Brad Alexander, the English actor playing Garth in Disney+'s adaptation of Margaret Atwood's The Testaments, has opened up about his sudden rise to fame and the challenges of staying grounded. The series, a sequel to The Handmaid's Tale, follows teenage daughters of commanders at an elite 'wife school' as they plot rebellion. Alexander's character, Garth, is a complex young regime figure with divided loyalties.
'Garth is interesting because he's living in two worlds,' Alexander explains. 'Ostensibly he's with Gilead, he has a commander family, but he has allegiance elsewhere, to this uprising… This is a world in which looking at someone the wrong way can get you strung up. You're constantly looking over your shoulder.'
The 23-year-old from Weston-super-Mare landed the role through a blind audition, not knowing which show it was, and was immediately flown to Canada for a six-month shoot. 'I didn't work as hard as the girls,' he admits. 'They were on set every single day and had legions of pages to learn — I still thought it was challenging.'
Alexander had previously studied marketing at university and started businesses before switching to acting during the pandemic. 'I knew it was risky and unrealistic but I wanted it more than anything,' he says. His early work included modelling and background roles, leading to a part in Netflix's Anatomy of a Scandal and later You. The Testaments marks his biggest breakthrough, followed by a secret new Charlie Brooker show.
Reflecting on his newfound attention, Alexander says: 'There's definitely been a temperature shift in my life. It's strange being interviewed, you get the sense that this is how narcissists are created. I can feel my ego just inflating. I had a day where I had like five interviews and by the third I felt myself getting more arrogant, “Yeah, I am a genius.”'
