Carrie Coon
Dress: Tibi | Coat: Partow | Earrings: Hirotaka | Ring: Sethi Couture
Carrie Coon plays both the matriarch of the Russell family in The Gilded Age, and the divorced lawyer Laurie Duffy in Season Three of The White Lotus…but her portrayal of each character is so distinct that it’s hard to reconcile that both parts are played by the same actor! …And it’s not just because she’s brunette in one and blonde in another. Rather, it’s a tribute to how she plays these two characters – and every character she has portrayed on television, Broadway, and in film – with true depth and complexity. In the style of Meryl Streep or Helen Hunt, she becomes a vessel for the person behind the written character, eschewing any signature style or affectation of her own. She is vulnerable, intense, and compelling. She is a blank canvas made of Midwestern cloth, and she has the range to play sexy to schoolmarm and everything in-between, and the depth to explore characters with any kind of speciality or psychosis.
Carrie’s character acting is indeed so strong that - despite her having burst into stardom playing the lead role of Margo Dunne in the popular David Fincher-directed movie Gone Girl, having gained fans and critical acclaim playing the lead role of Honey on stage in Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? first at Steppenwolf and reprised on Broadway, and her playing the lead role of Bertha Russell in The Gilded Age - she is still presently regarded as more of a character actor than a leading lady. “...And that’s fine by me,” Carrie declares. “I think some of the greatest actors have been thought of as character actors. I act to expand my own humanity, and the more varied the characters I get to play the richer I become. And of course I’d love to get the leading role in the next great major motion picture directed by David Fincher or Maren Ade or Bong Joon Ho, but the call for female leads is few and far between these days, and TV occupies a more and more prestigious place in the world of acting. You get to develop a character over time in a TV series. And it’s way more reliable in terms of making a living.”
“And I’d like to do comedy, or something lighter…I am actually funny and quite a lighthearted person,” Carrie proclaims, but with enough hint of sarcasm to create confusion as to whether she’s just joking about being funny. She is focused, clear, direct, obviously brilliant…and a tad harried. “I grew up on a five-acre farm that had been in my family since the 1800s, in a small town outside of Akron called Copley. I was raised Catholic so there was a great deal of morality being impressed. But humor also had a lot of capital in my family. There wasn’t much in the way of theater available, although my great-grandfather had owned the great Orpheum Movie House in Akron. I saw one play at the Weathervane in Akron, and that spurred me on to find an ad for a casting call in a local newspaper - but my mom worked at night as an E.R. nurse and she wasn’t going to drive me to an audition or rehearsals. I got the lead role in a production of Our Town my senior year in high school and that was the first time I had the chance to try acting. I would reprise that role my last year in graduate school at the University of Wisconsin, where I was getting my MFA in Acting. It was the inaugural production at the new Overture Center in Madison, starring the great Andre De Shields as the Stage Manager.
“My last year of the program, David Frank, the artistic director of the American Players Theatre in Spring Green, Wisconsin - which was the recipient of this year’s regional Tony - cast me in our production of ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore’ and after we closed, he invited me to be an apprentice. I spent four years acting in a wide range of plays by Shakespeare, Shaw, Chekhov and other greats, and really learned a lot. It was my intention to make a living as an artist - and I was a terrible waitress– so I moved to Chicago and started to get some work on TV commercials and voiceovers. And I continued to do motion capture work for Raven Software in Wisconsin. Finally, I was cast on the main stage in Steppenwolf’s production of Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and it went to Broadway. That summer, I was cast as a lead in the pilot of The Leftovers on HBO. And, shortly thereafter, I was fortunate enough to land a supporting role in David Fincher’s Gone Girl...and I’ve been working ever since.
Sweater: Partow | Coat: Christian Wijnants | Jeans: Ruadh | Shoes: Jude
Earrings: Hirotaka | Ring: Sethi Couture
“Still, whatever fame I’ve achieved, and including my more recent notoriety with The White Lotus and The Gilded Age, has been the result of decades of slow and steady work,” Carrie reflects. “I’m a working actor. I don’t take anything for granted and I couldn’t be more grateful. And one of the things about doing TV is that each job lasts five or six months and then you’re looking for your next job. …And I have two young children and share in the parenting and in running our house and family with my amazing husband, Tracy Letts, who is a playwright, screenwriter, and actor. My real life is a full time job! …And if being a mom isn’t enough to keep me humble, let me tell you my mom and dad and my siblings are not very impressed and often refer to me as ‘Three-time Emmy Loser’ and ‘Two-time Tony Loser’ just to make sure I don’t get too full of myself! …Besides, although I do get a lot of ‘don’t I know you from somewhere’ and do get recognized when I go out dressed-up and with make-up on - when I’m just in my sweatpants, I can still walk into DeCicco’s without being recognized by anyone - just like any other mom.”
