Exclusive Interview: Daisy Head and Amethyst Davis on The Gray House and the Women Who Defied the Confederacy
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Reel Perspectives
March 1st, 2026
In our Reel Perspectives exclusive, the actresses reflect on espionage, resistance, and portraying real-life Civil War trailblazers.
The Women Who Ran a War in Plain Sight
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 centers on the women who built one of the most effective espionage networks of the era — operating in plain sight within the Confederacy while secretly aiding the Union.
Mary-Louise Parker and Daisy Head star as Eliza and Elizabeth Van Lew, a mother-daughter duo who weaponized their social standing to assist enslaved people seeking freedom and funnel critical intelligence to the Union Army. Amethyst Davis portrays Mary Jane Richards, a freed woman who infiltrates the Confederate White House, turning proximity to power into a strategic advantage for the spy ring.
The Quiet Power of Elizabeth Van Lew and Mary Jane Richards
In The Gray House, Daisy Head steps into the role of Elizabeth Van Lew, a Richmond-born socialite whose loyalty to the Union placed her at odds with the very society that embraced her. Raised in privilege and educated in Philadelphia at a Quaker school that shaped her anti-slavery beliefs, Van Lew quietly challenged the institution her own family had benefited from. After her father’s death, she and her mother began helping enslaved people in their household earn wages and secure a measure of autonomy — small acts of resistance that would later evolve into something far more dangerous.
During the Civil War, Van Lew organized and led an underground espionage network operating inside the Confederacy. What began as covert assistance soon became one of the most effective Union spy rings in Richmond, eventually working in coordination with Union leadership, including General Benjamin Butler and, later, General Ulysses S. Grant.
At the heart of that network was Mary Jane Richards, portrayed by Amethyst Davis. Born into slavery and raised within the Van Lew household, Richards was sent north to be educated before returning to Richmond on the eve of war. Intelligent, observant, and remarkably composed, she infiltrated the Confederate White House, reportedly serving within President Jefferson Davis’s household while secretly gathering intelligence for the Union.
Though much of Richards’ work remains undocumented — by necessity — the impact of the network she helped power was acknowledged by Union leaders of the time. After the fall of Richmond, she continued her work in freedom, teaching formerly enslaved people in the city she had risked her life to undermine from within.
It is this layered history of calculated courage, secrecy, and survival that Daisy Head and Amethyst Davis bring to life in The Gray House. We spoke with the actresses about portraying real women whose bravery operated in whispers rather than gunfire — and what it means to honor a legacy that changed the course of American history.
Watch our full interview with Daisy Head and Amethyst Davis 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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