Carrie Coon on Season Two of 'The Gilded Age'

Summary

Podcast Summary: “Carrie Coon on Season Two of 'The Gilded Age'”

Podcast: All Of It, WNYC
Host: Alison Stewart
Guest: Carrie Coon
Date: September 13, 2024

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Overview

In this episode of All Of It, host Alison Stewart interviews Carrie Coon, Emmy-nominated for her role as Bertha Russell in HBO’s The Gilded Age. The conversation dives deeply into Coon’s process embodying a fiercely ambitious “new money” social climber, her collaboration with co-stars and creators, the show’s approach to depicting class and race in 1880s New York, and the complexity (and costuming) of her character’s journey in season two.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introducing Bertha Russell: Characterization and Drive

• Alison asks for adjectives to describe Bertha Russell.
  • Carrie Coon: “Feisty, tenacious, determined, myopic, relentless, charming.” (05:32)
• Bertha’s motivation:
  • “She is rabidly ambitious… If she were born in another time, she would have been a CEO or a senator or president. But those avenues are not open to her, so the social sphere is her purview, and she plans to dominate.” (05:50)

2. Building Bertha: Coon’s Personal Connection and Backstory

• Bertha’s imagined background:
  • “She had been decidedly middle class, really borderline. She had come, of course, from probably Irish immigrants… I always laughed because the woman who plays Turner, Kelly Curran, she has the most beautiful hands… and I personally come from a working class family. That always made me feel appropriately out of place in my own house.” (06:33)
• Understanding Bertha’s perspective:
  • “She thinks she’s living in a meritocracy… But she’s not really thinking about everyone, of course... She’s really just thinking about the other women she has to dispatch with to get to the top.” (07:19)
• Coon’s competitive streak as connective tissue:
  • “I hated running. But I loved winning, and we won all the time. I’m not a sore loser at all... when someone beats me fair and square, I'll accept it.” (08:22)

3. Inside Production: Research, Locations, and Repetition

• On historical research:
  • “Our assistant director, Luke Harlan, had assembled a wonderful research packet along with Erica Dunbar, a magnificent historian... Both fiction and nonfiction. Portrait of a Lady is my favorite book. I reread it every few years... I dressed up as Edith Wharton in fourth or fifth grade for a book report.” (11:06)
  • “We had a consultant on set for etiquette, and of course, you would hear from Julian [Fellowes]... He was always watching. You never knew when you'd hear from him.” (12:09)
• Shooting challenges:
  • “It was 130 degrees in there the night before we shot [the Easter parade]; they had to rig air conditioning so we didn’t all pass out. Women didn’t wear those dresses for 14 hours straight, but we do, don’t we?” (10:23)

4. Portrayal of African American History

• Call-in on racial representation:
  • Caller Harry appreciates the show’s depiction of Black middle/upper class life in the 1880s.
• Coon’s response:
  • “It’s my favorite part of the show… We rarely see the African American diaspora depicted in this time period as particularly as middle or upper class. To see all those beautiful young people dressed up that way — I know my friends growing up always had to imagine themselves in stories dominated by white writers and actors. I’m really moved that a young woman might look at our show and see herself in it…” (13:03)
  • Praises Danae Benton, Erica Dunbar, Sonja Warfield, and other cast/crew for authenticity.

5. Season Two: Vulnerability and Evolution

• Bertha’s journey in Season Two:
  • “I think she’s been made more vulnerable this season. Especially with the complication of Turner and her marriage with George… They gave us more moments when she’s feeling insecure... that always complicates a character, especially an antagonist or villain.” (15:34)
  • Notes more grace notes, such as Bertha giving opera tickets to her housekeeper. (15:34)

