‘The Gilded Age’ Star Morgan Spector Is “Nervous” About What’s To Come For George And Bertha Russell In Season 3
The Gilded Age star Morgan Spector does not know what to expect for the future of his character’s marriage, which seems to suffer the ultimate betrayal in Season 2.
In the historical drama, Spector plays George Russell, a railroad tycoon and patriarch of the Russell family, which represents “new money.” Meanwhile, George’s wife Bertha Russell (played by Carrie Coon) longs to use her money and power to be accepted by a polite society that’s averse to change.
“For George, his business life has real stakes,” Spector told Variety. “Not just that he could lose his business, but people could die. So sometimes he is there to put Bertha’s travails into perspective, and sometimes he is there to say that they will fight for this. For the most part, I think he is always doubling down on his support for her.”
However, that support could potentially come undone following the events of Season 2. As Bertha works her way up the social ladder, George requests that their daughter Gladys (Taissa Farmiga) find a love match as opposed to an arranged marriage. However, Bertha appears to promise Gladys to the Duke of Buckingham in return for his support of her opera house.
This act, according to Spector, could hurt George and Bertha’s once-strong marriage.
“I am nervous about it,” he said. “I don’t know how they put that genie back in the bottle. George and Bertha’s relationship is so good that, from an acting perspective, my comfort comes from moving together as this powerful unit with Carrie. With real strife ahead, it is going to be difficult in the Russell household.”
Spector previously teased what he hopes for Season 3 in an interview with DECIDER.
“Bertha seems very, very committed to having the Duke be part of the family,” he said. “I mean, my hope is that there’s one way out of this being a real fight to the death between George and Bertha, which is that through some miracle, Gladys actually does fall in love with the Duke. Which is always possible.”
