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The Wills Star Mattea Conforti talks about Becka’s emotional journey in episode 9. The actor describes the character’s state of mind and her complicated relationships with the people around her.
The Wills The most recent episode delivered one of the most shocking moments of the series. In episode 9, Becka kills Dr. Grove (Randal Edwards), which ends with Agnes (Chase Infiniti) handing her over to The Eyes. In an interview with by ScreenRant Liam Crowley, Conforti talks about the intense motivations behind his character’s decision, Agnes’ heartbreaking reaction, and the intensity of the filming process.
Conforti offers his perspective on the aftermath of Dr. Grove’s death and explains that Becka’s decision was caused by years of conditioning. From his character’s perspective, acts of violence against girls are treated as unforgivable crimes deserving of the harshest punishment possible. Having grown up surrounded by these teachings, Becka ultimately believes that she is enacting some form of justice.
She added that Becka’s actions weren’t as impulsive as they might have appeared to viewers. The actor said they came from her worldview and how she genuinely believed things should work because that’s what she spent most of her life believing. Throughout the series, Becka struggled with her identity and where it is located within Gilead. According to Conforti, Testaments episode 9 depicts a moment where Becka convinces herself that she has finally found purpose.
The actor further explained that the conflict becomes even more complicated due to Agnes’ involvement. Becka’s love for Agnèsboth as a friend and his romantic feelings for her, plays a major role in his reaction. Conforti described Becka as someone driven by the need to protect Agnes at all costs after learning about her past and her father. In the character’s mind, his actions become an act of love more than anything else.
There are so many things. On the one hand, it is the justice that he was told was just. When men commit these acts, when they touch girls, when they are not pious, they deserve to be punished by death. We see this in the first episode with the hanging bodies, and they ask why they were punished this way. This is because they behaved ungodly towards a girl who was not yet married. So that’s what he was told. She grew up in this world that she didn’t necessarily feel like she belonged in as she was figuring out her identity, her sexuality, her relationships, her friendships, who she was in her own way, and I had a conversation with Bruce about that as well. It’s sort of his divine calling. “Maybe that’s why I feel so hesitant and unwelcome here, because this is my time. This is when I have to show that I belong here.” I think there’s another element added, which is that it’s Agnès. Someone she loves platonically and romantically was hurt by her father, and that’s not acceptable to Becka, and she needs to protect Agnes. And that’s what she does. And that’s how she tells Agnès that I did this for you. I have performed this divine act of justice for you. Here is.
Conforti reveals that Becka is devastated after Agnes reported her. She explained how her character saw this as a betrayal, especially since she thought she was doing the right thing. However, the actor also said that she thinks Becka will never really blame Agnes for what happened because her feelings for her are so strong.
Oh yeah. I think she feels betrayed. However, she would never blame Agnes for anything. She has so much love for her. I think she feels this immediate feeling of betrayal. It was such a heartbreaking scene to film. I had no voice during filming. We filmed that scene for, I think, maybe, oh my God, 14 hours. It was crazy and it was just screaming and screaming and screaming. And we had to do a lot of takes where I was either vocalizing my screams because I didn’t have a voice, or we were saying, “Okay, Mattea, you have to scream and go until 3:00, 4:00 in the morning, where I’m just being carried by these really strong women.” They were very strong, and I was screaming and struggling. But yes, it was a very emotional day.
Conforti said filming the sequence was just as intense behind the scenes. She said filming the scene where Becka is taken away by The Eyes lasted approximately 14 hours and became one of the most physically demanding experiences of her career. She went on to state that it took hours of screaming, which caused her to completely lose her voice. In some takes, she was forced to silently scream because she physically couldn’t continue screaming.
Yes, I would. I would say that the scene where I’m taken away by The Eyes and the scene where I kill Dr. Grove were emotionally taxing and also very physically demanding. I was so convinced. I wanted to give my best performance, I wanted to show up there and give 110 percent. I wanted to come home from set exhausted and just wanted to go to sleep. I didn’t want to have to think, “Should I have done this differently?” Should I have done this? When I read the script, I realized, “Wow, okay, these elements are very important and crucial to my character and my work. I have to give the best performance possible.” Honestly, I wanted to come home mentally and physically tired.
However, despite the pain she felt, Conforti still put her heart and soul into the performance. The actor said she knew from the start how important this scene would be and wanted to make sure it did justice to both the story and her character.
ScreenRant: I want to start by asking about the table scene at the very beginning of this episode, in
in particular, it seems like everyone is on the same side. When she hears Daisy accuse her of assault, the verbiage she first says to Daisy is, “Are you trying to ruin my life?” When I hear a phrase like that, it almost makes me believe that she doesn’t fully trust her father. It’s almost like “don’t divulge this information.” I would love to get your take on this line.
Mattea Conforti: Back then, Becka has warmed up a bit to Daisy, but she’s still a little unsure about her place in their world and how close she is now to Agnes. There is already a lot of tension in their relationship. When Daisy comes out and says this about her father, she doesn’t believe her at all. She really thinks Daisy is trying [to sabotage her]. I think the way I interpreted it is to try to eliminate the friendship that Agnes and Becka have so that Daisy can get closer to Agnes that way. I think that’s how Becka would internalize it, but she doesn’t know anything about her father yet. What’s so interesting about this dinner table conversation is that Agnes, right after Daisy speaks or exposes this about Dr. Grove, Agnes then reveals her truth, which was heartbreaking to film.
Chase and I got really emotional when we filmed that scene. It was completely raw and very real. It was a very intense and emotional day on set. When she’s at that table with The Groves and she asks her father if he’s ever touched the Pearl Girl, he says he’s never laid a finger on the Pearl Girl. He never says anything about Agnes. I think she has her confirmation in that moment, and she knows that, unfortunately, this is what her father did behind her back, and it’s unfortunately to the person she loves the most.
It was completely silent on set. There’s so much tension and silence, it was deafening, and it also created this extra element to the scene. It was like, who’s going to say what? They won’t reveal the elephant in the room until Becka does.
ScreenRant: What do you think of Becka and Garth’s relationship, especially compared to where they started in 109?
Mattea Conforti: Becka obviously doesn’t know that Garth is Mayday and that he doesn’t work with the world she knows. At first, she is still hesitant to marry him because she still sees him as someone who wants to become a commander, potentially valuing the same things that other commanders value. I think she might still hold some of those beliefs about him, but what attracted her to him, in a I think very platonic and friendly way, is that he’s willing to keep her close to his friends. I think for her it equates to being close to Agnes and pursuing their future together in some way, but I think she really likes the fact that he seems to really support her and will be there for her. He doesn’t immediately express that he wants children and he wants to be her husband. This kind of feels like an arrangement they’re already putting in place, and it favors Becka more. So I think that’s what made her choose him over Commander Maddox or another commander.
ScreenRant: What was it like building her up over the course of these episodes and also seeing the real-time reaction of people falling in love with the character, people having their hearts broken for the character?
Mattea Conforti: I was so lucky and fortunate to be able to play Becka. Honestly, I wasn’t aware of all the love and support I was going to receive for the character when the series was released, so I was very lucky to receive such a positive reaction. I remember when I first booked the role, I had some really good conversations with Bruce Miller, our showrunner, about Becca’s initial hesitation and doubts when she enters Gilead, which is something the girls don’t necessarily experience given that they’re so used to Gilead, that they have no outside references or material to fall back on to find an alternative solution to their ultimate destiny of becoming a wife or mother. It’s something that I was initially challenged to play with and I really enjoyed exploring it and getting to know it in a different way.