6. Performance Details: Voice, Dialogue, Coaching

• On adopting the period dialect:
  • “We had a coach, Howard Samuelson, every day to notice any ‘t’ or strange Midwestern ‘a’ creeping in… At first, it felt awkward… The language has a certain size, you can’t just mumble through it… It does require a bit of theatricality.” (16:41)
  • “I settled in the second season... but it is hard when you go away… and come back to production, it takes a few days of warming up, where you don’t entirely feel human.” (16:41)

7. Chemistry with Morgan Spector (George Russell)

• Developing the marriage dynamic:
  • Caller Suzanne praises the authentic marriage dynamic on the show.
  • Carrie Coon: “I really adore Morgan personally... Our spouses are friends, our kids are the same age. We became good friends before this show. When I found out it was Morgan, it was one of the reasons I took the job.” (18:58)
  • Notes the marriage is modern and egalitarian, a rarity, and “respect has become elusive and sexy.” (18:58)

8. Spoiler Section: Bertha, the Opera Wars, and Familial Deals

• On Bertha’s maneuvering:
  • “He [the Duke] wasn’t the only Englishman fishing around for a family fortune... anyone who knows the history of Alva Vanderbilt knows she did that famously with her daughter Consuelo and married her off to the Duke of Marlborough—a very unhappy marriage.” (25:12)
  • “George doesn’t approve of this arrangement… Gladys is being sold across the ocean.” (25:12)
• Why Bertha is so direct:
  • “Bertha believes that the truth is powerful when convenient... She also knows the world is set up for Larry—he’s a rich, young, white man, he’s going to be fine. But she will not let him make a match that will stain the family name.” (21:44–22:54)

9. On Costumes — Bertha’s Visual Power

• Reaction to her elaborate wardrobe:
  • “The fittings are really shocking... Kasia [Walicka-Maimone, costume designer] always has these boards... every choice she makes is justifiable in the historical record, even when she’s pushing the period... With Bertha, it’s always more. Most of the characters have one dressmaker; I have three or four. They all have a different personality and purpose.” (23:19)

10. Broadway Hopes and Previous Work

• On returning to stage:
  • “It’s very hard to get a straight play up on Broadway right now... I’d love to bring Bug or see a revival of August: Osage County...” (27:18)
• Leftovers fandom:
  • “In my entire career, it will always be a Leftovers fan who recognizes me. Those exchanges are never trivial... People who are connected to that show have a strong and powerful experience.” (26:26)

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• “She thinks she’s living in a meritocracy… She believes if you work hard, you should be able to work your way to the top—though she’s not really thinking about everyone.” – Carrie Coon (07:19)
• “You can’t just mumble through it like you’re doing a contemporary television show. It takes a bit of theatricality.” – Carrie Coon on period dialogue (16:41)
• “When I found out it was Morgan [Spector], it was one of the reasons I took the job.” – Carrie Coon on her on-screen marriage (18:58)
• “With Bertha, it’s always more [in the costumes].” – Carrie Coon (23:19)
• “I may have peaked early and it’s all downhill from here.” – Carrie Coon, joking about her Leftovers legacy (26:26)
• “So yes, of course, it’s astonishing…every time I go in, she’s [the designer] always adding things.” – Carrie Coon, about costumes (23:19)
• “Respect has become elusive and sexy.” – Carrie Coon, on Bertha and George’s marriage (18:58)
• “I’m really moved that a young woman might look at our show and see herself in it—in a way a Black girl hasn’t had that opportunity in the past.” (13:03)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Bertha Russell: Character & Motivation – 05:32—05:50
• Bertha’s Backstory & Actor’s Connection – 06:33—07:19
• Competition and Athletics – 08:22
• Historical Research and Etiquette – 11:06—12:09
• Representation of Black New Yorkers – 13:03
• Season 2: Vulnerability & Grace Notes – 15:34
• On Voice & Period Dialogue – 16:41
• Bertha & George’s Marriage – 18:58
• Spoiler: Opera Wars & Family Intrigue – 25:12
• Costume Insights – 23:19
• Leftovers Fandom and Broadway Hopes – 26:26—27:18

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Episode Tone

The conversation is warm, intellectual, and spirited—Carrie Coon offers insightful, candid reflections laced with humor and humility. The dynamic between host and guest is inviting, with questions that elicit detailed, thoughtful answers. Listener calls add a community feel and further context about the scope and resonance of The Gilded Age and Coon’s work.

