‘The Gilded Age’ Star Morgan Spector on Playing a Robber Baron and Introducing Conflict to the Show’s Happiest Marriage: ‘I Wanted It to Be Over’
variety.comMichael Schneider Variety Editor at Large George Russell, one of the most prominent characters in HBO’s sprawling period ensemble “The Gilded Age,” is many things: a self-made man; a loving husband; a titan of industry.
But Morgan Spector, the actor who plays George in Julian Fellowes’ fictionalized tale of 19th century New York City, is comfortable calling the character out for who he really is. “Robber baron,” Spector declares on Variety’s Awards Circuit podcast. “You can say it!” The first season of “The Gilded Age” made clear George was no one to trifle with, using his sharp elbows and iron will to get his way with the Russells’ new neighbors on the Upper East Side.
But in Season 2, he’s not just a David punching up against Manhattan’s stuffy, hidebound old money; he’s a Goliath facing off against his own employees, who have started organizing for better wages and a more humane working schedule.
Showing the dark side of the enormous wealth that defined the show’s namesake era while keeping George in the audience’s good graces was a challenge, but one that Spector relished taking on.
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