Interview: O-T Fagbenle on how ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Changed His Life [VIDEO]

When The Handmaid’s Tale debuted in 2017, O-T Fagbenle never imagined it would run for six seasons. Eight years and 66 episodes later, the Emmy-winning series ended in May, finally bringing Fagbenle’s Luke Bankole and wife June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss) back home to Boston.

In its first five seasons, The Handmaid’s Tale won 15 Emmys and earned 76 nominations. Lauded for its writing, direction, performances, and crafts, the show that was adapted from Margaret Atwood’s seminal 1985 novel became the first streaming show to win Outstanding Drama Series, opening doors within the industry as well as becoming an iconic and prescient tale of women’s rights, autonomy, Christian nationalism, the refugee crisis and more.

Fagbenle’s role grew over time too. Early on, Luke helplessly awaited news of his wife and daughter from a refugee house in Canada. As time went on, he got more directly involved in the fight to try to reclaim the United States and stop Gilead’s evil ways. Fagbenle joined his co-stars as an Emmy nominee himself in season three and the character kept growing from there. By the final season, Luke was a freedom fighter, taking big risks with a new determination.

Though the series and its themes may be very serious, I recently had a fun and lighthearted conversation with O-T Fagbenle about Luke’s journey, some of the ways the show has changed his life, and why, when you’re in a love triangle with a Nazi, the answer is never the Nazi.

O-T Fagbenle is Emmy-eligible in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for The Handmaid’s Tale.