Alexis Bledel got her brutal, Emmy-winning role on 'The Handmaid's Tale' because of 'Gilmore Girls'

Alexis Bledel is known as Rory Gilmore, from the early 2000s teen dramedy "Gilmore Girls," which had a revival on Netflix last year.

Following her reprisal of Rory, Bledel guest-starred on Hulu's "The Handmaid's Tale" in a chilling role and incredibly moving performance that won her a Creative Arts Emmy last weekend. Bledel's transformative performance made you forget that she's Rory, and proves that she can, and should, be taken seriously as a dramatic actress.

Business Insider recently talked to Sharon Bialy and Sherry Thomas, the casting directors for "The Handmaid's Tale," about casting Bledel in this very different role.

"I have a daughter who was obsessed with everything that Alexis Bledel was in, so we watched every episode of 'Gilmore Girls' more than once, in addition to the 'Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants' movies, maybe ten times," Bialy said. "Something happens when you sit with your children and watch performances, because you really start examining them. I can't really watch the same thing over and over again, so you start really watching the actors. For me, I felt that there was something more there than people had given her the opportunity to do, and so much of that is just the eyes. Those eyes are phenomenal."

Bialy mentioned that showrunners often say things like, "Oh, I want an Alexis Bledel type." And she responds, "Well why don't we get Alexis Bledel?"

"It all came together as it was supposed to, it was great," Thomas said.