Jordan Donica and Denee Benton in 'The Gilded Age.' Karolina Wojtasik/HBO Share on Facebook Share on X Share to Flipboard Send an Email Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Print the Article Post a Comment Logo text [This story contains spoilers from season three, episode five of The Gilded Age.] Broadway actor Jordan Donica's arrival as Dr. William Kirkland has spiced up Peggy Scott's love life on The Gilded Age. What started as a house call to treat his mentor's daughter from a debilitating cold has blossomed into one of the HBO's hit period drama's hottest romances. Since his introduction in episode two ("What the Papers Say"), Dr. Kirkland has become a fixture. Peggy (a role Denée Benton has made a fan-favorite) and her mother Dorothy's (Audra McDonald) visit to their cousin Athena (Jessica Frances Dukes) in Newport, Rhode Island, where his family has long maintained a home, in episode three ("Love Is Never Easy') solidified his presence. From the moment Dr. Kirkland knew Peggy was nearby, he reached out with a letter requesting permission to "call on her." That led to a romantic get-to-know-you stroll, parasol and all, by the sea which evolved into a meet-The-Kirklands moment for Peggy and her parents. The latter, however, didn't go over well with the good doctor's mother, Mrs. Kirkland, inhabited by the incomparable Phylicia Rashad, who objects to her son and Peggy's budding romance. Related Stories News Billy Joel Sits Down With Bill Maher for Post-Brain Disorder Diagnosis Interview News Billy Joel 'And So It Goes' Directors on "Vienna," Nas and the One Legendary Artist Who Turned Down an Interview for the Doc Her family, she boasted during the two families' first meeting, has a rich and long history that includes generations of free Black people in Newport. Because of that history, Mrs. Kirkland frowns upon the Scotts, particularly Peggy's father Arthur (John Douglas Thompson) who was once enslaved. Peggy's dark complexion also appears to be a concern to her. Then in episode four ("Marriage Is a Gamble"), after attending Peggy's speech with her husband Mr. Kirkland (Brian Stokes Mitchell) at their son's insistence, Mrs. Kirkland also objects to Peggy's outspokenness on race matters and suffrage. That disdain makes her determined to break the hold Peggy has on her son's heart, creating a formidable roadblock to their promising happily ever after. As Athena and others speculate whether Dr. Kirkland and Peggy are headed towards marriage, another complication emerges as the two lovebirds take in a baseball game and run into none other than Peggy's former employer and complicated love interest newspaper publisher T. Thomas Fortune (Sullivan Jones). During the exchange, Mr. Fortune, from whom Peggy has worked hard to distance herself, offers her the unbelievable opportunity to interview Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, an early Black writer, abolitionist and leading voice of the era who supported suffrage, among other efforts, in Philadelphia that Dr. Kirkland urges her to accept. When Mr. Fortune appears at the train station with his luggage ready to accompany Peggy, who is visibly disturbed by his unexpected presence and intention, Dr. Kirkland jumps to her protection, making his feelings for her even clearer. The Hollywood Reporter caught up with Donica who is known for his Broadway roles in Phantom of the Opera, My Fair Lady, Camelot, for which he earned a Tony nomination, and, of course, Sunset Blvd, his most recent credit, and learned that his impressive Broadway pedigree wasn't what landed him the role of winning Peggy's heart. It does, however, inform his portrayal of Dr. Kirkland. His personal experience of being raised by his mother and aunts, he shares, also feeds his character's relationship with his mother played by Rashad. Donica is also a romantic at heart, which makes showing up for Peggy as Dr. Kirkland all the more effortless. Balancing that love for his mother and Peggy is not easy for Dr. Kirkland, Donica admits, but there is a good reason he refuses to let either one of them go. Arguably, it is his face-off with Mr. Fortune in episode five ("A Different World") that shows just how serious the good Dr. Kirkland is when it comes to Peggy, giving fans all the more reason to stay tuned into their romance. *** You and Denée were in Into the Woods together. At New York City Center So is this how you ended up on The Gilded Age as Dr. William Kirkland? No. I did three years on The CW's Charmed. Sonja Warfield watched that show. She actually had no idea that I'm a singer. She had never seen me sing and perform on stage. So they reached out. [At the time] I was cast as the Phantom [in Phantom of the Opera] in London so I was going to move to London last year to do that, and like a day later, I got a call asking me to interview with Sonja and Michael Engler. They sent me the scenes for what they have written for the ch