Co-written by show creator Julian Fellowes (Downton Abbey) and Sonja Warfield, the HBO drama series The Gilded Age is set in the lavishly extravagant world of late 19th century New York and finds the orphaned Marian Brook (Louisa Jacobson) moving into the home of her aunts, Agnes van Rhijn (Christine Baranski) and Ada Brook (Cynthia Nixon). Once there, the young woman quickly learns the importance of whether you come from old money or new and that there are certain expectations for her that she might not be fully willing to follow, as she finds her place in society.
During this interview with Collider, co-stars Blake Ritson (who plays Oscar van Rhijn, Agnes’ mischievous son that uses his charm in setting his sights on the Russells' money) and Taissa Farmiga (who plays Gladys Russell, the innocent daughter of ultra-wealthy robber baron George Russell and his wife Bertha) talked about their place in their respective families, how naive Gladys is and building toward her blossoming moment, why Oscar is so interested in his young neighbor, what their characters want out of life, and what it’s like to wear these costumes.
Collider: Taissa, Gladys is someone who comes across as younger than she actually is because she is so sheltered. How did you figure out the way you wanted to play her and how young you wanted her to seem? Was that something that you really got a feel for in the script, or was it just an instinct that you had?
TAISSA FARMIGA: I think it was a bit of what was in the script already, combined with my natural instinct for how I envisioned her when I read it, and also being on set with (director/EP) Michael [Engler] as well. We shot the season out of order, especially during the pandemic. We block shot a lot of the episodes, and there were moments where Michael had to come back and be like, “Hey, you’ve gotta remember, she’s younger. This is when she’s still naive. She hasn’t had her blossoming moment yet.” It’s a bit of a push and pull. She’s someone who’s been sheltered, as you said. Her mother has a strong grip on her. It’s navigating Gladys and her desires, and also remembering, “Okay, wait, I’m 27. I’m a young woman who has been out in the world. I’ve socialized. I know how to talk to human males. Gladys doesn’t have that.” It was a good mix of things, and also having Michael Engler there to be able to say, “Remember, Gladys is not as confident yet.”
She also feels like she’s just waiting to explode. Should we be worried about her having that full blossoming moment?
FARMIGA: I don’t think worried. I think excited. She’s building toward that. That’s what her arc is in Season 1. Her biggest challenge and her struggle is breaking free of the confinements of her mother and breaking free of being trapped. It will be a real refreshing moment for her and the audience, being able to see it through her eyes.
BLAKE RITSON: And if she does explode, Oscar will be there to catch her.
FARMIGA: What a gentleman.
There’s something so interesting about the way that Oscar fully knows who he is, but he’s also presenting someone very different to the rest of the world. What was it like to play those two sides of him, where he has this male lover while he’s also pursuing Gladys?
RITSON: Oscar is a character who values his own happiness incredibly highly. I think he looks at life as a game, where you make up your own rules as you go along. He is very witty, good company, and gracious. When you meet him, everyone just thinks he’s a very nice guy. You wouldn’t necessarily suspect him of any amorality or duplicity.
He feels like somebody who is on the brink of maybe becoming a villain, if he chose that way to go.
RITSON: I don’t think ever means anyone any mistreatment. I think he’s just quite oblivious to it. I don’t think he cares too much about if there’s a slight wrecking ball to his actions. I don’t think that’s his primary concern. I really like the character. I like his mischief. He’s so playful and irreverent. I love the scenes with Agnes because everyone else tiptoes around her, and he just blasts through her, mocking her and undercutting her. And Agnes has definitely taught Oscar the art of the lacerating putdown. He’s precociously eloquent. He’s got all the same excellent one-liners that Agnes has, which makes him very good company. He’s aware that has a currency, as well, in this New York polite society. Choosing your words carefully and being eloquent has a real currency.
With Gladys, is she going to pick up on why Oscar is suddenly around, or is she going to stay oblivious to this plan that he has for her?
