"You can never just write off a person as crazy" — When Madeline Brewer made her feelings clear about her character in The Handmaid's Tale

Madeline Brewer has quietly but surely become a phenomenal actress with some brilliant roles, many of which are in a similar vein, in major shows like The Handmaid's Tale, Orange is the New Black, and, more recently, You season 5. During this time, the 32-year-old Emmy-nominated actress has also become renowned for her portrayal of dark characters.

Her role in The Handmaid's Tale, for instance, speaks volumes about this. The primary reason Brewer does these roles so well is her commitment to studying the characters and her insight into their psychology. She discussed this in a 2017 interview with Harper's Bazaar, where she deciphered that her character, Janine, was not just "crazy," as most would think.

Deciphering her character, Brewer said:

"I really wanted to do her justice. She's not just someone who has been taken out of her world and thrown into this new world where she's been completely stripped of her rights. For any woman, that would make you lose your mind. I didn't want to just chalk her up to being the crazy one. There's so much more to her. You can never just write off a person as crazy."

She added:

"I think that is the most inhumane thing you can do to someone without physically abusing them. Janine's outlook on the world after she gets her eyeball popped out and she spent almost two years in Gilead—her version of crazy is a very smart and calculated one. She is doing what she has to do to survive, and for some people that is just playing pretend."

In the same interview, Madeline Brewer also delved into how she took on the role and what she did to succeed in it with flying colors.

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"Just playing the crazy one isn't fun" — Madeline Brewer breaks down Janine's character and her thought process behind it

Madeline Brewer not only understands the character of Janine well, but she has also put in a lot of preparation behind the role, with meticulous work that goes beyond just acting.

She discussed the things she did and some attempts that she made to reach Janine in the same interview. The actress admitted that it was often hard to get into Janine's mind, as the character is extremely complex. Despite these difficulties, she made an active effort to get as close to the character as possible, and this dedication gave Madeline Brewer the impetus to portray her perfectly.

Expanding on this, Madeline Brewer said:

"Just playing the crazy one isn't fun, but finding the reasons why they are the way they are, and finding your common humanity with any character, is fun. It all starts for me at the ground level; strip us down to what we are, just as you see us."

She added:

"We are both women, so the things that I know about women are probably similar to the things that Janine knows about women. Our experiences with men have been similar, but then she has the added layers."

With her commitment to the role, Madeline Brewer managed to get a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series at the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards in 2021.

Even beyond the role of Janine, she has consistently embodied characters and delivered exceptional performances across nearly all the roles she has taken up. Brewer is also set to appear in Anniversary, which is currently in post-production.