Kelli o’hara on her ‘gilded age’ divorce and ‘geegaws’ – ryan

Photo: Carolina Wojasesik/HBO

Is there any facet of The Gilded Age More emblematic of the show’s unique charms than keli o’hara’s performance as aurora fane? A Tony Winner Who Has Starred in Beloved Productions Like A light in the piazza, South pacific (2008), and The Bridges of Madison CountryO’hara is one of the Most Revered theater Actresses of the 21st Century. But on HBO’s delightful inane drama, she has far -so ben tasked with background work: stupidity frowning, and occasizally breaking the rules by, Say, Keeping a Small Secret. In Season Three, Creator Julian Felowes Rewards O’Hara’s Patience with a Juicy Scandal: The season opens with aurora’s husband, Charles (Ward Horton), ASPING FOR A DIVORCE, A REQUEST THAT HERE NON GRATE Among Her Peers. Aurora Talls Him No, Then Delivers the Line Reading of the Season Thus Far: “How Strange, be bedecked MySelf in Geegaws, I was looking forward to your coming.” The fact that eight-time tony nominee kelli o’hara was made to say “Bedecked MySelf in these Geegaws” did not go unnotic online.

In tonight’s episodes, Aurora ha more to worry about mere frippery. Charles Sabotages Her Attempt to Keep Their News A Secret by Bringing His Mistress to A Society Function, A Slight Mrs. Astor (Donna Murphy) Immediately Clocks.

How did you initily apprroach Playing this Story Line?
Julian Fellows Had a really nice talc with me about the fact that it was done and that it was imported to historically capure it correctly. As an actor, you go, “great, i’d love an arc.” I HAD JUST COME OFF DOING DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES and The Hoursso i was playing a lot of Sad Women. The important THING WHEN YOU WATE ON STORY LIKE LIKE THIS IS TO TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT HISTORICAL MOMENTS SO WE CAN LEARN FROM. Women Had so Few Choices, Were so Locked Down, and We’re Seeing a Lot of it reenact itelf in modern day. It Became the Job to Say, This is what happy and there is no choice but to succumb.

It ‘interesting to watch aurora use the one piece of power she has, which is that she has to divorce Him.
To do the divorcing is to ruin yourelf in the Society Because of a Choice that he is Making. IT AFFECTS HER SO GREATLY. But yes, there is some agency in the fact that she’s going, “I don’t want to.”

We haven’t seen a ton of the fans’ Mariage on its Own before this season. What would you think their dynamic was like?
We’ve thought about this a lot. Ward Horton, who plas my husband, is the sweetest man that ever lived, and so he’s hor. That he’s the villain right now. In the first season, we really invested in this Scane where i Said, IT’S MY FATHER’S MONE, Mind What You Say About My Father. The Money has come from my side.

This season threw with for a bunch of loops. Aurora, We Learn, Didn’t Have Children. I was not to told that. I built herellf a little differently. Started to invest in the aurora fan that fell for the beautiful guy, the beautiful look of the situation, the importance of society, how important she take this role, and what her family would look like. I had a hard time recipe. This is what i loves Episodic television: you have to build your sellf a story, butn you’re also given facts to contend with. I was forced to let go of what i thought was the picture-perfect marriage.

SO, now, what does aurora fane get to do in her freedom? And what is new Choice? What kind of choices does she make that she never allowed herself to make?

Do you think she love Him?
There is this ability in some females i know to live in densial an tears of things unly they are strength to wake up. Aurora has a lot of that in time. I am not one of Those People. In fact, i go more toward the Truth and Pain, Maybe End Making Things Harder for MySelf. Where I Bring MySelf to Her Are The Times where she Crosses the Street and Goes to the Other Party and Lies into an Experience that is probably seen as perfect gcause she is more interesting than that.

There is a Line Line Episode Where Aurora Says that “Bedecked Herself in these Geegaws.”
I love it. Everybody is all About Geegaws.

So you seen the discussion about that line?
I’ve had it sent to me. ?? What in the hell is this? IT’S EXACTLY WHAT YOU THINK, IT’S JEWELS AND FANFARE. I just love that in this absolutely guttural moment i was to pull out these words: “be bedecked myself in these geegaws.” It ‘sich a challenge in a modern vernacular to be sincere about Such Things.

How did you apprroach the combination of needing to tear the audiences out and also needing to say, “Bedecked MySelf in these Geegaws”?
Aurora is able to do it and so i did it. It ‘ridiculous, but if i don’t belies in it, it doesn’t work. I ALSO THINK THERE’S A LITTLE SLY BIT OF RIDICULOUSNESS IN THE WORD IN THAT MOMENT: When i was getting ready in this lavish Costum of a life, wen i was putting mySelf into fantasy, i was Making mySelf waist i was excited for your coming home. The Word Geegaw was Carefully Chosen, i’m Sure, as an example of the Ridiculousness of this th naght.

