Sweeney utilized this method while playing Eden in "The Handmaid's Tale," creating a book that included "everything from prayers to pictures because sometimes you think she wouldn't be able to read," the actress told Glamour. "For some of the dreams, it's all depicted in pictures, instead of words."
This a lot for someone who initially hadn't seen the show. However, when Sweeney got the audition she watched an episode to "get a feel for it" and, like many of its viewers, ended up watching the first season in a day. "I quickly realized this was the sort of role that would only come along once in a lifetime: I had to get it," the star revealed to Stylist.
After watching the first season and reading Margaret Atwood's 1985 novel, Sweeney had consumed the laws and structure of Gilead as a whole "in order to work out the daily life of Eden, and what she would learn growing up." The actress wanted to keep Eden's teenage curiosity while maintaining the belief system she would have been raised with. "She works on blind faith alone: others may judge the regime, but she doesn't know any different," Sweeney said. "And I wanted the audience to be able to see that."
