EXCLUSIVE: Emmy winner Bradley Whitford has been tapped for a major recurring role in the upcoming second season of Hulu’s Emmy-winning drama series The Handmaid’s Tale.

The West Wing alum will play Commander Joseph Lawrence, the architect of Gilead’s economy, who is gruff and intimidating, with a disheveled mad genius vibe. His sly humor and flashes of kindness make him a confusing, mysterious presence for his newest Handmaid.

The new season will be shaped by Offred’s (Elisabeth Moss) pregnancy and her ongoing fight to free her future child from the dystopian horrors of Gilead. “Gilead is within you” is a favorite saying of Aunt Lydia. In Season 2, Offred and all characters will fight against – or succumb to – this dark truth.

The Handmaid’s Tale hails from MGM Television and is created, executive produced and written by Bruce Miller based on the book by Margaret Atwood. Warren Littlefield, Moss, Daniel Wilson, Fran Sears and Ilene Chaiken executive produce. Co-starring alongside Moss are Joseph Fiennes, Yvonne Strahovski, Samira Wiley, Alexis Bledel, Ann Dowd, Max Minghella, Madeline Brewer, O-T Fagbenle and Amanda Brugel.

Two-time Emmy winner Whitford can be seen in two Oscar-nominated films, Get Out and The Post. He’ll next be seen in crime thriller The Destroyer with Nicole Kidman and the upcoming installment of the Godzilla MonsterVerse alongside Vera Farmiga, Kyle Chandler, Sally Hawkins and Millie Bobby Brown.

Whitford is repped by ICM Partners and Greenlight Management.