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Summary prepared for listeners who want a comprehensive sense of the episode’s themes and takeaways—without spoilers for unaired plot developments.

Transcript

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[Carrie Coon]

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[Carrie Coon]

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[Carrie Coon]

Listener support WNYC Studios.

[Alison Stewart]

This is all of it for wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. And on we go with our show featuring conversations featuring Emmy nominees, the awards of this weekend. Up next, we'll talk about the Gilded Age with star Carrie Coon. The Gilded Age features all the best themes from dramatic TV power plays, scheming family Dynamics. And it does it all with horses and buggies, calling cards, top hats and corsets. The story follows new money versus old money in New York City in the 1800s. Carrie Coons plays the freshly rich, very nervy and smart social schemer Bertha Russell, wife of a robber baron who has arrived in New York City and built herself a versailles like mansion on Fifth Avenue and 61st Street. Right across from one of the old family. Right across from one of the old money families in town. As Bertha tries to climb the social ladder, the old guard attempts to pull the rungs from beneath her. But Bertha and her husband will not be denied. Here's a scene from season one. Bertha Russell has been shut out of hosting a hoity toity charity bazaar in her palatial home on fifth Avenue. The old crowd is sending her a message. So when Bertha and her husband arrive at the small venue where the bazaar is being held instead of their huge home, he decides to shut it down by buying every vendor in sight to avenge the dishonor of his wife. The first voice you will hear is George Russell calling out two old money matrons.

[George Russell (Character)]

You must be Mrs. Fane.

[Carrie Coon]

Yes, Mr. Russell, I am Aurora Fane.

[George Russell (Character)]

So the pair of you decided my wife's ballroom was not good enough to raise money for your charity.

[Carrie Coon]

Mr. Russell, there's no need.

[George Russell (Character)]

How much money do you hope to raise over the next three days?

[Carrie Coon]

I suppose I'm hoping for 30 or even $40.

[George Russell (Character)]

Here's $100. On one condition.

[Carrie Coon]

What?

[George Russell (Character)]

That everything on the stall is delivered to my house on fifth Avenue within the hour. This is my card. Can you do it?

[Carrie Coon]

Yes, I suppose we can. It is why we are here, isn't it? I mean, that is the point, of course.

[George Russell (Character)]

So you'll take it?

[Carrie Coon]

Thank you. Very generous.

[George Russell (Character)]

You will also close and dismantle your stall. This is my address on Fifth Avenue.

[Caller]

I see.

[George Russell (Character)]

$100. I'm buying everything. But it must be delivered within the hour. And the stall will be closed and taken down at once.

[Carrie Coon]

As you wish.

[George Russell (Character)]

I will buy everything on your stall for $100. Please wrap it up. No, no, it's not what happens here.

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I will take Russell.

[Carrie Coon]

Can't you stop this? Why? The bazaar will be the most successful of the season.

[George Russell (Character)]

Madam, $100.

[Carrie Coon]

We won't help you. You know this sort of stunt does not impress the people. You want to win over Mrs. Morris. This sort of stunt impresses everyone.

[Alison Stewart]

That last voice you hear was Carrie Coon, who joined us on the show for a watch party and listeners because this is an all of it encore presentation. You'll hear us taking calls in this segment, but we won't be able to take your calls today. I started by asking Carrie, who's Emmy nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a drama series, what adjectives she'd use to describe her character. Bertha.

[Carrie Coon]

Oh, gosh, there are so many good ones people keep putting out there. Feisty, tenacious, determined, myopic, relentless, charming.

[Alison Stewart]

She is charming. She does have a charm about her. What does Bertha want most from life?

