Carrie Coon and the cast of "The Gilded Age" are all about human art and using that art to embrace diversity.
Coon, along with Cynthia Nixon
and "Gilded Age" writer/executive producer Sonja Warfield, stepped out for an evening at PaleyFest New York on Oct. 13, where the show received the first-ever PaleyFest Award, celebrating excellence in media, television and entertainment ahead of its anticipated fourth season.Ahead of the evening's panel, Coon, who plays the "ruthless" Bertha Russell in the bit HBO series, opened up about the every-changing TV industry and Hollywood's intrigue with AI experimentation.
"Here's the thing about AI: It's not generative. It's an amplification machine," Coon, 45, tells USA TODAY on the PaleyFest red carpet. "Amplification
is not art. Stealing material and then spitting it back out reconfigured is not art. And you'll always need human beings ultimately to make art. So it can only put out what's put into it, which means it's never going to come up with an innovative idea when it comes to art."
She continues, "The only way it would do that is if the artists are the ones putting in the new idea. So I don't believe we can be replaced."
"And hey, when they when the whole world breaks down, there won't be enough electricity to power it anyway," she jokingly adds.
In addition to AI, the "White Lotus" actress also shared her thoughts on the regression of diverse projects in Hollywood and how she's proud to work on a show that embraces the stories of different backgrounds. Still, she says, the industry still has a lot of work to do.
"We have a long way to go. We talk about representation all the time, and we haven't ever really lived up to it. It's a lot like the way the United States hasn't lived up to its ideals, frankly. And we can feel the backsliding," Coon says. "That translates into the gatekeepers, too. They get really safe and they don't take risks on material. And what I hope is that we see a big swing back the other way."
Coon notes that her favorite part of the show is following Denée Benton's Peggy Scott and her family life in New York's Black elite circle during the period.
"We've never seen the Black Diaspora depicted in this time period, and I'm so satisfied by it and I just want more of it," she says. "I squeal with delight during Peggy's story, and I try to avoid reading it so I can be surprised. I'm really proud of that part of the show."
Agreeing with Coon's sentiments, Warfield and Nixon explain that the "Gilded Age" doesn't see diversity it as "optional," referring to comments made in a recent Hollywood Reporter article about #EmmysSoWhite spearheading a deeper discussion about the current state of diversity in media.
"I don't think [diversity] is optional. We are a diverse nation, and I think it's vitally important that people who look like everyone in America are represented both on screen and behind the camera," Warfield tells USA TODAY on the red carpet.
Nixon, who plays Ada Brook in the series, expands on Warfield's comments.
"The stories we choose to tell, both real and imagined, says everything about who we are. I think it is wonderful to be a part of a show that's so diverse," the actress, 60, says. "But it's also it's really important. It's not like people of color, queer people, immigrants fighting for equality and fair treatment didn't exist in the 1880s in America. They did. But generally when we tell the story of the Gilded Age, we don't focus on them."
Nixon continues, "The idea that diversity is optional. Well, it's optional if you choose to see people or not. Right? These people − people of color, women, queer people, immigrants − we've always been here. So do you want to be blind or do you want to see what's in front of you?"
Later, during the evening's panel discussion with Warfield and Coon, Nixon went on to tease how viewers of the new season will see Nixon's Ada becoming more curious and involved in the trials of Black America through the eyes of Peggy.
“Through her connection to Peggy, her curiosity gets to know get a tiny window into the black community world and she finally has the mental space to learn about it," Nixon explained.
Talking about weaving together the loose ends from Season 3, Warfield also teased "surprises" with Bertha and George Russell, played by Morgan Spector, and the power-hunger couple's marriage. Coon seemed to confirm Warfield's statement with the three words she used to describe the new season: "Gotta save George!"
"The Gilded Age" Season 4 premieres Sunday, Nov. 1 (9 p.m. ET/PT) on HBO, and can be streamed on HBO Max.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Gilded Age' star Carrie Coon hits back at AI, talks diversity in Hollywood
