How Carrie Coon Shot ‘Gilded Age’ Just 48 Hours After Wrapping ‘White Lotus’

Carrie Coon checked out of Mike White‘s ‘The White Lotus‘ and dived right into another HBO show. Coon sure knows what it means to juggle two hit shows — sometimes in the same week. She barely had time to unpack before stepping back into Bertha Russell’s world.

The Emmy-nominated star jumped straight from filming “The White Lotus” Season 3 in Thailand to “The Gilded Age” Season 3 in New York, with just 48 hours in between.

“I went from the one set to the other in 48 hours,” Coon, 44, tells PEOPLE, comparing the whirlwind transition to putting on a wet bathing suit.

Carrie Coon’s Insane Turnaround Between Shoots Showcases Her Dedication

Back home in New York, there wasn’t much time to prepare, especially with two little ones at home.

“I have two children and they didn’t care that I had, you know, jet lag or that I needed to rest or work,” she says of her 7-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter with husband, actor-playwright Tracy Letts.

“So I was woefully underprepared and I had no costumes ‘cause I’d been out of the country for six months essentially,” she adds. Thankfully, production made adjustments.

“What was lovely is they decided to just shoot all my bedroom scenes [first],” Coon says. “So I got to be in all my nightgowns and robes for the first few days. So they really eased me into it.”

Learning to Walk and Talk Like Bertha Again

Still, slipping back into the sharp, calculating world of Bertha Russell took some real mental adjustment.

“I really just begged them for more time because it’s TV, it moves very quickly and I just needed more time to figure out how to talk, just how to walk around [as Bertha],” she says. “I just felt like a stranger in my own family is how I felt, but they were very patient with me and just quite lovely.”

How Coon Avoided the Thai Sun — and Kept Her Porcelain Complexion

During her Today interview, Coon also revealed how she protected her complexion while shooting White Lotus in the Thai heat — a crucial step in maintaining Bertha’s signature look.

“My skin was supposed to look like porcelain. I mean, they eat arsenic biscuits,” she jokes about the period drama’s beauty standards.

To stay out of the sun, Coon says, “I hid in my room from 9 to 4,” and later “would swim in long sleeves and long pants at 5 p.m. when the UV index dropped to 1.”

Reinhabiting Bertha after a six-month break wasn’t easy, Coon admits — and it wasn’t just the accent or costumes.

“Have you ever put on a wet bathing suit?” she asks. “That’s very uncomfortable, right? But you know it’s yours so you’re not, like, freaked out. But it doesn’t feel good, does it?” “But once you get in the water, it’s fine.”

What’s Ahead for the Russells in Season 3

According to HBO, this season, “the old guard is weakened and the Russells stand poised to take their place at the head of society.”

“Bertha sets her sights on a prize that would elevate the family to unimaginable heights while George [Morgan Spector] risks everything on a gambit that could revolutionize the railroad industry — if it doesn’t ruin him first.”

That spells plenty of tension for Bertha and her family, including children Larry (Harry Richardson) and Gladys (Taissa Farmiga).

But through it all, Coon says, Bertha is driven by love. “Bertha really believes that everything she’s done this season is for love,” she says — even if it means stirring up drama for her husband and kids along the way.

“The Gilded Age” Season 3 premieres Sunday, June 22 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and Max.

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