Matt Damon and David Letterman Cameo as Extras in 'The Gilded Age' Premiere

Matt Damon and David Letterman appeared as unnamed, nonspeaking background extras in the Season 4 premiere of HBO's period drama "The Gilded Age," which aired Sunday, Nov. 1. HBO confirmed the cameos to Decider, and the network told Vulture that neither man received an on-screen credit.

The appearance was arranged as a field segment for Letterman's Netflix interview series, "My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman," in an episode featuring Damon that is scheduled to premiere later this year, according to Vulture.

A six-second walk across East 61st Street

The two men appear about eight and a half minutes into the episode, titled "Ring the Bells." Deadline and Vulture placed the moment at 8:33, while Decider put it at approximately 8 minutes and 44 seconds. Dressed as 19th-century gentlemen, Damon and Letterman cross East 61st Street between the Van Rhijn and Russell homes as the camera pans toward the house where George Russell is recovering after being shot at the end of Season 3. Vulture reported that the appearance lasts six seconds.

Neither man speaks or appears in any other scene, TV Insider reported. Deadline reported that Damon wears a top hat, an ascot and a long coat, with sideburns and a mustache, while Letterman wears a bowler hat, an all-black outfit and the beard he has worn for several years. According to Decider, the shot comes directly after a scene in which Hector, the Duke of Buckingham (Ben Lamb), is asked to choose between his wife, Gladys (Taissa Farmiga), and their baby during a difficult birth in England.

A nearly 50-year ambition

Isabel Richardson, the showrunner of "My Next Guest," told Vulture the idea grew out of Letterman's nearly 50-year-long quest to become a background actor. She said it began in 1977, when Letterman spotted his friend, comedian Gary Mule Deer, in a scene in "Annie Hall." Letterman was "tickled by the fact that this guy was recognizable to him in the shot, but that most people probably didn't recognize him," Richardson said.

Richardson described several earlier attempts that fell through. Letterman hoped to appear in the background of Wes Anderson's "The Phoenician Scheme," but the dates did not work out. He also tried to appear in the upcoming remake of "The Thomas Crown Affair" while taping an episode with Michael B. Jordan, and he once sat down on the New York set of Jason Bateman's series "Black Rabbit." "He asked a PA to put him in the shot, to no avail," Richardson said.

While researching Damon's episode, the Netflix team learned that the actor had started his career doing background work alongside Ben Affleck. "It'd be really fun for Dave to do this with Academy Award-winner Matt Damon, and it tied into his origin story really well," Richardson told Vulture. She said Damon, offered a list of possible field segments, "unequivocally chose this idea as his favorite."

How the cameo was arranged

After reviewing productions filming in New York, Richardson's team pitched "The Gilded Age" through a line producer's contact on the show. The request reached executive producer Kate Churchill, who took it to series creator Julian Fellowes, HBO head of drama Francesca Orsi and HBO chief executive Casey Bloys, according to Vulture. Churchill said everyone found it "hysterical," but she was concerned that the two famous faces could distract viewers.

"The only way I could think of was if we did it in a very controlled manner and it was a shot that we needed, so there was a high chance of it making the cut," Churchill told Vulture. The scene was filmed on the show's "hero street," a closed back lot in Old Bethpage on Long Island where, Churchill said, "the public doesn't have access."

Churchill said the arrangement involved more paperwork than expected. "Things like, Matt had to be paid as a background person, but of course he works under his own company," she said. "There were a lot of emails going around, but people really locked arms, and both studios saw that it was a fun collaboration where we could help each other."

Both men attended a costume fitting, as every background actor on the series does. Damon had shaved the beard he wore for "The Odyssey" for an appearance on "Saturday Night Live" the weekend before the shoot, so the show's hair and makeup team made period facial hair for him. The bowler hat Letterman wears on screen is his own, custom-fitted at what Richardson called "the oldest hat shop in London." The scene was shot in May. Richardson said Damon "was laughing so hard throughout the day" that he had to hold on to his mustache, while Churchill said, "Dave was like a kid in a candy shop on the set."

The Season 4 premiere

The premiere opens nine months after the Season 3 finale, TV Insider reported. Deadline reported that it also includes the wedding of Oscar van Rhijn (Blake Ritson) to Enid Turner (Kelley Curran), and Screen Rant reported that Agnes van Rhijn (Christine Baranski) is preparing to host a dinner for President Grover Cleveland, played by Jim Gaffigan. The cast also includes Carrie Coon, Morgan Spector, Cynthia Nixon, Louisa Jacobson, Denée Benton and Audra McDonald.

Season 4 has eight episodes. New episodes air Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and stream on HBO Max, according to TV Insider.