“As a long-time working actor, I’ve been guided by the motto that preparation is what the actor can bring to the table. Every part asks for something different and the better I understand the person I’m playing the more I can bring to the part,” Carrie shares. “But as I get older, I’m working more from the outside in. I’m very interested in extreme movement and physicality and want to use my whole body. Most TV and even most movies are filmed out of order, so on any given day you might shoot scenes from several different episodes, which is less satisfying than doing a play. …And I do watch my own work. As a woman of forty-five, it’s not getting easier to watch myself in high definition, but I do think it’s important to identify any bad habits that might be developing so I have the freedom to make other choices.”
“We moved to Pound Ridge four years ago because we wanted our two young kids to grow up in the country, like we both did,” Carrie reveals. “And we love it here! The kids love visiting Stepping Stones, and the Discovery Museum, and the Nature Center, and all the Town Parks…and they‘re thriving!”
“If you want to know what I do with any free time…it’s probably something pretty mundane, like making sourdough or organizing a closet. I would love to start a garden, but haven’t found the time. I never take a nap. I read a lot. And we’re always saying we need to get to the City more often, but often default to a night with friends in the community.”
“I’m interested in community organizations that propose actionable steps, and particularly in support of our environment. …When I was eight years old, I noticed the city was clear-cutting large swaths of trees around our reservoir, and I went to a city council meeting and made a speech in protest,” Carrie recalls. “I’m particularly impressed with Bedford2030. I participate in their composting program. We did a home energy assessment and have started to schedule some changes to our house systems. And we’re regulars at the Tioli Shed. …I am also doing advocacy around raising awareness about cytomegalovirus - or CMV - which is the leading cause of birth defects in children, including deafness. The National CMV foundation is working to pass legislation around testing, treatment and vaccination research.
…And I’m a big supporter of an organization called Plus One, and a friend and fan of its founder, Emily Simoness. The nonpartisan organization is all about community building, political engagement, and combating the isolation that can be endemic to suburban life. I hope everyone will look it up…and get involved!”
Who’s the character you’ve played who’s most like you?
Of all the roles I’ve played I think Phyllis, the lighthearted sociopath in Lake George, is the character - energetically - most like me. But, of course, I’m not a sociopath.
Who’s your favorite actor?
My favorite actors include Holly Hunter, who’s just brilliant, and Sandra Huller, who’s really honest, and transforms in everything she does.
What are the coolest things you’ve gotten to do because you’re you? Some of the greatest things I’ve gotten to do because I’m a ‘famous’ actor, include: working with Spielberg on the historical drama The Post; meeting Kamala Harris when we were on Colbert on the same night during the run-up to the 2024 election; being invited to the Chanel show in Paris to see the Mathew Blaze collection, and; getting some pretty great seats to see Paul McCartney in Sacramento. …I almost got to meet one of my favorite singer-songwriters, Aimee Mann, but I was too shy to go up and say ‘hello’ when I had the chance.
Who are the five people, dead-or-alive, who you would invite to a dinner party at your house tonight if it were possible?
Abraham Lincoln - who has always fascinated me; Desmond Tutu - who I actually got to meet when I was in college; Tilda Swinton - who I think is just an outstanding actor, and who’s another one I was too shy to meet when I had the chance; Ketanji Brown Jackson - for who she is and what she’s become, and; Tracy Letts - because we could use a night out.
Above: Jacket, Shirt, Jeans: Ruadh | Shoes: Jade
PHOTOGRAPHY: ANDREA CERASO
HAIRCUT, COLOR, STYLING: EVA SCRIVO USING COOL COLOR AMPLIFYING GLAZE FROM EVA SCRIVO
MAKE-UP: REBECCA RESTREPO AT TMG USING SKINBETTER SCIENCE
STYLING: ALICIA LOMBARDINI AT THE WALL GROUP
PHOTO ASSISTANT: MICHAEL TELESCO | STYLING ASSISTANT: PAIGE CROWLEY
SHOT ON LOCATION AT THE GLASS HOUSE, NEW CANAAN