[Carrie Coon]

Oh, well, she's. I mean, she is rabidly ambitious. I think if she were born in another time, she would have been a CEO or a senator or president. But those avenues are not open to her. And so therefore, the social sphere is her purview, and she plans to dominate.

[Alison Stewart]

As you can, but really, she's taking.

[Carrie Coon]

Care of her kids, you know.

[Alison Stewart]

Yeah, we'll get to that. She has her way. In her way. As you started to construct this character, what was something in your mind that was important to know about Bertha before we even meet her in New York? Something that either you've talked to the writers about creating her past, maybe something you've created about her past that's important to know.

[Carrie Coon]

That's an interesting question. I think one of the things that was always in the back of my mind was that she had been decidedly middle class, really borderline. And that she had come, of course, from probably Irish immigrants, tato diggers. I. I always laughed because the woman who plays Turner, Kelly Curran, she has the most beautiful hands. And so I would always watch her hands whenever she was putting a necklace on me or a tiara, because her hands are so much more elegant than mine. And I personally am, you know, come from a working class family. So I always. That always made me feel appropriately out of place in my own house.

[Alison Stewart]

That's interesting. So you coming from a working class family, what were you able to. What do you understand about Bertha?

[Carrie Coon]

Well, I understand that Bertha. What I love and respect about Bertha is that she thinks she's living in a meritocracy. She believes that if you work hard and you have some ability, you should be able to work your way to the top, and then the door should be thrown open for you. And she thinks that the world works like that for everyone, though she's not really thinking about everyone, of course. She's a product of her time. She's not thinking about the laborers and immigrants and black people in America. She's really just thinking about the other women she has to dispatch with to get to the top. But I think she really. She has a talent for cutting through some of the BS that she sees. Some of the stuff she realizes is just constructed to catch people out. She thinks it's disingenuous. And I love that she's not unwilling to have that conversation. She's not unwilling to just go right under the surface and cut to the heart of the matter. And I really appreciate that about her.

[Alison Stewart]

I read somewhere that you played college sports and you described yourself as competitive. And I thought about that, and I thought about Bertha, and I think there's connective tissue.

[Carrie Coon]

Yeah, definitely. I mean, I think athletics are a good. A good foreground for a good starting point for being an actor anyway, because it's a similar kind of presence. But, yes, I was a. I was very competitive. My track team in high school lost two meets in 26 years. And I hated running. But I loved winning, and we won all the time. I loved it. But I'm not a sore loser at all. I totally accept, you know, when we haven't. When someone beats me fair and square, I'll accept it.

[Alison Stewart]

Let's talk to Eileen calling in from Weehawk in New Jersey. Hi, Eileen.

[Caller]

Hi, both of you and everybody. Carrie. I worked background on season two when we were based in Troy, although I live in New York, but I worked as local. And so I have a. Have a taste of. Yeah, it's on me. But I. I got a month's worth of days, which was awesome. Anyway, it's been fascinating to see how the pieces that, you know, I see. You know, when you work background, you. You know, you work on certain scenes, you're not necessarily ending up in any of them, but just to see the puzzle pieces of the pot unfolding. And this is, of course, always the case, but also to have had some observing. I was right behind you. The only time I saw someone noticed me behind you in the Easter Parade, like, there he is. And. But just to be up there and it was sweltering. You can probably speak to the discomfort or adapting to bustles and courses, but learning how to sit in a freaking seat with a foot behind you in the Academy of Music. And also, finally, I'm from Philly. I grew up there. And when we shot there, that was in a place that I had grown up listening to the Philadelphia Orchestra. So it's interesting to see it as a New York venue. And hair, makeup, and wardrobe were where I had my senior prom in Philly. So that was just weird and cool.

