Todd Gilbert, of Halfmoon, has been on all three seasons of HBO's "The Gilded Age" so far. It was his first professional gig after a tenure consisting of school plays and church productions. The father of five works full-time in marketing, picking up acting opportunities on the side.
“I like to make a fool of myself and make people laugh,” he said. After seeing an open call for extras when the show’s first season was filming, Gilbert appeared in the background of a handful of episodes. In season two, he appeared just once but secured a seat as the mayor of New York for a scene depicting the opening of The Brooklyn Bridge.
“It's fun. It's really exciting and it's a chance to step out of the everyday norm and do something different,” Gilbert said. “For me, it was a bucket list item.
” Even with non-speaking parts, Gilbert works 13- to 14-hour days. “So the feet definitely hurt at the end of the day,” he said with a laugh. Gilbert wasn’t the only member of his family to book a role on the show.
His dog, Walker, appeared in a scene. Gilbert guided the actor assigned to walk the dog. “I just love the costumes and the period drama and the people,” said Gilbert.
“Getting to meet all the new people and talk to them, become friends with them, that's awesome...
last season, I got to work really close with the principal actors, which was nice.” Additionally, other experts join the crew from across the country. Wendi Freedman, of New Jersey, works as the show’s head wrangler, managing the horses and trainers who ride them on camera.
Those mounting the horses in establishing shots and background business are not your typical extras, rather wrangling professionals who suit up and button their britches for the period drama. “I have 50 Wranglers that work on this show,” she said. The horses largely come from a farm in Colchester, Connecticut.
While in the area, they’re being housed in the stables at Placid Hills Farm in Troy. “Some of them are privately owned by my Wranglers,” said Freedman. “I've got 36 horses here, and we have 52 carriages that are in Troy.
We keep them in Troy at The Gasholder house,” said Freedman. Freedman oversaw a band of wranglers filming in the Stockade neighborhood. In a parking lot on N.
Church Street, horses munched on hay between scenes as pedestrians meandered by, stealing glimpses of the action when they could. “It’s been great..
.it’s just beautiful here,” said Freedman. Actors walk along Washington Avenue in The Stockade area of Schenectady, during a day of filming of the series "The Gilded Age" Monday, Aug.
12, 2024. Actors share a walk while filming a scene along Washington Avenue in The Stockade area of Schenectady during a day of filming of the series “The Gilded Age” Monday. An actor guides a horse drawn wagon up Washington Avenue in The Stockade area of Schenectady, during a day of filming of the series "The Gilded Age" Monday, Aug.
12, 2024. Actors share a laugh at the horse and carriage staging area on North Church Street in The Stockade area of Schenectady, during a day of filming of the series "The Gilded Age" Monday, Aug. 12, 2024.
An extra stands with a horse at the horse and carriage staging area on North Church Street in The Stockade area of Schenectady, during a day of filming of the series “The Gilded Age” Monday, Aug. 12, 2024. Extra leave the set after a morning of filming along Washington Avenue in The Stockade area of Schenectady, during a day of filming of the series "The Giilded Age" Monday, Aug.
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