Even Hollywood’s biggest names can’t resist HBO’s The Gilded Age. Viewers who looked away for just a moment during the Season 4 premiere, “Ring The Bells,” may have missed two instantly recognizable stars passing between the van Rhijn and Russell homes.
**Spoilers for The Gilded Age Season 4 Episode 1 “Ring The Bells,” now streaming on HBO Max**
The blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance is real. HBO confirmed to DECIDER that late-night television legend David Letterman and Oscar-nominated actor Matt Damon both make brief cameo appearances in the Season 4 premiere.
Sharp-eyed fans can spot the pair crossing East 61st Street at roughly the 8-minute, 44-second mark. Their appearance follows the tense emotional sequence in which Hector, the Duke of Buckingham (Ben Lamb), is forced to decide between Gladys (Taissa Farmiga) and their child in Sidmouth, England. The cameos arrive just before the episode shifts focus to the armed guards stationed outside the Russell mansion and the installation of a telephone inside.
Letterman, now widely associated with his full, bushy beard, and Damon, sporting a look noticeably different from his typically clean-shaven appearance, have both been transformed for the period drama. With carefully styled facial hair and formal 19th-century clothing, the unexpected guests blend right into The Gilded Age’s lavish world.
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Damon’s cameo is especially fitting given his recent comments about his television viewing habits. Earlier this summer, he and The Odyssey co-star Tom Holland spoke with Tom “TommyInnit” Simons about the shows they enjoy watching for comfort.
Damon said he was currently watching The Wire with his children, introducing his teenage daughters to that HBO favorite as well as AMC’s Breaking Bad. He also revealed that he had started The Sopranos with another of his teenagers.
“I like introducing them to some of the good long-form stuff,” Damon explained.
Now there’s proof that the Damon household has added another prestige television favorite to its lineup: The Gilded Age.