[Carrie Coon]

You've had a whole venues Left that. That is from the Gilded Age. That resemble the. The academy. That was a great place for us to shoot. And you're right, the church for the Easter parade. It was 130 degrees in there the night before we shot. And they had to spend all night rigging air conditioning so we didn't all pass out when we got in there. So kudos to you. It's you. As you understand, it can be very repetitive work when you're repeating the same pattern over and over again. People think it's very glamorous, but in fact, it can be really. There can be a lot of repetition in a day. And most of the time, women didn't wear those dresses for 14 hours straight. But we do, don't we?

[Alison Stewart]

When you first got the part, Carrie, what kind of research did you do? Where did you dive in?

[Carrie Coon]

Well, they had assembled. Our assistant director, Luke Harlan had assembled a wonderful research packet along with Erica Dunbar, who's a magnificent historian who worked on the piece particularly the African American diaspora there in New York. And they handed me a list of books and both fiction and nonfiction. And I've always been a very cerebral actor as well as a good student. And so I jumped right in. But also, Portrait of a Lady is my favorite book. I reread it every few years. I was a big. I think I dressed up as Edith Wharton in, I don't know, fourth or fifth grade for a book report. So I'm a real nerd of the time period anyway. And it was just a delight to get to dive back into those worlds being that I love them so well. And they really did prepare. We also always had a consultant on set for any kind of the etiquette. And of course, you would hear from Julian too, even if he was in England. He would call in on the bat phone and say he can't touch her on the street. Or more flowers in the foyer. He was always watching. You never knew when you'd hear from.

[Alison Stewart]

Him talking about Julian Fellowes. Let's talk to Harry from Brooklyn. Since you brought up Erica Dunbar. Hi, Harry. Thanks for calling, all of it.

[Caller]

Yeah. Hi, good afternoon. Hi, Carrie. Great acting. Thank you. I wasn't a fan of you at first, but as I see as you transition into different parts, I kind of like your character. But one other thing that I'm taking away from it is the resilience of women back in those days and the power and the struggle. But also in particular as a person of African descent is the portrayal of African American history as a contribution towards that time. Period. And I think that was very powerful. And I think that's what captivated me, that I didn't realize that back then African Americans usually exist and live amongst in a progressive way. Back then I was a progressive, was. But understanding your part is really, I'm kind of like lacking your character. But I think the message is very powerful.

[Carrie Coon]

I agree, Harry. It's my favorite part of the show. I think we rarely see the African American diaspora depicted in this time period as particularly as middle or upper class, we just don't have access. And of course, there was a thriving community, economically viable community in New York. Some of them, of course, were, you know, raised to make Central Park. So it's not without its really challenging history. But it's a shame that this is one of the first times we've ever seen that depicted. And I have to give Danae Benton and Erica Dunbar credit and of course Sonja Warfield, who's our co writer with Julian, for really being rigorous about making sure that felt truthful and really being attentive to those storylines and the dialogue and making sure that Danae was feeling like she was playing a whole person. But also just, you know, to have a night like that Brooklyn Bridge party and just to see all those beautiful young people dressed up that way, I mean, I know from my friends growing up always had to imagine themselves in the stories that were dominated by, you know, white writers and white actors. And I think it's really, I'm really moved that a young woman might look at our show and see herself in it in a way that maybe a black girl hasn't had that opportunity in the past. Danae, of course, is also just stunning and luminous and a marvelous actor and a Broadway legend. And so to have she and Audra and John Douglas Thompson and all those marvelous actors there is, it's, it's my favorite part of the show. Not to mention the romance is very sexy between Peggy.

[Alison Stewart]

We'll hear more about the Emmy nominated series Gilded Age from one of its stars, Carrie Coon after a short break. This is all of it. This is all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart and we return to our conversation about the Gilded Age, which is nominated for six Emmy aw. The Emmy nominated star of the Gilded Age, Carrie Coons, joined us previously for a watch party because we're presenting the past conversation as an encore today. We won't be able to take your calls so let's get back into it with Carrie Coons. It's interesting. We've gotten a couple of texts there talking about how much they like Bertha Moore this season.

