The rise of Jack Trotter—or as the internet calls him, “Clock Twink”—has been one of The Gilded Age’s most rewarding storylines. He started as a humble footman in the Van Rhijn household and got rich practically overnight after inventing an affordable alarm clock—all while somehow avoiding becoming a terrible person. He is one of the easiest characters on the show to root for.
Jack could do practically anything onscreen and I would be thrilled. His will-they-won’t-they relationship with Bridget, one of the Van Rhijn household’s maids, is part of that. Fans have been hoping for these two to get together for multiple seasons now.
But after a close call last season, they seem further apart than ever. The actor behind Jack, Ben Ahlers, chatted with Cosmopolitan about what season 4 has in store for this maybe-couple and whether Jack will be able to stay true to himself as he climbs the social ladder. What's so interesting about this whole world is the public and private self, and Jack has become a master of that.
He has a private self downstairs in the Van Rhijn household as the trickster, the one who can poke at Armstrong or keep the vibe going when everybody's having a long day. My accent would change between the two, upstairs and downstairs, over the last few seasons. But now he's in a completely different scenario where he doesn't have that family.
He doesn't have the private self. As he's stepping into these new worlds with inherently manipulative, distrustful, power-hungry people, there's a level of caution. You don't become a gentleman overnight.
You don't make 300 grand and just become a swaggy dude. There's an acclimating that has to happen, and I really enjoyed playing with that tension. A lot of what you see of him over this season is him trying to find the people and the places where he can reconnect with that beautiful, loving private self.
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