Actress Dawn Olivieri is ready for her Yellowstone character, Sarah Atwood, to throwdown with fan favorite tough lady Beth Dutton. This season has seen Olivieri playing Sarah Atwood, an unstoppable force going head-to-head with the strong and unyielding Dutton family. Atwood is an alpha female in every sense. She can be manipulative, but clearly has the backbone to stand behind her actions.
Though Yellowstone‘s Beth Dutton and Sarah clashed a bit at the midseason finale, Olivieri hinted that there are bigger fireworks to come. The actress teased that series mastermind, Taylor Sheridan is about to roll out the drama. “The reason I set Sarah up this way is because I’m betting on the fact that Taylor knows how far I can take something,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. “[Sheridan’s] already tasted it. Knowing that, I can’t imagine he’d miss the chance to take it even farther.”
Right now, Olivieri feels Sarah is having some restraint in her dealing with the Duttons. However, it’s only a matter of time before the dagger falls. “So my goal with building Sarah was that I start as far from that place as I possibly could,” she explained. “Right now, Sarah’s kept her balance and her cool, and I look forward to the parts where he unravels even her, unraveling Beth. I want to see what that looks like. I know he wouldn’t miss that opportunity, it’s too good.”
Besides talking about butting heads with Beth Dutton, Dawn Olivieri revealed how she was cast as Sarah Atwood in ‘Yellowstone’
Of course, hardcore Yellowstone fans know that Oliveri played a Dutton herself in the prequel series 1883. However, the contrast between prim and proper Claire Dutton and vixen Sarah Atwood is extreme. It might lead many viewers to wonder how she was cast in such different roles.
“When filming 1883, I didn’t get to say goodbye to anybody because I got COVID the night before my final day of filming,” she explained. This led to her leaving production early without saying any goodbyes. “For the 1883 premiere in Las Vegas, I got all dolled up. I told hair and makeup that I wanted them to make me real bombshell-y — the complete opposite of Claire.”
When Olivieri bumped into Taylor Sheridan and his wife Nicole on the red carpet, they were gobsmacked. “[Taylor] had no recognition on his face at all. There’s a part of me that just loved that. It was such a transformation that even the person who sat there for every single minute of the performance that I gave didn’t recognize me in that moment.”
However, the transformation made an impression on the Yellowstone helmer. “Nic goes, “It’s Dawn.” And it was like a semi-truck hit Taylor, and he went, “Oh, shit!” All the hair and makeup was just for that moment, because he was so blown away that there I was, completely different. He said, “You’re coming to work for me now.” I was real cool about it, but after I went into the corner and screamed like a little girl! Because it’s like your dream offering.”
‘Yellowstone’ Star Believes Sarah Atwood Is Really Falling for Jamie
Jamie isn’t stupid, and he initially suspects that Sarah is using him. However, Sarah assures Jamie that she is romantically involved with him only because she wants to be. Still, she clearly has a plan for the Duttons and is a very smart and cunning person. So at the end of the day, does Sarah have any real feelings for Jamie?
“I think that’s what’s so scary about a woman like this: It’s all real, even when it’s an illusion,” Sarah actor Dawn Olivieri told The Hollywood Reporter. “When I do any of the work that I do, it has to be as real as it can be. That’s why as an actor, you substitute people and situations you are working opposite so that it can be real.”
“With Wes [Bentley], it’s been both. I’m using him, and I’m falling in love with him at the same time,” Olivieri continued. “So that line is very interesting to me. How do you walk that line? That’s the trickery. And I think whatever he needs, I’ll facilitate. That’s my role here. I’m the kingmaker. There are no rules, you do what needs to be done in order to win.”
Wes Bentley says Jamie knows when he is being used
Although Sarah has her own motivations, she’s given Jamie something he has never had before. Sarah is one of the few people who believe in Jamie. “She’s very attractive to him, and I don’t just mean physically,” Jamie actor Wes Bentley told TVLine.
“Obviously, she’s physically attractive, but her cool and her understanding of the level she’s at seems more in tune with who Jamie is now and the world he’s meant for, so he’s tapping into that.” Sarah has her own motives, but Jamie likely isn’t blind to that fact.
“As a man who’s been used for 30 years, he knows when he’s being used,” Bentley continued. “So he knows [Sarah’s associates are] going to use him, and it’s smart of them to do so. [His thinking is] ‘OK, what can I get out of it, too, aside from this relationship? Because I need protection.’ We’re playing a dangerous game here.”
Yellowstone Season 5 returns with new episodes this summer, 2023.