Carrie Coon replaced Amanda Peet as Bertha Russell in HBO's "The Gilded Age " in April 2020.- The series'
costume designer pivoted after they recast the role.
Julian Fellowes may have crafted Bertha Russell in "The Gilded Age" script, but Fifth Avenue's most hellbent social climber, as we know her, truly materialized when Carrie Coon joined the cast.
After actress Amanda Peet backed out of the nine-episode HBO series due to scheduling conflicts in April 2020, Coon took over her role as Bertha, the astonishingly wealthy (and widely unwelcomed) newcomer infiltrating Manhattan's late 19th-century society.
"I came at the project quite late, actually. After it had been announced and went through its pre-production, they lost an actor and they came back around to me," the 41-year-old told Insider.
According to Coon, it was an easy, straightforward "yes." She adored Fellowes' previous work and knew the "Downton Abbey" creator was "so well-versed in the period."
Bertha's wardrobe changed upon Coon's arrival
By the time Coon signed on to "The Gilded Age," the crew had already started building Bertha around Peet. Things changed, however, when costume designer Kasia Walicka-Maimone met her new muse.
"When I came in, it struck me how Kasia, the costume designer, pivoted," the "Gone Girl" actress recalled. "I walked into the room and suddenly she had different ideas about the direction she wanted to go in."
Bertha's gowns took on more metallic hues that Coon said were a nod to America's industrialization and the Russells' monopolistic fortune built from railroads.
"Machinery was her inspiration," Coon said.
And, of course, there is nothing subtle about Bertha. The last thing she wants is to fade into the background, so it's only fitting that Coon's hats just "kept getting taller and taller."
Her 'sashay' also impacted the designs
Bertha is often on her feet, brimming with energy and ambition. Fittingly, Coon's natural movements and mannerisms informed the characters' aesthetic, which she described as a "relaxed sexiness."
Because the design team noticed the way the "Leftovers" actress walked, they incorporated fabrics that moved along with her as she "sashayed" around.
"They all loved the way I walked, which of course was informed absolutely by putting the clothes on. The clothes are what were teaching me how to walk, but they loved the movement that it created," Coon explained.
Christine Baranski, who plays Bertha's old-moneyed, widowed neighbor Agnes van Rhijn, is the polar opposite. While Coon's Bertha makes sure her presence is clocked by everyone in the room, wherever she goes, Baranski's Agnes quietly "floats" in and out of spaces.
"She floats across a room, and it's very imperious," Coon said, adding, "Bertha, she's more of a bull in a china shop in a way, at least in her personality."
Walicka-Maimone, also behind the looks in films such as "Moonrise Kingdom" (2012) and "The Goldfinch" (2019), told Tatler that part of her process includes meeting with each actor separately.
"They always influence the character they embody and bring so much to the table," she said, continuing, "When you meet them, the designs transform just a little bit. What I do is simply add a skin to their portrayal."
After trying on Walicka-Maimone's creations, Coon told Insider she was "three-quarters of the way there," well on her way to becoming Bertha.
"It's just on you to screw it up after that," she said.
"The Gilded Age" is available to stream on HBO, with new episodes released weekly.