Ann Dowd is famous at 60. The actor, who began her career in the late ’80s, is experiencing a dizzying roster of projects only now. After snagging the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, her portrayal of Aunt Lydia in The Handmaid’s Tale made the world sit up and take note.
Dowd seems to be compensating for lost time with a packed schedule. In February this year, the now 62-year-old Massachusetts-born American actor had a staggering line-up of five films: all of which screened at The Sundance Film Festival and will release in cinemas this year. There is the British crime, American Animals ; dramas Nancy , Tyrel and A Kid Like Jake ; and the horror Hereditary . “[All the roles] are challenging, but the one that scared the wits out of me was Hereditary ,” she says with a laugh on a phone call with Weekend. “It’s a horror story and it’s a family story — so it really draws you in but is also scary. The character I play, let’s just say, she’s not a fan of God. She goes in the other direction. I was raised Catholic so that was a big challenge.”
The theatre veteran began her journey guest-starring in several films ( Lorenzo’s Oil , Philadelphia , Garden State ) and television series ( Judging Amy , The X-Files ). But she only got her breakthrough role in 2014. Alongside Justin Theroux, Dowd played the almost silent Patti Levin in the HBO show, The Leftovers . Her character is a steadfast non-verbal cult leader, who wreaks havoc with her cruel deeds. “I never considered not acting, it never occurred to me,” declares the former pre-med student. Though late, the accolades have now been pouring in steadily. “There were some very, very low moments as there are in everybody’s lives, where you just think, when is it going to happen and please let something happen,” she recalls. To this day, she is still very grateful to her roommate, acting coach and even chemistry teacher who saw her spark long before she did.
Turning point
In The Handmaid’s Tale , Dowd’s brutal and morally-suspect matron, Aunt Lydia, trains young, fertile women to bear children. The adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s novel (of the same name) centres around the aftermath of the second American Civil War resulting in a dystopian and severely religious society rebirthed as Gilead. Fertility rates are at an all-time low and procreation is the need of the hour. From the very first episode, Dowd’s character gives the audience some of the most chilling scenes: whether it is assisting in the rape of her charges or supervising the bloody murder of a criminal. Aunt Lydia’s twisted and unwavering faith in Gilead’s government is frightening to the bone. “[She] is not just some mean old hag who likes to use the cane, she has deep beliefs and love for these girls,” says Dowd. “The scenes I’ve loved the most are the ones in which you see her commitment to what she signed up for: the contradiction in her, realising that she loves and cares for them.”
Because of her critically-acclaimed performance, Dowd’s character will become a priority in the show’s second season which premières in late April. “We will get more insight into who she is, because you will see her in different circumstances,” says Dowd, who was told by showrunner Bruce Miller that Aunt Lydia was a teacher in her prior life (before Gilead was formed). Educated by nuns, the actor drew inspiration from this to tap into her character’s dichotomy. “The nuns did have very strong beliefs about the Catholic Church, and the fact you were not special didn’t mean you could opt out of what you were responsible for. So it was a little pulling from here and pulling from there, to remind myself that [Aunt Lydia] is a complicated person: if she does not get through to them, she firmly believes that, ‘This is what is required of you and if you don’t learn this you’re not going to survive’.”
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While h er character may be ruthless with nary a smile, Dowd is anything but. Speaking about the harsh realities of show business, the actor is naturally unfazed. “The way I think, it’s naive or a way of surviving, but I will find the roles or the roles will find me; there’s no expiration date and there will be work,” she says, adding, “I think you just got to keep moving forward. There are fantastic writers — men and women — who write women’s stories. Just keep working and writing and keep the thoughts positive and fierce.”
After a hectic year, Dowd continues with the busy streak. “When I finish The Handmaid’s Tale , I am going to go to Los Angeles to film Speed of Light — with many twists and turns, it’s about accepting yourself in this life.” She then heads to Australia to work on a four-part mini series titled Lambs of God , directed by Geoffrey Wright.
Watch The Handmaid’s Tale every Monday at 10 pm on AXN followed by the second season’s première simultaneously with the US telecast.
