She sounds as American as apple pie in shows such as Dexter and 24, but Yvonne Strahovski actually grew up in Australia, the daughter of Polish immigrants. "I often walk on an American set and someone will say, 'Oh, you're not from here?'" she says. "It always comes as a massive relief – at least someone is buying the fake accent!"
Given her background, perhaps it's apposite that her next project holds a mirror up to current political turmoil in the US. She'll appear opposite Mad Men's Elisabeth Moss in Hulu's television adaptation of Margaret Atwood's dystopian novel The Handmaid's Tale. "It's a story told through the eyes of a woman who is sexually enslaved under a totalitarian and fundamentalist regime. It explores different types of oppression and the effect that has on the human psyche, body and soul."
She chose not to re-watch the 1990 adaptation with Faye Dunaway, lest it colour her performance. Though in preparation for her next film, Shane Black's Predator reboot, she did watch Arnie's original as, believe it or not, she hadn't ever seen it before. "How can you not love it?" she says. "I've been saying that 'Get to the choppahhh!' line all my life!"
The Handmaid's Tale starts on 26 April.
