AceShowbiz - Lucy Halliday has quickly become a standout talent with her compelling role as Daisy in Hulu's series The Testaments, the sequel to the acclaimed Handmaid’s Tale. At just 22 years old, Halliday took on her first starring role amid a complex story of resistance and survival within Gilead’s oppressive regime.

Halliday’s character, Daisy, is a courageous teenager from Toronto who infiltrates a finishing school for girls in Gilead, working undercover to undermine the dystopian society from within. “She’s such a gutsy person, and I was constantly trying to find that in myself,” Halliday shares, reflecting on the challenge of embodying a character so resilient in the face of overwhelming pressure.

One of Halliday’s key influences during filming came from none other than actor and director James McAvoy. Hailing from Paisley, Scotland, much like McAvoy, Halliday admired his work and was fortunate to collaborate with him on his directorial debut, California Schemin’. This experience shaped her approach to acting, providing valuable insights and support as she prepared for her role in The Testaments.

“Throughout The Testaments, if I ever felt out of my depth or unsure that I’d made the right decision about something, James was there to help me,” Halliday explains. “I truly believe I would not have been able to do the show if it wasn’t for my time with him.”

Before landing the role of Daisy, Halliday’s path to acting was unconventional. Encouraged by her parents to channel her creativity into theater from an early age, she initially resisted the idea of a professional acting career, instead enrolling in medical school inspired by her mother’s nursing career. However, her passion for storytelling and performance could not be contained. After responding boldly to an open audition for the indie film Blue Jean, despite lacking formal training or representation, Halliday secured the role, marking a turning point away from medicine and toward acting.

Her journey to The Testaments followed a more traditional route with agent representation and multiple auditions, including a Zoom callback. To maintain secrecy around the show’s plot, the production used different character names during auditioning, but Halliday’s familiarity with Margaret Atwood’s work, particularly the 2019 novel on which the series is based, helped her immediately recognize the role of Daisy. In meetings with showrunner Bruce Miller, who also helmed The Handmaid’s Tale, she advocated for a portrayal that preserved Daisy’s inner strength and defiance despite the harsh demands of assimilation in Gilead.

“I knew I never wanted her to lose her tenacity, regardless of how much she’s having to assimilate in Gilead,” says Halliday. “It was important to me because there are a lot of times when young women feel like we have to contort who we are to fit in, or shrink down, but we never lose who we are on the inside.”

The scale of The Testaments was a significant step up from Halliday’s previous experiences. Fortunately, her co-star Chase Infiniti, who plays Agnes, the Gilead-raised daughter of June Osborne (portrayed by Elisabeth Moss in the original series), was a steady source of guidance and inspiration. Infiniti’s recent work on the Paul Thomas Anderson film One Battle After Another brought a professional perspective that helped the younger cast members navigate the demands of a large production.

“Chase taught me a lot about the power of advocating for yourself in a big working environment and about speaking up in general: that there’s no room too big for your voice,” Halliday recalls. Along with fellow young actors Mattea Conforti and Rowan Blanchard, the cast formed a tight-knit group of Toronto transplants, supporting each other both on and off set. Weekly dinners and communal gatherings helped them decompress from the intense and often harrowing scenes they filmed.

Despite its darker themes—hangings, torture, and the brutal realities of Gilead—the atmosphere on set mixed serious storytelling with moments of camaraderie. During particularly difficult scenes, such as when Daisy is sent to The Corrections facility, the cast found solace in singing songs like “For Good” from the musical Wicked between takes, underscoring their close bond.