[Carrie Coon]

I think she's been made more vulnerable this season. I think putting in the complication of Turner complicating the marriage she has with George. You know, he's the only person she feels comfortable being vulnerable with. And I feel like they gave us more moments of that this year when she's feeling insecure. And that always complicates a character, Especially when you're playing someone who is ostensibly an antagonist or a villain. Vulnerability will always make that person feel more rounded and more human, as well as some grace notes, like giving the tickets to her housekeeper for the opera. I mean, they made her seem maybe less heartless this year.

[Alison Stewart]

Let's go to Rita online for calling in from Santa Fe, New Mexico. Hi, Rita, you're on the air.

[Caller]

Hi. I had wanted to ask Carrie how she felt about having to speak in that very hoity toity way. She's got such a lovely voice. This is the first time I'm really hearing her speak in her normal voice. And was it. Was it difficult to maintain that? How did you get coached for it? I can't believe that people actually spoke that way back in the day.

[Carrie Coon]

Well, you know, we don't. We don't have a lot of recordings. You know, you watch those old movies and they're all speaking in that mid Atlantic dialect, which was a real Hollywood standard and was always taught in acting schools. It's called the Edith Skinner method, or good speech for classic plays. So those of us who've been through those programs probably were put through that training, though. I feel like it's getting less and less common for students to get that kind of background. But we had a coach, Howard Samuelson. He was there every single day to notice any t or any strange midwestern a that was creeping in. And I would say it felt awkward at the beginning, certainly because the language has a certain size, you can't just play it. You can't just mumble through it like you're doing a contemporary television show. It does require a bit of theatricality. And finding the balance between making that feel truthful is really challenging. And I'm not sure that I think there are days when I felt more successful than others. I wish I could say that I felt I was consistent throughout. I don't think that's true. I do feel like I settled in in the second season a little bit more. I just had a little bit more fluidity with it. But it specific. And it is hard when you go away, you know, when they're shooting in the other house, I might have five or six weeks off. And then to come back into production, it does take a few days of warming up, I'm afraid, where you don't necessarily feel entirely human.

[Alison Stewart]

Let's talk to Suzanne from Manhattan. Hi, Suzanne. Thanks for calling. You're on with Kerry.

[Caller]

Thank you. Thanks very much. Carrie. Love the show. I have to. I love both shows. I wanted to ask you, you spoke of truthfulness and my favorite. I love the show. I love your role in the show. Obviously, that's why I've called. And the honesty and the depth of your relationship with the actor who plays your spouse, your husband is probably my favorite part of my time with you and your character in the context of the show because she puts her guard down. But the honesty of it, and there's such. It seems to have such deep roots. How did you engender that with this actor? Because it is so delicious and it is so funny to watch.

[Alison Stewart]

You and Morgan Spector are quite a team.

[Carrie Coon]

Yeah. Thank you. I. Well, you'll. It'll be no surprise then to hear that I really adore Morgan personally. Morgan and I actually meant met years before doing an avant garde short film called Great Choice, in which a woman is trapped in a Red Lobster commercial from the 90s. It's really absurd. It's really funny. I cut out his tongue with a butter knife and we, you know, and splash hot butter on his face. I mean, it's really ridiculous. And we. So we were thrown into this funny Little production for 48 hours and got to know each other really well. And our spouses, the great Rebecca hall and Tracy Letts, had just made the movie Christine together with Antonio Campos. And so they had been social. And then Rebecca and I got pregnant at the same time. So our kids are the exact same age, their daughter and my son. And so we just became really good friends in the world before Gilded Age came along. And so it was such a delight to know that it was Morgan. It was one of the reasons I took the job. And so, yes, you're right, that. That history that we have does inform those moments. It's always helpful when you have a level of intimacy with another actor before you have that kind of work with them. And they're. And we just have a real deep love and respect for each other in real life, and that certainly doesn't hurt. And he's a great feminist and basically a Marxist. I mean, politics couldn't be further from a robber baron, but it is. It is fun to Engage with him on those subjects because he's. He's got some strong opinions, but he's a great actor and he's incredibly attractive, which doesn't hurt either. But it's also in the writing. You know, Julian's written a really egalitarian and very modern feeling marriage. And unfortunately, in the world we're living in right now, respect has become elusive and sexy. So here we are.

