Ranking the 5 Hottest Actors on HBO’s The Gilded Age

December 26, 2023
JOSHUA ANDREW

HBO gave us the Christmas gift gays really wanted this year: a renewal of their favorite historical costume drama The Gilded Age for a third season. Praise be!

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In case you aren't familiar — stop jerking off online and binge the first two seasons — The Gilded Age is Julian Fellowes' follow-up series to his hit British show Downton Abbey. Like its predecessor, the show examines the lives and loves of the elite and the people who work in their great houses. This time, the action is moved to New York City in the 1880s as the main characters navigate proper society and its key players. Half based on real-life people and half original characters, there is plenty of drama, gorgeous gowns, and several guys to obsess over on social media after you watch. Below we look at the 5 hottest men of The Gilded Age.

5. Ben Ahlers as John "Jack" Trotter

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With his sexy New York accent and can-do spirit, young Jack is the house servant that makes our downstairs clock tick. This is a character you can't help but root for as he longs to find his place and his great love in New York City. Here's to hoping that we see Jack truly live the old-fashioned ideal of the American dream, going from servant to successful inventor with his modern alarm clock.

4. Claybourne Elder as John Adams

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The thing about Julian Fellows' series is that he will make sure we know gay people existed in every time period, and such is the case with The Gilded Age's hunk John Adams. Played by gorgeous gay ex-Mormon turned Broadway star Claybourne Elder, John Adams is having a secret affair with another of the main characters on the show (who is cute enough but didn't make the list — sorry Oscar). Unlike most men of the age, John Adams doesn't want to live a fake life with a woman, instead, he opts to be a confirmed bachelor and live his truth as much as one could at that time.

3. Sullivan Jones as T. Thomas Fortune

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Unlike the white British Downton Abbey, New York's The Gilded Age also offers a look at Black people of that time. We see them thriving, we see their struggles, and so we see them as three-dimensional characters. We also see Sullivan Jones as one sexy ass man. The Broadway vet plays real-life historical figure T. Thomas Fortune, the newspaper editor and civil rights leader. While his work is very important, so are the close-ups on Sullivan Jones. If only the show could come up with a reason for him to wear less than his signature three-piece suits.

2. Harry Richardson as Larry Russell

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Young heir to the Russell fortune, Larry Russell is bae. It could end there but this classic leading man (played with charm by sexy AF Harry Richardson) makes us melt each and every week. He's the kind of guy you want to bring home to the parents — you can't help but fall for him. And then with that smile and that hair, he's like a Disney prince come to life.

1. Morgan Spector as George Russell

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Zaddy with a capital Z, Morgan Spector is a Broadway hunk making it big as the richest man in NYC on The Gilded Age. His character is based on Vanderbilt, and so we nearly always see him dressed to the nines. Though with a body like that, the show manages to get a shirtless scene in every now and then (I'd hit on him too if he was my boss!). And if you need more reasons to lust after Morgan Spector, please see Exhibit B below: