The further back you go, the more gedolim appear to us as Charedim. The same holds true for most Baal ha-Battim. To a certain extent 21st century Hareidim often act like reinactors (i.e. they are really much modern than they seem, but act old fashioned as an ideological statement – note use of modern medicine, modern engineered fabrics, modern transportation, modern printing). Contrast this with some goyim who for example, refuse modern drugs, only wear natural fabrics (made from plants or animals rather than from petroleum, don’t use automobiles, insist on using scrolls, etc.).
No one was “modern” before “modern” times, almost by definition (e.g. Rashi never had a smartphone, Moshe Rabeinu never browsed the internet, the Maccabees never used rifles, no one before the mid-20th century used antibiotics or frozen foods, etc.). To a 21st century person, all the Gedolim prior to modern times appear to be Hareidi.