Amanda Brugel is a Canadian actress who plays Rita.
Before The Handmaid’s Tale, Brugel was on Eyewitness, Orphan Black and Dark Matter. [1]
In an April 2018 interview with "Salon" writer Mary Elizabeth Williams, Brugel said that as the self-described "lone Canadian in the cast." [2]
The book changed her life long before she won a role in the show. She was assigned Margaret Atwood's novel as a 15-year-old high school student and subsequently wrote some short stories based on it. [2]
Her university application thesis was on the novel and received a full scholarship on that basis. Brugel said that the main focus of that university application essay was Rita, the character she now plays on the show.[2]