Interview: The Men of The Gray House: Sam Trammell, Rob Morrow, and Robert Knepper on Playing Confederate Power
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Reel Perspectives
March 9th, 2026
The actors behind Jefferson Davis, Judah Benjamin, and Bully Lumpkin discuss portraying the men at the center of the Confederacy in Prime Video’s Civil War espionage drama.
Inside the Confederate Seat of Power
The Gray House is an eight-episode period drama executive-produced by Kevin Costner and Morgan Freeman, premiering on Prime Video on February 26.
Set in Richmond, Virginia, during the Civil War, the series explores the shadow war of espionage unfolding inside the Confederacy, where information became as powerful as any weapon on the battlefield. While much of the story follows the women secretly feeding intelligence to the Union, The Gray House also examines the powerful figures within the Confederate government whose decisions shaped the war’s trajectory.
Sam Trammell portrays Confederate President Jefferson Davis, whose Richmond residence — known as the Gray House — serves as the political and social hub of the Confederacy. Within those walls, decisions are made, secrets circulate, and spies move quietly through the halls gathering intelligence.
Meanwhile, Rob Morrow takes on the role of Confederate cabinet member Judah Benjamin, one of Davis’s most trusted advisors, whose complicated loyalties and personal relationships place him at the center of the show’s espionage intrigue. And Robert Knepper appears as Bully Lumpkin, a brutal slave catcher whose cruelty represents the violent enforcement of the Confederacy’s ideology.
Together, these characters represent the machinery of power that the Union spy network works to undermine — making the world of The Gray House not only a story of resistance but also a portrait of the system those spies risked everything to dismantle.
Power and Politics Inside The Gray House
While The Gray House centers on the covert Union spy network operating in Richmond, the series also pulls viewers inside the halls of Confederate leadership — where power, paranoia, and politics shaped the fate of a nation.
Sam Trammell portrays Confederate President Jefferson Davis, whose Richmond residence — the titular Gray House — serves as both a command center and a symbol of the Confederacy itself. Within its walls, cabinet meetings, military strategy sessions, and private conversations unfold, while spies quietly gather information that could bring the government down from within.
Among Davis’s closest advisors is Judah Benjamin, played by Rob Morrow. A powerful cabinet member who serves as Confederate Secretary of War and later Secretary of State, Benjamin is depicted in the series as a complicated figure navigating loyalty to the Confederacy while becoming entangled in a romantic relationship with Clara Parish (Hannah James). That relationship ultimately leads to a rare moment of redemption for the character: after turning Clara over to Confederate authorities when he learns she has been feeding intelligence to Union operatives, Benjamin later risks everything to rescue her from imprisonment before she can be assaulted and executed. Though the war ultimately separates them, the moment reveals a more human dimension to one of the Confederacy’s most influential leaders.
On the opposite end of the moral spectrum stands Bully Lumpkin, played by Robert Knepper. A brutal slave catcher operating in Richmond, Lumpkin embodies the violent enforcement of the Confederacy’s ideology. Knepper — well known for portraying menacing villains — brings a chilling presence to the role, making the character one of the series’ most unsettling antagonists.
His fate becomes one of the show’s most cathartic moments. During the chaos of the Union takeover of Richmond, Lumpkin attempts to burn a cart full of enslaved men alive, mocking their screams as the fire spreads. The plan quickly unravels when the trapped men are freed, and Lumpkin finds himself caught in the destruction he helped create — pinned beneath a collapsing beam as the building erupts in flames. It’s a fiery end that feels both poetic and deserved for a character defined by cruelty.
Through figures like Davis, Benjamin, and Lumpkin, The Gray House reveals the other side of its espionage story: the powerful men whose decisions sustained the Confederate war effort — and whose downfall was made possible by the intelligence gathered by the very people they underestimated.
We spoke with Sam Trammell, Rob Morrow, and Robert Knepper about stepping into these complex historical roles, portraying real figures from one of the most turbulent chapters in American history, and what it was like bringing the world of The Gray House to life.
Watch our full interview below:
Why The Gray House Is a Must-Watch 📺
At first glance, The Gray House may look like a traditional Civil War period drama. But what makes the series essential viewing is precisely what it refuses to center.
“They weren’t generals. They didn’t fight on battlefields. They ran the war from inside the Confederacy."
These women were not generals. They weren’t standing on battlefields delivering speeches before troops charged into cannon fire. They were operating in drawing rooms, at dinner tables, and inside the Confederate White House itself — gathering intelligence, leveraging social status, and transforming the Underground Railroad into a sophisticated spy network that helped shift the course of the war.
Executive produced by Kevin Costner and Morgan Freeman, the eight-episode series reframes American history through the lens of those who have long been footnotes: women, formerly enslaved people, and Black leaders whose resistance reshaped a nation. Performances from Mary-Louise Parker, Daisy Head, Amethyst Davis, and Keith David anchor the story with emotional weight and urgency, reminding viewers that revolutions are often won not just through force — but through strategy, sacrifice, and courage in plain sight.
In an era where historical narratives are constantly being revisited and reexamined, The Gray House feels timely. It challenges the idea that power only lives in official titles and battlefields, and instead honors the quiet architects of change — those who risked everything behind enemy lines.
You can watch the trailer below:
All eight episodes premiere on Prime Video on February 26.
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