HBO is the home to several of TV’s hottest series, with Peacemaker and Euphoria two of the most recent notable additions to a lineup that’s proven to be reliable awards bait for years. The network is hoping to mine gold again with its latest drama. The Gilded Age is a lush historical drama set in 1880s New York City during the rise of America’s Robber Barons.
The producers behind The Gilded Age have assembled a cast of veteran performers who you’re sure to recognize, as well as a handful of newcomers. Here are the faces you’ll be reacquainting yourselves with, or seeing for the first time, now that the series is underway.
Christine Baranski as Agnes Van Rhijn
Baranski is a seasoned show biz veteran with over forty years worth of TV, film, and stage roles. After over a decade in the theater, she first came into the wider public eye as Maryann Thorpe, the hard-drinking, wisecracking best friend to Cybil Shepherd on the CBS sitcom, Cybil, earning her an outstanding supporting actress Emmy. Baranski has also appeared in The Birdcage, Mamma Mia! Into the Woods, and Chicago. She has won two Tony Awards.
Cynthia Nixon as Ada Brook
Nixon will be no stranger to longtime HBO viewers. The Sex and the City regular is currently reprising her role as Miranda Hobbes on the network’s SATC follow-up series, And Just Like That. Like Baranski, Nixon also hails from an extensive theater background and has won two Tonys. Nixon has appeared in both SATC movies as well as highly regarded indie fare such as Igby Goes Down and The Only Living Boy in New York. She recently co-starred alongside Sarah Paulson in Netflix’s Ratched miniseries.
Carrie Coon as Bertha Russell
Coon is another Tony-winning cast member but she’s been making more of a splash in the film side of the pool lately with roles in Gone Girl, The Post, and last year’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife. She’s even suited up for Marvel as Thanos’ henchperson, Proxima Midnight. The actor also had the principal role of Gloria Burgle in the third season of FX’s Fargo TV series.
Morgan Spector as George Russell
Spector found himself called up into the big leagues in a manner straight out of Hollywood musical. He was playing a minor role in the 2010 Broadway revival of Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge, but then was called upon to play the lead when the initial actor playing that role was injured. Since then, Spector has appeared in several critically acclaimed dramas including Christine, Permission, and A Vigilante. Spector also had a starring role in HBO’s 2020 adaptation of Philip Roth’s The Plot Against America.
Denée Benton as Peggy Scott
Benton is a newcomer to the small screen, but she’s already had a theater career to be envied. Benton broke out in the role of Nabulungi in the West End and U.S. National Tour of The Book of Mormon. She made her Broadway debut as Natasha in Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 and went on to take over the role of Eliza Hamilton in Hamilton in 2018.
Louisa Jacobson as Marian Brook
A relative newcomer, Jacobson is making her television debut with The Gilded Age. The actor has appeared in plays at Yale, Williams College, and as Juliet in San Diego’s The Old Globe production of Romeo and Juliet. It can be said that she may have a genetic propensity for acting — her mother is Meryl Streep.
Taissa Farmiga as Gladys Russell
Farmiga is something of a “Scream Queen” and comes from a line of horror roles, including four seasons on anthology series American Horror Story, as well as film roles in The Final Girls and The Nun. Farmiga has also starred in The Bling Ring, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Clint Eastwood’s The Mule and the comedy The Long Dumb Road.