FARMIGA: In the beginning of their meeting and their connection, or their relationship, or whatever you want to call it, I think Gladys is still quite naive. She’s just happy to have someone to talk to, someone who’s taking interest in just her, and someone wanting to share things with her and know her opinions on things. I do think, if and when Gladys attains the freedom she craves from her family and from her mom, Bertha is still gonna have a hand in it and have a hand in her life. If Oscar is planning something not too kind or ill-intended, I think Bertha will be there to give Gladys some guidance and say, “Hey, wait a minute.”
RITSON: I don’t think he’s ill-intended.
FARMIGA: To marry for money at that time is a different thing.
RITSON: In a way, that’s what Bertha is after, as well. One didn’t always marry for love and romance. Family is like a corporate enterprise. It’s very transactional. He doesn’t think they’ll hate each other
FARMIGA: I think Gladys is naive to it. We just have to see where it goes. I genuinely don’t know.
RITSON: I think they’d be very happy together.
FARMIGA: They could be. I’m not opposing the offer yet.
There’s definitely a certain expectation for both of these characters, but it’s not necessarily what either of them actually wants. Blake, what do you think Oscar actually wants for his life?
RITSON: Money. So much money. He’s due to inherit a fortune.
FARMIGA: But he wants to be swimming in it.
RITSON: He wants a swimming pool full of it. He wants an Olympic-sized swimming pool full of dollars. He sees the huge fortunes that the industrialists are accruing, like George Russell, and he wants this new magnitude of wealth. He’s so hungry for it. He’s just an avaricious soul.
Similarly, does Gladys know what she wants for herself yet?
FARMIGA: By the end of the season, Gladys is finally gonna start realizing what she wants. I genuinely don’t know what happens after episode 10. I feel like that would be a beautiful moment in Season 2, to see the first time she fully has a trajectory that she sets for herself. I’m excited to experience that moment. You get a bit of that towards the end of Season 1, but I’m waiting for that big, “Aha!,” moment.
RITSON: Oscar and Gladys, wandering along a beach in the Seychelles.
Taissa, what’s it like to wear these costumes and have to move around in them?
FARMIGA: It’s something. It’s funny, I’ve had so much time from it now. The last time I wore the costumes was probably eight months ago. Now, I miss it. I remember at the end of the show, I was like, “I’m done! I’m done for a while.” It’s a love/hate thing where it’s beautiful. You feel so good. You get to play dress-up every day, for 14 hours a day. But if you do anything that you love too long, at some point, it becomes a little bit exhausting. Every time I got to put on a new outfit, or put on something I hadn’t worn in a while, it was exciting. If you wear the same outfit because you’re filming a sequence of scenes where you wear the same thing, it gets boring. You’re like, “I don’t like this. I hate the way the buttons are on this.” But then, if you don’t wear it for a few weeks or a few months, when you go back to it, it’s like, “This is the best thing.” It was fun. It was like a little girl playing dress-up, the entire time.
RITSON: I loved the costumes. They’re so intrinsic to who the characters are in the show. There are so many beautiful little details and insights into who the characters are. They’re not just beautiful, they’re detailed. I love them, but there are so many tiny buttons. I was amazed at how many tiny buttons there were, even for the men. The shirts have tiny buttons.
FARMIGA: Some of my shoes had 30 buttons, to be able to put them on. I couldn’t even get dressed by myself.
RITSON: Neither could I. There was no such thing as a quick change.
FARMIGA: I had to have an assistant. There was one costume where all the buttons were down the back, so I couldn’t get at them. And they were hard-to-button buttons, and it took a long time. On those days, I just wanted to be home, but I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t even assist. I just had to breathe and be like, “Okay. It’s all good.”
RITSON: And then, there was a whole new wardrobe when we went to Newport.
FARMIGA: It was a whole different style too.
RITSON: It was all suddenly a lot more relaxed, the silhouette. It was a lot more breezy.
FARMIGA: It was a bit nautical.
RITSON: It’s all fantastic.
The Gilded Age airs on Monday nights on HBO and is available to stream at HBO Max.