Taylor Sheridan’s “Yellowstone” is the most-watched show on television, and a big part of that success is Kelly Reilly’s performance as Beth Dutton, the razor-sharp, vengeful, deeply wounded daughter of Kevin Costner’s John Dutton. Is.
As we enter Season 5, which has just begun airing on Paramount Network, Beth is in a new position: Her father has just been elected governor and he’s just promoted her to the position of chief-of-staff. is awarded. A lawyer with ruthless cunning, he’s committed to helping stop the development that threatens his family’s ranch (also known as Yellowstone), even if it means going to war. In and across the plains of Montana.
TheWrap spoke to Reilly about the overwhelming success of “Yellowstone,” what we can expect from her character this season, and how her relationship with ruthless cowboy Rip (memorably played by Cole Hauser) is central to the entire show. The unexpected became the emotional backbone.
When I told a co-worker I was going to talk to you, he said that his mother, when she has to get excited about something and her confidence is low, she says she calls Beth Dutton. Will channel
Yes, she definitely gives to people and gives me some support. There’s definitely that essence to her, i.e. if you need to be fiery and be yourself a little more, I think she definitely is… maybe one of Beth’s gifts at her best self is this. that he has that quality.
You’ve been with “Yellowstone” since the beginning. Did you ever guess that this would become a cultural phenomenon?
no, who knows? Who knew it could happen? I mean, of course there was amazing material with Taylor writing it, directing it, he writes every word. And he created this very subtle, powerful world with great characters. Character is everything to him.
And then you have Kevin and you have Montana and a lot of really talented people making a really beautiful Wild West show. And it’s accumulated and evolved and changed and evolved and now really, I feel like it totally knows what it is. It’s amazing and wild to see the appetite people have for it.
What’s also interesting is that Beth and Rip have become the emotional center of the show. Was this the plan?
Well, it came to know in writing itself. [Taylor Sheridan] Both these characters love to write and they are not gentlemen, they are fighters and they are broken. And the fact that Beth and Rip have such devotion to each other and the romance within it, people just have… I don’t know, you have to ask him, whether he wrote it or planned it. [I don’t know],
But the idea that you’ve got the rancher’s daughter with the head cowboy of the ranch. He is such an unexpected love for her. But he has only ever been the one and only love for Beth and we know how loyal she is to her father and to him. There seems to be an old-fashioned quality to this relationship that feels weirdly cool, even though they’re both murderers.
What’s your favorite aspect of playing Beth, especially over so many seasons?
God, it changes depending on my mood. There’s a force of nature quality about her, so when I step into her, it’s so different from my own and it’s so energetic and exhilarating and it just feels like… it’s so much fun to play that side of her. Is. I’ve played him for five years now. And I remember the first time I got this role, I was immediately filled with terror because I really didn’t know how I was going to do it. And Taylor was very specific about what she wanted and who she was and really owned that aspect of her.
First and foremost, it’s not necessarily savory, it’s not an easy palate cleanser. He’s an anti-hero in a way that fierceness and that terror and that beauty, that edge, that unpredictable, dangerous quality is something that I’ve really enjoyed and embraced. And yes, he’s complicated and so there are times where I get really frustrated with him and there are times where I’m very protective of him and want people to understand.
What can you tell us about the show and Beth in Season 5?
We begin the season with the world of Dad becoming governor and Beth reluctantly becoming his chief of staff. And it’s fun to see how Beth handles that. And Beth gets herself into a position that isn’t her best self. And we see Beth get turned off by some things, which I don’t think we’ve really seen before. We always see Beth winning. There’s a reveal this season that was really cool to play because it’s not sustainable. I’m interested in seeing more cracks. And then you see him again doubling down on that ferocity. And she really does feel like a wild animal sometimes and so is in touch with that primal instinct. She is the one who says, “hit or be killed.” He really has the mentality of a warrior in battle. It’s such high stakes for him and it’s very black or white which side you’re on. That is all.
And then later in the season I get to switch gears a little bit or have him experience what life would be like if things were simpler and what happiness could be for him. And it involves Rip and it involves him going out on a horse and herding cattle with his family. And you get to see Beth, you get to see her enjoy it. And it comes out of the fact that she doesn’t want to be alone in that fucking house because they’re all leaving. She’s like, “Okay, I’m not leaving, I’m not staying back here.” I think she calls it a grave or something. The house is so haunted for him, it holds so many bad memories.
But she goes to go out with the family and all the cowboys and they go to this annual cattle race and bring back… and then there’s a huge fair and it’s really… I give too much Don’t want to but it’s actually my favorite stuff I’ve shot so far on the show because I walk out of the suit and out of the heels and actually grab my hair and go out and do my nails Gets real dirty down there. And I love horseback riding, I’m a big equestrian lady and I get to experience Montana on horseback as Beth. And it’s really cool and it becomes something that she really enjoys. you go there There are some things. I mean, there’s a lot of stuff when you watch it… I can’t talk about it, so I don’t want to go there, but maybe we’ll have a post-show chat later.
“Yellowstone” airs Sunday nights on the Paramount Network.
