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Mckenna Grace Confirms Her 'Handmaid's Tale' Character Is The Same Age She Is & Reveals Why That's Important

Mckenna Grace Confirms Her 'Handmaid's Tale' Character Is The Same Age She Is & Reveals Why That's Important

Mckenna Grace is confirming that yes, her character Mrs. Keyes on The Handmaid’s Tale, is the same age she is in real life.

The 14-year-old starlet spoke with Elle following the first three episodes of the new season dropping early on Hulu.

“It’s funny because I’ll make a joke that, ‘Yeah, I’m doing this right now. I got a husband or something.’ And people are like, ‘How old is your character?’ I’m like, ’14.’ And they’re like, ‘What? That doesn’t make sense.’”

Click inside to see why Mckenna Grace considers it important that her character is the same age as her…

Mckenna went on, explaining why the age is very important to the role.

“It meant a lot that I got to actually play the age Mrs. Keyes is,” she says. “I did think it was important for an actual 14-year-old to play the role, especially since this 14-year-old is being raped and abused and sold off, all of these things that are happening to 14-year-olds every single day.”

Mckenna adds, “If it makes people upset or uncomfortable that an actual 14-year-old is having to talk about how she was raped and it’s acting, then maybe that will make you want to do something for actual girls who are going through this.”

She also spoke about how she wasn’t actually allowed to watch the series at all, up until she was cast in it.

“I remember wanting to, because my parents really like it,” she admits. However, “after I got it, my mom’s like, ‘Well, I mean, okay.’ Then we binge-watched all the seasons together.”

Mckenna said that it’s now one of her favorite shows because of how “dark and intense and crazy” it can be.

“There was a good bit of skipping, but also because I get uncomfortable in intimate scenes; I still cover my eyes,” Mckenna shared, before adding that she actually had to write a paper on the series: “I’m in a college course right now for media aesthetics, and I’ve had to write about Handmaid’s Tale probably four times. The professor doesn’t know I’m in it. I tried not to expose myself.”

If Mckenna looks familiar, it’s because you’ve probably seen her on one of these shows…

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