If you haven’t jumped on the “Yellowstone” train just yet, now might be the time to do so. The hit modern western meets prime time soap opera is hitting its popularity apex, it’s finally getting awards attention, and, more importantly, it’s actually really damn good.
For the uninitiated, the highly popular series follows John Dutton (Kevin Costner), a powerful rancher in Montana as he struggles to keep his ranch and family together by any means necessary — all while being besieged by land developers, surrounding native tribes, and America’s first national park. On today’s episode of Bingeworthy, our podcast devoted to all things television and streaming, Kelly Reilly, who plays the fan-favorite Beth Dutton, is on the show to talk about getting the character that changed her career.
“I loved [Beth]. I was like, she’s the most audacious savage I’ve ever read.” Reilly said of her original impressions of the character of Beth Dutton. “I was intrigued by her and terrified of her and she’s so wildly different from myself and my life. And so, I had a phone call with Taylor [Sheridan] and I just spoke from my heart about what I thought about her and why I needed to play her. And then I met him and we kind of read the scenes through and I hadn’t found her yet, so I’m surprised he gave me the role because I hadn’t found her. And then he just filled me up with her and I would listen to him talk about her and he would just give me the time to just explain who she was and I have notebooks filled with what he would talk to me about. It was so revealing – then I knew what the river was. I just had to have the confidence to go into it. I remember the moment [I found her]. I got into my car and lit a cigarette – I don’t smoke. And I pulled my skirt up a little bit too high and put my foot down on the accelerator for a bit and I felt her. And I was like, ‘There she is!”
Beth has wormed her way into every “Yellowstone” fan’s heart by being what creator Taylor Sheridan describes as “sad dynamite,” and also with some of the most insane and purposefully offensive language you’ll ever hear on television.
“Those one-liners – they are phenomenal.” Reilly shared. “I literally see those lines on t-shirts when I’m in an airport and I’ve got my hat and my glasses on and I’ll see a woman with a t-shirt on and I had fun the other day just going up to someone and saying the line to her. I thought she was going to drop dead. You know, the tornado one. (“You’re the trailer park. I’m the tornado!”) It’s so fun.”
“Yellowstone” is currently streaming seasons one through four on Peacock and will premiere season five on Paramount Network on November 13. You can listen to the entire conversation below.
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