The Incredible Evolving Career of Actress Ann Dowd

In the 16th episode of his series for IMDb, host Brandon Hardesty of No Small Parts takes a look at the award-winning career of Ann Dowd, an actress who seems to have found her groove as of late. For much of her career, Dowd was a character actress who played such parts as mothers, best friends, pediatricians and grieving wives, but with portrayal of fast food manager Sandra in the bizarre “based on a true story” thriller Compliance, Dowd’s career rocketed to another level, deservedly so. Since then, Dowd has played more complex characters, such as Patti Levin in The Leftovers and Aunt Lydia in The Handmaid’s Tale, that show off the incredible actress that she’s always been.

Just saying ever since ‘Compliance’ and of course shows like ‘The Leftovers’ and ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’, Ann Dowd is no longer just the protagonist’s mother or the protagonist’s sister or the protagonist’s love interest’s co-worker. She’s proved that she can be the protagonist or the antagonist and everything in between.

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.