James (Tim McGraw) and Margaret Dutton (Faith Hill) are the forebearers of John Dutton (Kevin Costner), who, despite the many dangers they will face along the way, are fleeing poverty in the post-Civil War economy and heading to what they hope will be the promised land to raise their daughter Elsa (Isabel May) and son John (Audie Rick). They join the wagon train that will be headed by former Pinkerton Detectives Shea Brennan (Sam Elliott) and Thomas (LaMonica Garrett), who’ve taken on the job of steering 30 wagon trains of mostly Dutch-speaking settlers who don’t carry guns to defend themselves or know how to hunt for food. That is one of the reasons Shea invites James to join the train. He has shown himself a man who knows the ways of the West and he will be more of a help than a burden. Parade.com spoke with Elliott about his luck at landing another Western role at this point in his career, the complexities of playing Shea, getting back on a horse, and more. You and I have previously discussed how difficult it was to get a Western made. What do you think Taylor Sheridan’s secret is that he now has not just one but two Westerns? I think the fact that Taylor is such a brilliant writer is his biggest secret. But he’s come to power, so to speak, in this industry and he just writes such great material. I think on some level Taylor gets to do what he wants to do. He’s one of those characters that takes no prisoners and he’s determined to get something done when he knows it’s the right way to do it, knows it’s the right thing. He’s a gifted writer, and that success breeds more of it. You want more of it. Shea is this very complicated man. He went through a tragedy. He lost his wife and his daughter to the pox, and he was going to commit suicide, but he decided against it. What else is he? Well, it’s the stuff you see on screen that makes him the man that you wonder if he is. You mentioned the wife and daughter. The fact that he was a veteran of the Civil War. The fact that his closest companion is a Black man in the 1800s. That speaks volumes to me that he’s a complicated man. And he’s taken on the responsibility of transporting these people to Oregon. He has great empathy for those characters and is affected deeply by the loss of them as they dwindle away on the journey. And at the same time, he is willing to pull his gun out and shoot somebody in the head for stealing somebody’s food. So, he’s a complicated character. This show has a real grit and realism to it, a lot more than early TV Westerns. What’s the most challenging part in doing that? I think the authenticity is critical in telling one of these tales and bringing them to an audience. You’ve got to tell the truth is how I feel about it. And if you don’t tell the truth, then the audience is not going to believe it, whether it’s in a performance or whether it’s the look of it. Taylor Sheridan knows about telling the truth. He knows the history of this wagon train world. He knows the history of the cattle business. He knows the history of this country. And at the same time, he’s got this incredible ability to write these relationships, write about these characters and offer actors these incredible things to go out and perform. And his dialogue is very spare in some respects. He doesn’t waste a lot of words. And then in the midst of that along the way, he writes these arias for actors. And it’s like, “Wow, really? I get to say that?” It’s a lot of fun working with Taylor. How about working with Tim and Faith? They’re an interesting addition to this being country singers. What do you think they bring to the series? Well, No. 1, they’re an incredible couple. That they transported into this world is a wonderful thing. I can’t say enough about that. I think there’s always a question when somebody crosses over from one world in the entertainment business, coming from the music world to, “OK, now I’m going to be an actor.” I think a lot of people kind of look sideways at that. I can guarantee you that they both pulled it off in spades. They’re in deep on this, they get what it is. Tim’s a brilliant horseman and he comes to this as a horseman from his early days. And Faith, as far as I’m concerned, can do anything. They’re both wonderful in this thing, as is Isabelle and everyone else. It’s one of the great things about Taylor, he writes his incredible characters, whether they’re little day players, whether they’re supporting players, whether they’re leading characters. He just has a way of developing these characters and turning them loose on each other. And it’s just so much fun to do. There are so many good people in this show. What are we going to see on this journey? And does it wrap at the end of the season? Do they get to where they are going? Well, they get somewhere. Shea’s on a journey to the ocean. He’s heading for Oregon. And this being the prequel to Yellowstone, the Duttons end up in Montana. Beyond that, I’m not going to give anymore away. Shea wants to see the sea one last time. Do we know why that is? What his motivation is to get there? I don’t want to spoil it somehow. You hear in a scene between Shea and Elsa why Shea is going to the ocean. It’s the only scene they have together. So, you mentioned Elsa. Part of the show is narrated by her. What do you think that adds to it? Why do we need to see this journey through the eyes of this young girl? I’ve talked to Taylor about that. He gave me a little insight into it. He had this story in his head, this 1883, and he hadn’t figured out how to tell the story about whichever Dutton it is that gets to Montana. The forebearer of Yellowstone. He was casting another show, maybe the Mayor of Kingstown, and Isabel came to meet for one of the roles. And Taylor said she wasn’t right for that role, but something went off in his head that this girl could play the sister of the young boy in 1883, and he could tell the story through her eyes. He said the idea just unleashed it, and he wrote it; it just came out after that. I think the stuff as I read it, and as my wife Katherine [Ross] read it, the stuff that almost spoke to me more than anything was the poetry that he writes for Elsa in her voiceovers when she’s talking about the land, talking about human nature, talking about the journey. It’s particularly powerful, powerful material. The fact that Isabel just recently turned 21 years old, she’s early to this game. She’s brilliant in this thing. It’s going to open the door for her. I hate to even say that for fear of cursing that truth, but there’s no turning back for her now. If she wants to do it, it’s going to be there for her. She’s absolutely unbelievable. She has a work ethic like I’ve never seen, and she just has it. How hard is it for you to be on a horse all day? How good is it should be the question. It’s great. It’s great to be riding again. It’s been 20 years since I’ve ridden before we started doing this thing. I’m enjoying it. I’ve always enjoyed horses and I’m fortunate to get back in the saddle again so to speak. Do you have to build up to being able to do it? I think it’s like a lot of things. A lot of people liken horseback riding to riding a bicycle. It’s like once you’ve done it, you can do it. You get a little rusty and maybe need to tune up a little bit. It’s good and we’ve got good horses here. 1883 begins streaming on Sunday, Dec. 19 on Paramount+. Next, Everything We Know About the Yellowstone Prequel 1883, Including the Full Cast
