Jefferson White, who plays Jimmy on “Yellowstone,” recently sat down with several members of the “1883” cast. On the official “Yellowstone” podcast, they talked about the experiences of making the prequel. He spoke with LaMonica Garrett, Eric Nelsen, and Sam Elliott about what they went through on location, filming the incredible story of the Duttons.
White asked what they considered “heaven” on “1883,” and what parts were extremely difficult. In particular, Sam Elliott spoke about what he considered “hell” about filming. “I think the hell of it is just dealing with the elements, more than anything,” he said, in that low drawl we can all instantly recognize. “There were times where it was like 108 degrees down there in Fort Worth, where we first started. We’re out in the sun all day long, we’re wearing wool jackets, and the immigrants are wearing layers and layers of wool clothes.”
But, then there was a complete shift in location and atmosphere on the “1883” set. “Then we go up to Montana,” Elliott continued, “and it’s f—ing freezing cold, I mean cold. And I don’t have a lot of clothes on, I’m wearing like a pair of pants and a jacket for most of the thing, and a vest and a shirt. We got layered up out there, of course. But there were times where it rained just enough to get wet, and then it started to ice up. And I just remember thinking, ‘what the f–k, man, am I gonna die on this trail?’” He laughed, but I’d worry about dying out there too, and I’m not pushing 78 years old.
Sam Elliott on the ‘Physicality’ of ‘1883’
“I wondered a few times,” he continued, “if I was up to the physicality of this thing when we started it. I read the script and Taylor’s character description, [Shea] was 45 years old […] I said ‘I’m way too old for this thing,’ and [Sheridan] said ‘Nah, I write everybody at 45.’ And that’s bulls–t.”
He went on to say that Taylor Sheridan promised Elliott he would hate him by the end of “1883.” Elliott continued, “He was talking about the elements, he was talking about how difficult it was gonna be,” Elliot said of Sheridan. “And, y’know, it is. I’ve worked harder probably on other shows, or just as hard, not for such a length of time as this. But, it’s the price to pay to be on the Oregon Trail and tell this story. And in the end, that’s what we all keep focused on. Because we’re all out there suffering that stuff. It’s not just the cast, it’s the crew, it’s everybody.”
He made it clear that it was important for the production company to see the work they’re all putting in; the first two hours of “1883” were screened for the company when they were in Amarillo, according to Elliott.
“In the end,” Elliott concluded, “if we feel like we did justice to Taylor’s script, that we caught it somehow, like he envisioned it […] then it’s well worth a little suffering.”