful things happening to you! But in reality, they\u2019re still just as dark and terrifying. They\u2019re just tied up with a bow, and they look prettier.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBetween tea parties, dances and a courting process with much older men, Agnes faces sexual assault at the hands of her best friend Becka\u2019s father, Dr. Grove (Randal Edwards). While \u201cThe Handmaid\u2019s Tale\u201d dealt with the subject matter of rape in nearly every episode, and often in graphic detail, Infiniti says that\u2019s not what Miller and his writing team wanted for \u201cThe Testaments.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIf you\u2019ve read the scenes with Dr. Grove in the book, it is very disturbing, extremely graphic, and it just really breaks your heart,\u201d Infiniti says. \u201cThey decided very early on that the things you see in \u2018The Handmaid\u2019s Tale\u2019 are very jarring. And I think that, especially with Agnes and Dr. Grove, she doesn\u2019t even know what happens to her. So, in not showing a lot to the audience, it kind of gave that same feel.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tInfiniti had the challenge of playing these very intense moments juxtaposed with bits of teenage normalcy, like when Agnes finds out her best friend is being forced to marry Agnes\u2019 own crush, guardian-turned-commander Garth.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cShe\u2019s a 14-year-old girl who\u2019s jealous that her crush isn\u2019t with her,\u201d Infiniti says. \u201cAt its core, regardless of the rules and everything in Gilead, that\u2019s just another part of being a young teenager that just bleeds through. Even though the system is the way that it is, her body\u2019s changing, and she\u2019s figuring out what she feels, her emotions and the intensity of it all at once, while dealing with the craziness of finding a husband in Gilead.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen Agnes is faced with the reality of not being able to marry her preferred (and much more age-appropriate) match Garth, Aunt Lydia gives her Commander Westin (Reed Diamond), the top pick among this year\u2019s eligible old bachelors, as her consolation prize. It\u2019s then that Agnes\u2019 defiant nature begins to rise up.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI definitely think that it\u2019s a bit of June coming through her,\u201d Infiniti says. \u201cBut also, she has grown up in Gilead. She knows the rules of Gilead so well that she can navigate through them easier than anybody just coming in would. She knows the limitations. She knows how far she can push it before she actually, really gets in trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThough June is an inherent part of Agnes, Infiniti had to be careful not to unravel that thread too quickly and get ahead of Agnes\u2019 own revelation about her real identity.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWhen I first started preparing for the role, I went back and rewatched \u2018The Handmaid\u2019s Tale,\u2019\u201d says Infiniti. \u201cBut I also really wanted to make an effort to not rely on that too much, because \u2018The Handmaid\u2019s Tale\u2019 is told from the perspective of somebody who has lost everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHulu renewed \u201cThe Testaments\u201d for a second season on May 20, one week before the Season 1 finale dropped. When I spoke with Infiniti in April, she didn\u2019t yet know the show\u2019s fate, or what she wanted to do next. She\u2019s in post-production on Niki Byrne\u2019s upcoming film, \u201cThe Julia Set,\u201d in which she stars alongside Gillian Anderson and Christopher Briney.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI\u2019m still trying to find something that I feel inspired by, or something that gives me those butterflies that I get when I find something that\u2019s special,\u201d Infiniti says. \u201cI\u2019m somebody who believes [that] the things that are meant to happen will happen. If this is the universe telling me I need a break, then I will listen to the universe in that way, too. But I am using the advantage I have now with time to be specific about what I want to do next, and it can be literally anything and everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\tLocation: The Preserve LA; Stylists: Wayman + Micah\/The Only Agency; Makeup: Amber Dreadon\/A-Frame Agency; Hair: Coree Moreno\/A-Frame Agency; Dress: Alaia; Shoes: Christian Louboutin; Jewelry: Irene Neuwirth @ireneneuwirth\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cThis looks crazy that that\u2019s in the background, sorry,\u201d Chase Infiniti says as she sits in front of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":698313,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[236,104368,88,169008],"class_list":["post-698312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-chase-infiniti","tag-entertainment","tag-the-testaments"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/698312","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=698312"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/698312\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/698313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=698312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=698312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=698312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}