From "The Gilded Age" set to Low Steps: Taylor Richardson on acting, studying, and living in the city

Upper West Side NY

11 March, 2022

1:48 PM

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Columbia Daily Spectator BY ARIANA EFTIMIU MARCH 8, 2022 Taylor Richardson, GS '25, strolls into Joe Coffee with a large patterned suitcase, waving enthusiastically. As she sits, she exudes the confidence of someone made for the stage. She talks with her hands and laughs loudly. Every small detail, up to the bumblebee necklace hanging around her neck—it could be a really neat tattoo, she notes—seems to add more color to her surroundings. As she juggles her career as an actress in "The Gilded Age" with her film and media studies, Richardson sees the School of General Studies as a good fit for her because it gives students with nontraditional backgrounds an opportunity to plan their schedules around their multifaceted lives. This proved useful for Richardson's filming schedule in current and future projects. Richardson has lived in the New York area since she was 10 years old, when she performed in the 2012 Broadway revival of "Annie," which is partially why she is so drawn to the city. She has participated in local theater and dance groups since the age of three and stumbled upon the "Annie" audition out of happenstance. "Someone randomly told me, 'This is happening, you should go audition for it,'" she said. "I drove up to New York with my parents [and] went to an open call where anyone can audition. After a lot of months of auditions I ended up being cast, and it changed the trajectory of my life entirely." The stage experience Richardson had in the "Annie" production solidified her desire to pursue acting as a career rather than merely a hobby. She discovered that stages are where she is happiest and stayed in New York rather than moving back to Virginia. Soon enough, she adapted to a lifestyle balancing tutoring, school, and sets. Now, she considers the city home and has worked professionally since "Annie" for about a decade. In her latest project, Richardson acts in HBO's "The Gilded Age," which premiered on Jan. 24, alongside several industry luminaries. The cast boasts a stunning total of 23 Tony Awards, and the show is written by Julian Fellowes, the mind behind "Downton Abbey." This has been particularly exciting for Richardson as a self-proclaimed "Downton Abbey" fan. "I have seen the first season probably five times, because I restart every time I'm sick or I'm sad," Richardson laughed. In "The Gilded Age," Richardson plays Bridget, a young Irish immigrant. A housemaid, kitchen-maid, and ladies' maid, Bridget works for the Van Rhijn family in the bustle of the 1880s Gilded Age in New York City. Richardson's role was tailored to her: Although the character she originally auditioned for was Swedish, the producers made the character Irish because Richardson could only do that accent. "I was like, 'I'm going to take a risk and just go in with an Irish accent and hope that they like it,'" Richardson said. "And they did end up liking it. … It also helps that I'm a redhead." By playing an Irish immigrant in "The Gilded Age," Richardson was able to channel her connection to her Irish heritage. Her "x-amount-of-great grandmother" immigrated from Ireland during the potato famine, which connected her character's experiences to those embedded in her own family history. In another stroke of coincidence, Richardson learned after playing Bridget that a family member who immigrated from Ireland was also named Bridget. Richardson has enjoyed adjusting to the intricacies of a role that forces her to step out of her comfort zone, including adapting to wearing a corset and multiple skirts, and learning how to use antique kitchen tools in a natural way. Her time on the set of "The Gilded Age" has also allowed Richardson to explore different aspects of the film industry. In the past, she shifted from harboring a love solely for theater to adding growing passions for film, directing, writing, and other behind-the-scenes roles. With her current production, she asks everyone behind the scenes of "The Gilded Age" about their jobs and daily tasks, even shadowing Salli Richardson-Whitfield, one of the show's directors. "I like being able to step back and pull together all of the various parts that convey a story, an experience, or a feeling," Richardson said. For Richardson, directing provides a welcome reprieve from the constant fixation on physical image and self-presentation that many actors have to deal with on a daily basis. It was refreshing to be able to create art and tell stories, all while escaping the harsh scrutiny involved with acting and performance. The challenges that come with directing, such as needing to gain a crew's trust, have also been some of the most fulfilling experiences for her. "There is something relieving about not having all of the focus on your physical being. I love acting, [but] it also gets in your head very easily, on many levels, and that's something that is hard to combat," she said. Richardson sees this as just the beginning of her career. She hopes to continue working in the entertainment industry, particularly the film sector. "As much as people will let me act, or trust me to direct at some point ... I would do that for as long as humanly possible," Richardson said. Richardson sees New York City as an ideal place to further her interests and hone her passion in the creative process. "I love the creative spaces that are in New York. I feel like there's a misconception that it only exists in LA if you're going to be in film and TV, when so much of it has either migrated to New York or just is kind of from anywhere at this point, because so much is done online now," she said. In contrast, being homeschooled for high school actually pushed Richardson to prioritize her education and learn in a more traditional educational environment. In conjunction with the flexibility provided by GS, her professors have also been very understanding of her occasional need to drop everything and act. "I'm still auditioning [for other acting gigs], and when I've got three essays due in a week, and then on top of that I get an email that's like 'You have 11 pages to memorize for this audition, that's due in two days,' it is stressful," Richardson said. "I sort of feel the weight of the world on both sides of it and I feel like I have a foot in two different worlds." The corners of Richardson's eyes rise when she shares her passion for the art form and her enthusiasm for being on Columbia's campus every day. Above all, gratitude and a love for both the stage and New York City endure. "It's been nice to feel like I am both a student and a human and an actor and all of those things at once," Richardson said. Arts & Entertainment staff writer Ariana Eftimiu can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow Spectator on Twitter @ColumbiaSpec. Founded in 1877, the Columbia Daily Spectator is the independent undergraduate newspaper of Columbia University, serving thousands of readers in Morningside Heights, West Harlem, and beyond. Read more at columbiaspectator.com and donate here.