Nathan Lane’s ‘Gilded Age’ Accent Has Shaved Years Off My Life

I am, at this point, barely tethered to the mortal plane. I drift between the realm of the living and that of the departed, groping my way through swirling mists in search of the path forward. I am this close to fully crapping out, succumbing to the sort of cardiac catastrophe one might incur by running an ultramarathon in Death Valley, or getting struck by lightning, or intentionally huffing hot air balloon fumes. And it’s all because of Nathan Lane, the 67-year-old Tony Award-winner whose bonkers Southern accent on The Gilded Age has shaved years off my life.

Lane plays Ward McAllister, a gossipy New York social climber by way of Savannah, Georgia. The character is based on the real Ward McAllister—a historical figure credited with designating “The Four Hundred,” an elite list of the wealthiest, most powerful New Yorkers skulking through 19th century ballrooms. Think Regina George, but with the affectations of a plantation owner.

Lane’s McAllister oozes onto the scene midway through the show’s perfectly milquetoast first season. That’s partly why the accent caught me so off guard; five episodes deep in a sea of Transatlantic accents, there was no indication that things were about to take a deranged turn. Then, suddenly, he appears. McAllister rolls into Mrs. Aurora Fane’s well-appointed parlor in full formal luncheon attire, rocking a steel-wool goatee that looks genuinely painful to the touch. He pauses for a moment, raising one rakish eyebrow as if to say, “Yes, viewer, it’s me: Nathan Lane, of Mouse Hunt fame.”

Read more at The Daily Beast.