Besties, it’s time for the final part of our Guide to HBO’s The Gilded Age. You can catch up with the first and second parts now and enjoy the last few character biogs below.

Donna Murphy

Murphy stars as Mrs. Astor, the most prominent American socialite of the time.  She is commanding and stands in the way of the Russell family being accepted in to New York society.

Known for her work in musical theatre, she has twice won the Tony for Best Actress in a Musical for her roles as Fosca in Passion and Anna in The King and I.  She has also been nominated for her appearances in Wonderful Town, LoveMusik and The People in the Picture.

Making her Broadway debut in 1979 as a replacement in They’re Playing Our Song, Murphy was the alternate to Bette Midler’s title character in the Broadway revival of Hello Dolly in 2017/2018.

Simon Jones

Portraying Bannister, an English immigrant and butler to the van Rhijn’s. Giving the impression that he is immensely grand, he keeps a watchful eye over the rest of the household staff.

Born in Wiltshire, England, he has appeared in both Downton Abbey (as King George V) and The Gilded Age.

Jones was a member of the famous Footlight’s at Trinity Hall, Cambridge and went on to appear in many Broadway plays including Private Lives, The School for Scandal, Ring Round the Moon, Waiting in the Wings and Privates on Parade.

In 2009, he appeared in the Broadway production of Blithe Spirit alongside Angela Lansbury and Rupert Everett.

Claybourne Elder

Playing John Adams, the secret lover of Oscar van Rhijn, the charismatic son of Agnes.

Elder decided to pursue a career in acting and moved to New York after a stranger approached him whilst in the audience of Broadway musical, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, noticed his enthusiasm for theatre and gave him $200 to buy a ticket the next night for the revival of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

In 2022, he starred in Company alongside Patti LuPone and is now in The Gilded Age alongside Michael Cerveris who both starred in the production of Sweeney Todd that changed his life.

Elder was reunited with the stranger who influenced the beginning of his career and bought him tickets to Company.

Douglas Sills

Appearing as Monsieur Baudin, the very particular and sometimes hysterical chef of the Russell household.

Sills was educated at the American Conservatory Theater in California.  He has built himself a reputation as a stage character actor and performed in several touring productions including Into the Woods and The Secret Garden, where he starred alongside his Gilded Age co-star Audra McDonald.

He made his Broadway debut in The Scarlet Pimpernel in 1997 after deciding that he was going to swap acting to study law.  He went on to continue the role in three other versions of the show and received a Tony Award nomination.

So there you have it, Besties! Just a small insight into the talented cohort that make up The Gilded Age.