Every day we open our eyes and welcome a fresh start. Some people get up right away for hygiene maintenance or quickly check their phones. Afterward, some people lay in bed for a few minutes to gather their thoughts.
Actor Morgan Spector has a routine that makes him blissful in the morning when his three-year-old daughter wakes up and jumps into the family bed. "Usually, my daugh ter wakes up about 6:30am and comes in, jumps into our bed and we have actually a very strictly prescribed routine. She doesn't like any variation. So usually, she has a bottle and then she and I play a game together. She's really into a thing called Octonauts right now, she'll usually start off by pretending to be an Australian cat named Kwasi."
The Gilded Age
Spector has been in a few HBO TV series, Boardwalk Empire, The Plot Against America, and the latest HBO series, The Gilded Age, starring as railroad tycoon and powerful industrialist, George Russell. The HBO episodes position a melodrama genre with authentic historical storylines.
The Gilded Age is an American historical drama television series set in the United States during the Gilded Age, the developing years of the 1880s in New York City.
George Russell's character is moderately based on real-life railroad magnate Jay Gould who is generally identified as one of the robber barons of the Gilded Age.
Spector stated he dove into understanding his character George Russell and read about many other factual business industrialists
(Cornelius Vanderbilt, Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller) to prepare for his role.
"I had a bit of time to prepare for it. Then, of course, the pandemic gave even more time to read widely about the period and especially about some of these types of guys," he revealed.
Many people have different perspectives on how they felt about how these people operated their business. These men Spector researched became rich through ruthless and unscrupulous business practices in the late 19th century. It was very unconventional and controversial, but these two uncommon views made these people the wealthiest men of that time period.
"I read a short monograph by John Rockefeller and there's a lot that had been written on Jay Gould, who my character is based on. I read up about both men and tried to get a sense of their world view, their mentality. From my research on men like Carnegie and Rockefeller, both were interested in portraying themselves as decent human beings, no matter what the record shows. It was important to them that they be seen as decent upstanding members of their community who made a positive contribution to the world. I don't mean that in a cynical way, I don't think they were covering up themselves, I think they really saw themselves as humanists," shared Spector.
In season 1, episode 3, "Time to Face the Music," Spector (George Russell) associated bribery of the city aldermen to accept his train station, and there's a dispute about it. After granting the law and making a profit on the stock they bought on margin, the alderman canceled the law, and the train station idea is over.
The aldermen pay a visit to George and ask him to stop bankrupting them all. George and Bertha have a moment where he tells his wife he will have to put all their income in jeopardy to get revenge on the aldermen. Russell tells them they must face the music and discards his opponents.
The Gilded Age has been a hit with viewers and successfully renewed for season 2. The show can be viewed on HBO or streaming service HBOMax.
Acting Journey
Even though Spector currently resides in New York (since 2006), he was born in Northern California in a serene post-hippie utopia community.
"You know, it's Redwoods and wine country. It's very naturally beautiful there. Everybody's parents (particular for all the U.S.) smoked weed, came down off the hills from the commune, it was interesting place to grow up."
Spector tapped into acting during his childhood, doing comedy shows in his hometown as an interest in fun. Just as any child discovers what they're good at, it will turn into a passion, and then it emerged on Morgan that it was something that he could do for life. "I started acting when I was little, in an amateur capacity. There was a little local Repertory Theater in my community. Professionally I got out of college and just thought like, what the hell am I going to do?"
Post-college life is tricky. It can leave students wondering what's next? Do I pursue my goals or get a job? There have been several stages where students were left to see if doors opened if they could keep going down this path. Those thoughts may have crossed his mind, but it never deterred Morgan from his ambition, acting. He kept going with his plan that transferred into training, theatre, television, and film.
"Going to college had been my whole plan for adulthood. Then I got out the other side and was completely stymied as to what to do and I sort of took stock of my life and realized that you know, one of the things that I just have always kept doing that I really never stopped doing since I was tiny was being in plays and so I auditioned for Graduate Acting Program and was shocked to get in."
Spector is an alumni student (2003–2006) of the prominent theatre company A.C.T. (American Conservatory Theater) in San Francisco, California. He earned his MFA degree and gave respect to his professors and classmates for the experience of an intimate class setting.
"There were a couple of teachers who I really admired and benefited from getting to watch perform as well as being their classes. They are people who you get to see more of their process and that's, really valuable."
Spector noted that being in a class setting helped him prepare for what was to come in his career by learning from mistakes and the constructive skills before he got his debut in the theatre and film industry. Observing his professional acting professors being human, walking around, and making jokes and classmates, helped him feel more connected to his journey. They are individuals with gifts just like him; this was his vibe and tribe.
“You learn more from watching them work than I ever could have learned from watching filmed performances. You learn more from failure than you do from seeing success because you can see what somebody is doing wrong and you can know yourself and recognize in yourself those same impulses and that same capacity, and you can sort of correct it or move in a different direction. I would say that in my class I learned more about acting from my classmates than anybody else," disclosed Spector.
Philanthropy
We all have something in this world we connect to outside of our personal lives and careers, such as any philanthropy that involves improvement, change, and sometimes even revolution.
Spector is a documented member of D.S.A., Democratic Socialists of America. The Democratic Socialists of America is the largest socialist organization in the United States, with over 92,000 members and chapters in all 50 states. They believe that working people should run both the economy and society democratically to meet human needs, not make profits for a few.
Premiering on Hulu this month (March), Spector also produced a documentary about the sort of resurgence of American socialism, "The Big Scary S Word."
"In 2017, I started working on the documentary, and there were no socialists in elected office in the United States. And now there are dozens. That is huge; I think it had a significant setback because of Bernie Sanders losing, but that is the sort of world of policies that I care about.”
Spector is a reserved individual devoted to weightlifting and being home in good company, with an exciting book and enjoyable cocktail when not working.
"I'm an avid weightlifter, it's sort of the thing that keeps my brain and my emotions balanced. I also like to read. I invented this drink over the course of the pandemic as a part of my family’s routine of 5pm cocktail hour. We call it the ‘Green Drink’ in my house. It's two ounces Mezcal. It is an ounce of Ancho Reyes Verde, which is like a chili spirit, three dashes of celery bitters, and half an ounce of dry vermouth,” Spector shared.
The Future is Promising.
It has recently been announced that Spector will join the film Boston Strangler alongside actress Keira Knightley. Shooting has concluded and we look forward to updating readers on events about the movie. Please get to know Morgan Spector because everyone will see more of him as his career elevates into the future. His roles vary in range, but he's an ordinary family man passionate about people and just being a chill person at home.
Inspirational Words to Live By
Late actress Olympia Dukakis once told a quote that inspires Morgan to stay motivated and keep moving. Dukakis had a long association with Spector's acting school, and she came to do a masterclass with the students.
Spector stated the class asked her how she approached her roles, her acting style, and how she thought about it. Dukakis told them her story about growing up.
“I think she is just a brilliant actor. Olympia told us that growing up in New York with her sisters, they had to go down to the corner store, and it was a tough neighborhood, and they had to be scrappy, and they had to pay attention, and sometimes they had to fight to get home. She said she thought about her acting roles; whatever gets you to the corner, I have to do. Which always seems gloriously messy and fitting in some way to me. There's no one way; it's whatever gets you to the corner; it's that phrase that always sticks in my head.”
Creative Credits
- Written by
- Marshelle R. Sanders
- Photography
- Stephanie Diani
- Grooming
- Charlie Taylor
- Retouching
- Brianna Kish
- Hair & Makeup
- Charlie Taylor
- Fashion direction
- Katie Schuppler
