Carrie Coon’s whirlwind year: From ‘The Gilded Age’ to ‘The White Lotus’
A year of transformation and triumph
Carrie Coon has had an extraordinary year, marked by significant professional milestones and personal growth. As she steps into the Emmys as a nominee for her role as Bertha Russell in The Gilded Age, she reflects on the whirlwind journey that also saw her spending months in Thailand filming the third season of Mike White’s HBO anthology series, The White Lotus.
“I got back from Thailand a few weeks ago, and I went back to ‘The Gilded Age’ 48 hours after I landed,” Coon shares. “I wasn’t supposed to stay that long, but ‘The White Lotus’ ran over a little bit because of the weather. I didn’t have any time in between, and it was very jarring, to say the least, to go from wearing bathing suits to wearing a corset. It was a little extreme.”
The challenge of switching roles
Transitioning from the tropical setting of The White Lotus to the period drama of The Gilded Age was no small feat. Coon candidly admits, “I was terrible the first couple of days. I said, ‘You guys, I just need a little more time.’ I think everyone was like, ‘Yeah, she does. She needs a little extra time to settle in.’”
A year of diverse roles
Earlier this year, Coon reprised her role in the second installment of the Ghostbusters franchise reboot. Next, she will be seen in Azazel Jacobs’ Netflix drama His Three Daughters as Katie, who reunites with her two sisters (played by Natasha Lyonne and Elizabeth Olsen) when their dying father begins hospice care in his New York City apartment.
The Gilded Age | The White Lotus | Ghostbusters | His Three Daughters
A fan of Mike White’s work
Coon has long admired Mike White’s work, particularly his series Enlightened. “I think ‘Enlightened’ is one of the most extraordinary and complex shows that’s ever been on television,” she says. When the opportunity to audition for The White Lotus arose, she jumped at the chance. “The cast is so big this year. What I can say is that there’s so much of the show I wasn’t involved in shooting. I’ll still get to watch it with the eye of a fan outside of my own work. There’s just so much show this year. It’s big and complex.”
The audition process
Reflecting on the audition process, Coon reveals, “I made a tape. I was given some sides, like always, with a little bit of context but no script or anything. I have a great friend named Olli Haaskivi who helps people make tapes. I don’t come from the self-tape generation. I started my career when we still got to go into casting offices and try to win the job in the room.”
The impact of self-tapes on acting
Coon expresses concern about the shift to self-tapes, noting, “I do think it’s detrimental to our profession. Now everything is so secretive, and so rarely are you even given the real material. You’re given dummy sides. You’re rarely even told what genre something is or anything about the character, which does not dignify what we do. It really is disrespectful to the actor’s process not to give them any information.”
The future of ‘The Gilded Age’
When asked about the potential for more seasons of The Gilded Age, Coon remains optimistic. “Right now we’re on a one-year deal. So I’m optimistic that we could get another year. If for some reason the numbers skyrocket this season, perhaps we’d get a multi-year deal, but that’s really above my pay grade.”
Morgan Spector’s newfound fame
Coon also comments on her co-star Morgan Spector’s rising popularity. “I’m always telling him, ‘Just lean in. Just embrace it.’ I love it. I love the discovery of Morgan Spector. It’s really delightful to me, especially because he is so down-to-earth and such a great socialist, feminist. To see this whole other internet side is really thrilling.”
Filming ‘His Three Daughters’
His Three Daughters was shot in a small one-bedroom apartment in New York, presenting unique challenges. “We shot it in an apartment a few blocks from Aza’s house. They papered the building with flyers and got three apartments in that building so we could have some green rooms and a production office in the basement. It was quite a challenge to shoot because you can’t move the walls in an apartment. You have to figure how to shoot with those constraints.”
Relating to her character, Katie
Coon relates to her character Katie on a personal level. “I relate to being a responsible sibling. I’m one of five. I’m a middle of five, but I act more like an older sibling. I responded to her need for control, something I understand, and the idea that, if everybody would just follow her advice, everything would be fine. I do that to my siblings a lot, I think they would say.”
Marvel and the changing landscape of Hollywood
When asked about her future with Marvel, Coon remains uncertain. “Don’t know. Again, above my pay grade. Somebody really high up there at the cloud makes those decisions. If I do come back, I’d love to be with some other actors. I had a pretty lonely time my first go because when you’re just kind of jobbing in like that, it was one day of work, and nobody else was on the set.”
Coon also shares her thoughts on the dominance of Marvel in Hollywood. “Well, I don’t disagree with the sentiment in that the movie industry has changed. That’s not only Marvel’s responsibility. It’s what happened because of sequels. Right? Sequels started before Marvel. And IP. And it’s not really Marvel itself. It’s the fact that our business is owned by, now, banks. And now these decisions are made by algorithm based on what they think will be most profitable, not what is the most interesting or necessary art we need in the world.”
Listen to the full interview with Coon on the Just for Variety podcast, available wherever you find your favorite podcasts.