Photography by Joel Barhamand
PAST
Rachel Brosnahan has starred inu00a0Othellou00a0on the New York City stage (as Desdemona, opposite David Oyelowo and Daniel Craig, in last yearu2019s revival), but you likely know her as another woman who was lusted after, scorned by, and ultimately killed at the hands of men: the call girl Rachel Posner on Netflixu2019su00a0House of Cards. The cheerful 26-year-old Wisconsin native netted an Emmy nomination for that bleak performance, but she was thankful to move on. u201cRachel was so against-type for me,u201d she says. u201cI didnu2019t have to work very hard to move away from her.u201d Nor from the dozens of other one-dimensional roles she was subsequently offered: u201cWomen are often objectified in scripts or play some sexualized trope. I made an active decision to never entertain a script that has a women introduced having sex. We donu2019t need any more of that.u201d
PRESENT
Based on her latest project,u00a0The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, thereu2019s no doubt that Brosnahan has upheld her vow. In the Amazon original series, created byu00a0Gilmore Girlsu2019 Amy Sherman-Palladino and starting this month, she plays a bored, brassy housewife named Midge, who tries her hand at stand-up comedy after her marriage falls apart. u201cMidge is the most confident character Iu2019ve ever played,u201d she says. u201cI rarely read scripts with confident women in them. Iu2019m lucky not to struggle with self-confidence, personally, but still, playing a woman whou2019s unshakably confident was new and difficult and thrilling.u201d However, even the self-assured Brosnahan found herself nauseated at the prospect of having to do a routine. u201cComedy is freaking hard, man,u201d she says. u201cMidge and I had to learn stand-up together, but I was horrified every single minute.u201d
FUTURE
Amazon recently picked upu00a0Mrs. Maiselu00a0for a second season, but before going back to filming, Brosnahan is set to executive produce for the first time withu00a0Femme, a short film about the gay dating scene in New York City that sheu2019s hoping to release by the end of the year. u201cIt focuses mainly on this idea of performing gender,u201d she says. u201cComing off of my work onu00a0Mrs. Maiselu00a0really attracted me to this theme.u201d When asked about the future for her own gender in a rapidly changing Hollywood, sheu2019s optimistic, thanks to her experience with Sherman-Palladino. u201cWe need more women like her writing and directing,u201d Brosnahan says. u201cThatu2019s how you fully flesh out female characters and change how Hollywood views women.u00a0Maiselu00a0is created by, written by, produced by, edited by, even associate directed by women. We have women all over this show.u201d
