Joseph Fiennes thinks he "emanates the awful spirit" of his 'Handmaid's Tale' character

He said: "Strangely enough it happens even when I’m wearing a mask and sunglasses which is very odd. Sometimes you hear someone mumble, 'Blessed be the fruit”, and you think how the hell did they work that out?

"But I guess I must emanate this awful spirit of Fred - I don’t know what it is! I do get people coming up but they love the show and can see the concept that I’m an actor playing a part - they don’t come up and punch me in the face there and then!"

However, Joseph admitted some fans are "disturbed" the sight of him carrying out every day tasks such as grocery shopping.

Speaking on 'The Jess Cagle Podcast', he said: "But I do get a lot of people who think I’m somebody in politics or somebody they might have heard about that they’re seeing for the first time and they can’t quite pin down who it is.

"They can get very disturbed seeing me with a shopping trolley and a beard and it’s as though they know something’s wrong and you see they’re very disturbed by it.”

The actor is in awe of his co-star Elisabeth Moss, who has also stepped behind the camera for the fourth season of the show, and thinks there's nothing she can't do.

He said: “Her work ethic is off the charts. I was expecting her to pick me up at three in the morning and take me to the set and do my hair and make-up before she started directing! There’s nothing she can’t do.

"What was wonderful about being directed by Lizzie was that there’s such a trust, a trust that’s been built over four years so we formed a great close relationship and she understands the narrative inside and out.

"She’s a brilliant communicator and in the four years I’ve known her has never lost it. She’s always been encouraging and no matter what hour it is of day or night she’ll be exchanging emails to make things better, make a scene better.

"There’s a few times I’ve been unhappy and sent an email to Bruce [Miller, showrunner] or Lizzie and the response has been immediate.

"I think she’s going to become one of America’s great directors as well as actresses if she so wishes.”