[Alison Stewart]

They're in lockstep most of the time. The one thing they do seem to differ on is what they want for their children in their married life, which becomes apparent this season. We're gonna get close to the spoiler. Not yet. George would like a love match for their daughter. Bertha wants a status match for her children, specifically early in this season with her son, who's taken up with a slightly older widow named Susan Bland Blaine. Excuse me. Played by Laura Benanti. Let's take a listen to Bertha laying down the law. This is from the gilded age.

[Carrie Coon]

Did you see the article about you and Larry? How can you be so sure? It gave no names. Don't think I care what they write about you, But I do not want them to connect you with my son. Larry is working for me. You've had your fun. Isn't it time to end it? What are you talking about? What is it that you want from him? You can't give him an heir. In 20 years, when he is in his prime, you'll be walking with a stick. Even if he feels too guilty to leave, part of him will be waiting for you to die. You must remember what that was like when you were married to your husband. How dare you say such things? I dare because they're true. I'm leaving. Why?

[Alison Stewart]

What makes her so direct? What makes Bertha so direct? She's waiting for you to die.

[Carrie Coon]

It's the truth.

[Alison Stewart]

It's the truth.

[Carrie Coon]

Bertha believes that the truth is powerful when convenient. And it's. She's. I mean, she knows that Susan Blaine was married to an older man, and so she's really holding the mirror up and say, this is, you know, wasn't your life stifling in this particular way? And is. That's not something I want for my son. And it's not something that's going to make you feel good putting him in that position. She really. I think she absolutely believes those things. And she also knows that the world is set up for Larry. Larry's a rich, young white man. He's going to be fine. But she will not let him make a match that will. That will Put a stain on the family name. And that was socially unacceptable in their day, was to be with the divorcee. In fact, you know, prostitution was more acceptable than being with a divorced woman because everyone knew the men were doing it. They just didn't talk about it. So you have that scene earlier where she kind of suggests that might be a way for him to take care of his needs. But ultimately, she thinks that Gladys and George are naive about what Gladys needs from the world because the world is not set up for her.

[Alison Stewart]

My guest, Carrie Coon. We are talking about the Gilded Age. She plays Bertha Russell, so we're gonna get to the spoiler in just a moment, but I do have this text which puts it in the best way. Does she just not. Does she not just gag when she sees her costumes? Carrie, it means you, Carrie. She always takes my breath away in them, and I just feel giddy for her. She's a luminescent actor as it is.

[Caller]

But wow.

[Alison Stewart]

Yes.

[Carrie Coon]

The fittings are really shocking. I mean, you come in, and Kasia, our designer, always has these boards that she's made, and always there is some historical inspiration. There's, you know, fabric swatches, and there's her sketch, which sometimes pulls in images from contemporary couture or, you know, design. Catwalk design right now. And so every choice she makes is justifiable in the historical record, even though there are times when she is, in fact, pushing the period. But she's doing that so intentionally because she wants the audience to feel which characters are modern. We've seen this time period depicted before, and we have a sense for it. And so you have to push the viewer's eye a little bit so they can differentiate between which characters are pushing those boundaries. So, yes, of course, it's astonishing. You go in there, and then suddenly she's taking a giant black pouf and putting it on your shoulder and adding more jewels. More. With Bertha, it's always more. I mean, there are certainly characters where it's less and she's taking things away, but for me, I feel like she's always adding things every time I go in. And also, unusually, I have three or four different dressmakers. Most of the characters have one dressmaker, but my dresses actually run the gamut of our. Of our makers because they're. They all have a different sort of personality and purpose, and they're not as consistent as some of the other characters, though. Always, you know, stunners, as you say.

