The Handmaid's Tale's Joseph Fiennes: ‘I can’t bear the thought of my daughters watching it' The show’s lead actor talks about the toll the role has taken on him and his family and growing up penniless 3 July 2021 • 5:00am Fiennes is tipped for an Emmy nomination for his role in The Handmaid’s Tale Credit: Matt Holyoak / Camera Press Spoiler alert: this interview includes spoilers for the season finale of The Handmaid’s Tale Although Joseph Fiennes is hotly tipped for an Emmy nomination as lead male actor in a drama for his performance as the odious Commander Fred Waterford in The Handmaid’s Tale, he fervently hopes that his loved ones never see the show. ‘I’ve got two young daughters and just the most magnificent wife [Swiss-Spanish photographer María Dolores Diéguez], and I want to do them proud. And of course they’re proud I’m in a successful show, but there is a part of me that can’t bear the thought of [them] ever watching this.’