Spector also breaks down George Russell’s surprise bedroom visitor in this week’s episode.
Warning: This article contains spoilers about Monday’s episode ofThe Gilded Age.
“But if he ever wants to touch his beard to mine, I will happily indulge him.”
Carrie Coon and Morgan Spector on ‘The Gilded Age’.Alison Cohen Rosa/HBO
“But I can’t take that much credit for it.
I didn’t sculpt it.”
Don’t worry, Spector’s beard is all his own.
Alison Cohen Rosa/HBO
MORGAN SPECTOR:Yeah, I was.
It was very bold, and I was like, “Would she survive that?”
I don’t know.
There were a few drafts of it.
Because it seems like she’s overplayed her hand when she does that.
She’s gone too far.
But I think they found a way through it that does make sense.
This is really crazy.
But hey, you made a move.
My instinct was to be a little bit more forgiving.
Just because it shows so much moxie.
To some extent, I thought maybe that would be interesting.
Here’s somebody who probably at the time could get away with something like this.
It was known that many men were not faithful in their marriages.
I’m glad that that’s not the way it goes.
Do you think he means every word he says about loving his wife and her being his sanctuary?
That’s certainly a departure from the other men we see in this world.
Bertha wants all of that, but they don’t currently have it.
They find in each other their equal and their match.
On the level of George’s deep feeling for Bertha, he does mean every word he says.
Maybe a little bit of both?
Henry Kissinger said, “Power is the greatest aphrodisiac.”
There’s something to that.
There’s probably a blend for Turner.
But you’d have to ask Kelley.
Did either you or Kelley ask creatorJulian Felloweswhat a lady’s maid ever did to him?
Because he really likes to give them a bad rap.
Laughs.I haven’t asked him and I should.
It’s hard to resist the temptation of that character.
And why would you want to?
Yeah, no, absolutely.
That is how I imagined George and Bertha.
We see a lot of unhappy marriages in fiction.
Because that requires constant balancing.
Do you think George and Bertha have the healthiest relationship on the show?
Yeah, by a large margin.
I don’t know.
Ada (Cynthia Nixon) and Agnes (Christine Baranski), maybe?
They’re a little messy.
But we did get to improvise some nonsense speech.
We were saying horrible, disgusting things to each other to make each other laugh.
In episode 4, it weighs on him.
I don’t think it’s something that means nothing to him.
He’s not utterly callous.
They came for him and they missed.
There’s your side and then there’s the other team.
We all instinctively understand that not everybody gets the best version of us.
Will his ruthlessness in business or his devotion to his family be significantly tested going forward?
It’ll all be tested both the stability of his marriage and his station in the world.
They’re probably always under threat to some degree.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