[Alison Stewart]

Here we go. We're in spoiler territory. Just saying this out loud.

[Carrie Coon]

Hug your ears.

[Alison Stewart]

If you haven't watched it yet. Well, one part of it is pretty obvious because the Metropolitan Opera still exists. True. So Bertha ends up winning the opera wars ultimately. But how she goes about winning it is quite something. And it's what we touched on earlier. It seems that Bertha may have promised her daughter to the Duke in exchange for coming to the opening of the Met.

[Carrie Coon]

I mean, he wasn't the only Englishman fishing around for a family fortune. Those families were famously bankrupt in that time period. That old money was disappearing really rapidly. And there were many, many young women from the new class in America going abroad to meet these men and to make these marriages a convenience. And anyone who knows the history of Alba Vanderbilt knows that she did that famously with her daughter Consuelo and married her off to the Duke of Marlborough. A very unhappy marriage, and one, I think, that Alva did in fact come to regret, which I think would be interesting territory for Bertha and Gladys to traverse. And of course, yes, George doesn't approve of this arrangement. You get a little glimpse of that at the end of the show that George is really onto Bertha and what the personal cost will be. So while we know that the Metropolitan exists, we don't always know exactly what the personal stakes will be for the characters in the show. And I think that's where that tension comes from ultimately. Yeah, Gladys is being sold across the ocean.

[Alison Stewart]

I think we've gotten so many texts about some of your other work as well. I'll just read one. Please tell Ms. Kuhn that in one of TV lovers opinion, her performance in the Leftovers is one of the all time greatest acting performances. Thank you so much. Several fans of the Leftovers have.

[Carrie Coon]

Well, they're the only people who recognize me in my entire career. It will always be a Leftovers fan. I've been recognized maybe twice for the Gilded Age and never for anything else. But every now and then a Leftovers fan will hear my voice or see me and they'll know who I am. And those exchanges are never trivial because people who are connected to that show have a very strong and powerful usually experience that binds them to it. And so it's always a pleasure for me to get to meet those people. So thank you so much. It's very special to me. I'm afraid I may have peaked early and it's all downhill from here. Don't think so.

[Alison Stewart]

Another text. So many Broadway stars. That is one of the fun things to do in the show is spot the Broadway star. Whether it's Patrick Paul, Roger McDonald or Cynthia Nixon or Kelli O', Hara, you've obviously you're a Tony nominated actor. Any chance you're gonna do any stage work soon?

[Carrie Coon]

Boy, I hope so. The system in Broadway is really challenging. It's very hard to get a straight play. That's what we call, of course, plays that are not musicals up on Broadway right now. They don't tend to make a lot of money and you really need to have big names in them these days to get them produced. And so it's unfortunately very challenging. There's a production of Bug that my, of my husband's play that we did in Chicago, marvelous actor named Amir Smallwood, directed by David Cromer. We'd love to bring that to New York, but so far that's proven to be very difficult. Also, August Osage county is ripe for a revival and that's something we'd also like to see. It's been, I think over maybe 15 years since the, since that show took over Broadway. And it's really a period piece now, but it's very shocking to hear the language about America in that piece. And so I would love, love, love to be back on stage. I guess we have to start a letter writing campaign or a GoFundMe or something.

[Alison Stewart]

Well, we've just put it onto the universe.

[Carrie Coon]

Excellent. Let's see what happens.

[Alison Stewart]

That was Carrie Coons talking about her role in the Gilded Age. She is nominated for an Emmy award. The series is nominated for six. After a Break. The Pulitzer Prize winning novel all the Light We Cannot See has been adapted into an Emmy nominated limited series. Director Shawn Levy joins us to discuss taking on this World War II epic. Stick around.

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