For Chase Infiniti, The Testaments Was a New Kind of Education
The star discusses her whirlwind year with One Battle After Another and finding light in the dystopian prequel series to The Handmaid's Tale.
Chase Infiniti knows she had an unusually charmed introduction to Hollywood. The 26-year-old began her career on the AppleTV series Presumed Innocent, opposite Jake Gyllenhaal and Ruth Negga, before landing her breakout big-screen role in Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another. The film went on to win six Oscars, including best picture and best director, and cemented Infiniti as one of the most exciting new faces of her generation.
After working with some of the industry’s biggest names—Anderson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Regina King, and Benicio Del Toro—Infiniti welcomed the chance to perform alongside newcomers her own age in Hulu’s The Testaments, the prequel series to The Handmaid’s Tale, based on Margaret Atwood’s novel of the same name. Infiniti plays Agnes, a perfect daughter of Gilead—well-behaved, pious, and unaware of her complicated roots. The role is a long way from One Battle’s Willa, a feisty scion of the revolution. Still, Infiniti found lessons to carry from one project to the next, and wisdom to share with her fellow Gilead Plums, with whom she’ll reunite when the show returns for season 2.
How did The Testaments come into your life?
After I finished One Battle After Another at the end of 2024, I sent in an initial self-tape. I found out they wanted to meet with me for a callback, and then in January of 2025, I booked the role. It wasn’t hard going from Willa in One Battle After Another to Agnes in The Testaments because Agnes has so much love for her friends. That’s one of my favorite parts about her.
What were the Oscars like? One Battle won nearly everything.
It was insane. I'm still processing it, but it was nothing short of a dream. I felt like I was in the most perfect dress [by Louis Vuitton], and it was so special being with the cast and Paul Thomas Anderson. And then the fact that I got to present the award for best casting to Cassandra Kulukundis, our casting director, was so special. That's a moment I will never forget. The whole experience changed my life in so many ways.
Infiniti wears a Louis Vuitton jumpsuit and hat.
Onstage at the Academy Awards, when you all won for best picture, Paul Thomas Anderson singled you out, calling you “my American girl” and “the heart of this movie.”
What’s crazy is that I didn’t hear anything onstage. I just heard him say my name. I was getting text messages after the show, and I was like, “What did he say?” And then I watched it and thought, I love Paul so much.
Did you get any advice from Teyana Taylor on the set of One Battle?
I didn't really get advice from Teyana on set because I didn't film with her, but I did get a lot from Regina [King]. And then also, one of my previous costars, Ruth Negga, who I did Presumed Innocent with—I got a lot of advice from her. She's one of my close and personal friends.
What was the best thing Ruth told you?
Specifically, she’s told me not to be scared. That may sound pretty basic, but what she meant is to not be scared about what you can accomplish on a job. I carried that into The Testaments and tried to pass it along to my costars too, since I was working with a lot of girls my age, which I’ve never done before. I know that I’ve had a privileged entrance into Hollywood, so I wanted to help the other girls whenever I could.
Have you learned any skills from playing Agnes in The Testaments?
“Learned” is a strong term, but I’ve struggled with embroidery and lace making. We all did. I’m at a point now where it’s convincing on camera.
You’re a Taurus, born on May 1. Would you say you’re a typical Taurus?
I always say Tauruses are very stubborn, and I fit that stereotype. They’re also very grounded people, and one with the Earth because it’s an earth sign. They like food and the luxuries of life. I can't deny those things. I love food, and I like nice things.