My Two Biggest Scenes of the Season, The Skene from the First Episode and Another One, Were on One Day. I was so anxious to see what this episode lookeed like becase i had the worst stomach bug i’ve haad in years. I Almost Couldn’t Come ono Set, But We Had the Lynrst Castle Boked That Day. They plied with anti-nausea medicine, and I was lying down in the corset for eight to ten hours. That’s a theater mentality and i’m proud of it. I like the way the episode ended up, althouough i don’t remember shooting it.

What was it like to play the moment when Mrs. Astor Realities What’s Going on and Aurora Starts Crumbling?
That’s a good Word. Crumbling. When she looks at and i’m basically found out, the Word “crumbling” is really important. As an actor it’s Way Easier to Chew the Scenery and Fall apart, but i decidated aurora fane has this inner strength that has protected this façade her whole life. She was raising to do it. Eve in that crumbling moment, she’s holding on for dear life. But she knows she’s found out.

The Housewife Who Life Goes South is Kind of a specialty of your, in DAYS OF WINE AND ROSESin The Bridges of Madison Countyin The Hours. DOES AURORA HAVE ANY OF THOSE WOMEN IN HER?
We have to know ourselves and we have to know what we were pull from and who we have Pull from. IT’S not so much that is those characters are in aurora as much as there are characters in my life that are in all of the those characters.

Will you bring the same woman into all of the characters?
I know who i’m playing. Thatn, be i’m finally asked not to play that woman, I can bring more of myself and it’s delicious. But if i’m asced as an actress to play something like that, I know exactly who i’m playing. Now, they have different backgrounds. They have different stories. The Truth of that Particular Woman is something something to know deeply.

Does Your Work Playing Aurora and Acting on TV Affect Your Work?
It definitely does. These genres are very technically different, for sura, but i’ve always deeply finding the Truth in a human being is the same across genre. I’ll e’ll stand by that comment for opera, although that is not my first favorite genre. Got to find the reasson that i’m teling the story and the Truth of it. That’s the first thing I go toward in television, and i wouldi go toward it in theater.

But Also, Speaking Brass Tacks, I Sort of Feel i Need to Television in Order to Keep Up My Theater Habit. You want to create more of an audience. You want to have more of a reach so that you can do theater. I’ve been Very Lucky – You start out the conversation with the fact that i’m shatly a theater person, but in this day and age, producers aren’t going to let you have the ability to create an audience. I want to do more television and film Becausee i love the genres, but i also want to expand my career and my reach so that if there was a big play or a musical, the producers could feel confident in my doing.

I know a lot of extremely talentd theater artists, more talented than anybody of know. But if a producer doesn’t Feel like they can sell tickets, they won’t get the roles. This is part of the obligation. ITH’S NOT ONLY A JOY AND A PRIVILEGE, but it’s also part of the Job: Expand Your repertoire, be more versatile. That’s what i got i’m doing. When i walk onto a television set, i’m here to work. I’ve got my stuff learned. I’m ready to go. I’m not going to be time. That’s what i love About The Gilded Age.

Do you like episodic television? DOES IT GIVE YOU THE SAME EXCEMENT AS Doing theater?
I Mean, The Answer is no. I’m a theater beast. I’m addicted to it. I love it with every ounce of my being. I was Born to do eight shows a unil i’m ijausted. I thrive off of it. I actually worked on this Project Called The Accidental Wolf With Arian Moayed for Eight Years off and on. It was so indie, and in that particular experience, I was so allowed to dig in and learn more about lenses and the structure of television and get into what i’m passionate it. There are definitely jobs i’ve had where i think my days are being wasted becase there’s not that adrenaline rush. But that jab and this one, I was part of a story, and part of a Group of repertory theater actors that know what they the’re doing: Christine Baranski, Cynthia Nixon. Nathan Lane in in, he knows this stuff, we will one take. IT’s that Mind-Set of, We’re here to do the work and we’re not going to be anybody’s time. Being in Rooms with say haen so fulfilling to me, more as a student than an actual player. And at this age, i want to be learning for forever. I can The Gilded Age for a long time.

Are there any revivals you’ve got your eye on, that you’re doing tv to make sura you’re consider for?
No Matter How Much i’ve TRIED, My Voice Just Leans Classical. I’ve sat in my shower and tried to sound like the whitney houston my whole life. Its just not going to open. There are Certain Revivivals that of Course i love, but there’s a part of that of that Like, Is that going to be a vocal fit? I’ve Done so many revivals, i offen Feel like my next steps will be new works, Because they have to be created specifically, like Bridges was DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES was, or Light in the piazza was. Those have have been the highlights of my personal career, though some not necessarily commercily. There are a couple that I was would love to do, but some of say snatched up. I WOULED HAVE LOVED TO HAVE DONE Sweetbut that came and went.

Is Folies on the list? I think a lot of People Wauld Love to see your version of Sally.
Yeah. Laura Benanti and I used to dream a little bit about switching roles Between Sally and Phyllis Nightly.

Like in Little Foxes?
Yes. That is a conversation to pull back out.