Claybourne Elder Of ‘The Gilded Age’ Opens Up About His Character’s Shocking Death

Claybourne Elder said filming the scene required him to wear a harness for four hours and felt “like attending your own funeral.”

Claybourne Elder 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’s 19th-century elite on HBO’s “The Gilded Age.”

“Growing up in Utah as a Mormon, there was a lot about hiding who I was, hiding how I really felt,” the actor, who is gay, told HuffPost. “One thing I loved about John is ... he wasn’t interested in hiding who he was. He wanted to find a way to live his life within the construct of the system.”

“The Gilded Age” is written and created by Julian Fellowes, the mastermind behind “Downton Abbey.” The series, which concludes its third season Sunday, offers a titillatingly fictionalized take on the “Boom Years” of New York City in the 1880s.

John appeared in the period drama’s premiere season as a prospective love interest for Marian Brook (played by Louisa Jacobson), who has escaped poverty by moving in with her wealthy aunts Agnes van Rhijn (Christine Baranski) and Ada Forte (Cynthia Nixon).

In a twist, John secretly begins an affair with Agnes’ son, Oscar van Rhijn (Blake Ritson), who intends to keep his sexuality hidden by marrying a woman.