{"id":1951284,"date":"2025-08-09T12:13:30","date_gmt":"2025-08-09T12:13:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=1951284"},"modified":"2025-08-09T12:13:30","modified_gmt":"2025-08-09T12:13:30","slug":"claybourne-elder-opens-up-about-his-journey-on-the-gilded-age","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/claybourne-elder-opens-up-about-his-journey-on-the-gilded-age\/","title":{"rendered":"Claybourne Elder Opens Up About His Journey On ‘The Gilded Age’"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Claybourne Elder<\/a> had a wealth of personal experience to draw from when he landed on the role of John Adams, the fictional grandson of former President John Quincy Adams, who is portrayed as a gay man in New York\u2019s 19th-century elite on HBO\u2019s \u201cThe Gilded Age<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cGrowing up in Utah as a Mormon, there was a lot about hiding who I was, hiding how I really felt,\u201d the actor, who is gay, told celebrity.land. \u201cOne thing I loved about John is … he wasn\u2019t interested in hiding who he was. He wanted to find a way to live his life within the construct of the system.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThe Gilded Age\u201d is written and created by Julian Fellowes<\/a>, the mastermind behind \u201cDownton Abbey.\u201d The series, which concludes its third season Sunday, offers a titillatingly fictionalized take on the \u201cBoom Years\u201d of New York City in the 1880s. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Claybourne<\/picture><\/div>\n
Claybourne Elder, left, plays John, and Blake Ritson plays Oscar on HBO Max’s \u201cThe Gilded Age.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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John appeared in the period drama\u2019s premiere season as a prospective love interest for Marian Brook (played by Louisa Jacobson<\/a>), who has escaped poverty by moving in with her wealthy aunts Agnes van Rhijn (Christine Baranski<\/a>) and Ada Forte (Cynthia Nixon<\/a>). <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In a twist, John secretly begins an affair with Agnes\u2019 son, Oscar van Rhijn (Blake Ritson<\/a>), who intends to keep his sexuality hidden by marrying a woman. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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By Season 3, John and Oscar\u2019s romance has cooled. Still, viewers were shocked to see John fatally struck by a horse-drawn apple cart on the July 27 episode<\/a>, \u201cIf You Want to Cook an Omelette.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Last week\u2019s episode, \u201cEx-Communicated<\/a>,\u201d found Oscar learning he\u2019s inherited some of John\u2019s fortune while going to lengths to avoid revealing specifics of their relationship at the funeral. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s funny getting killed off on a TV show, because everyone treats you like you have a terminal illness,\u201d Elder said. \u201cIt\u2019s also like attending your own funeral, because you hear from so many people about what your story meant to them.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Though<\/picture><\/div>\n
Though Elder’s character, John Adams, right, was originally believed to be a love interest for the series’ female protagonist, he soon began an affair with Oscar van Rhijn (Ritson), left.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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When it came to shooting John\u2019s death, Elder jumped at the chance to do his own stunts, even if it required being strapped into a harness and knocked down repeatedly by studio equipment \u2015 an experience he documented<\/a> for posterity on Instagram<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cAt first, I was like, \u2018I can do this.\u2019 But after being in the harness for four hours, I couldn\u2019t feel my legs anymore,\u201d he said. \u201cFinally, I was like, \u2018OK, I\u2019m ready to be dead.\u2019 But if you\u2019re going to go [as a character on a TV series], I\u2019d rather go out with a bang.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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John\u2019s death comes just as \u201cThe Gilded Age\u201d is enjoying a surge in viewership<\/a>, and the series was renewed<\/a> for a fourth season last month. Though Elder isn\u2019t sure if John will reappear in flashback sequences or otherwise, he jokes that his character \u201cis going to haunt the shit out of Oscar.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI don\u2019t know if it\u2019s going to be on camera or spiritually,\u201d he said, \u201cbut John\u2019s going to be there, watching him.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"\u201cIt\u2019s<\/picture><\/div>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s funny getting killed off on a TV show, because everyone treats you like you have a terminal illness,\u201d said Elder, on the left.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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As for Ritson as a scene partner, he added, \u201cThe thing I\u2019ll miss most is going to work with Blake every day. We\u2019ve become such good friends and love each other very much. It was a delightful experience, and he made it very easy.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Like other members of \u201cThe Gilded Age\u201d cast, Elder first rose to prominence in theater, appearing alongside Jake Gyllenhaal in the Broadway revival of \u201cSunday in the Park with George<\/a>\u201d in 2017 and, most recently, the Tony-winning revival of \u201cCompany<\/a>\u201d in 2021. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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With his time on \u201cThe Gilded Age\u201d at an end \u2015 at least for now \u2015 Elder is set to return to the stage with his touring concert, \u201cIf the Stars Were Mine<\/a>.\u201d He recently recorded songs from the show as a solo album, set for release later this year. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"When<\/picture><\/div>\n
When it came time to film John Adams’ tragic death, Elder was eager to do his own stunts. <\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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He\u2019s also looking forward to some down time with his husband, playwright and theater director Eric Rosen, and their 8-year-old son, Claybourne \u201cBo\u201d Philip Rosen-Elder, while pursuing new projects that reflect other aspects of the LGBTQ+ experience. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s great to be a gay character on an HBO show, to have that visibility and that viewership,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s also important to tell a story that\u2019s important to 30 people, if it\u2019s going to change and affect somebody. There are lots of us trying to be the paint on somebody else\u2019s canvas, when it\u2019s much harder to make the painting.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cAs a kid, I didn\u2019t know that there were gay parents. I didn\u2019t know that was possible until I was well into my 20s,\u201d he continued. \u201cSo I want kids from a country town like mine to see [my work] and say, \u2018Oh, that\u2019s possible. I can have a family. I don\u2019t have to \u2015 by coming out as a gay person \u2015 give up on all of these things I want.\u2019 For me, that\u2019s important.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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We remain committed to providing you with the unflinching, fact-based journalism everyone deserves.<\/p>\n

Thank you again for your support along the way. We\u2019re truly grateful for readers like you! Your initial support helped get us here and bolstered our newsroom, which kept us strong during uncertain times. Now as we continue, we need your help more than ever. We hope you will join us once again<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"\u201cThere<\/picture><\/div>\n
\u201cThere are lots of us trying to be the paint on somebody else\u2019s canvas, when it\u2019s much harder to make the painting,\u201d Elder said.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n