Alongside this exclusive clip from 1883 Episode 6, “Boring the Devil,” Noemi’s Gratiela Brancusi dishes everything LaMonica Garrett with Outsider.
“This is a present. You won’t marry me. You won’t love me. But you’ll buy me gifts.”
Noemi and Thomas’ love story unfolds beautifully and naturally over the course of 1883‘s mid-season. No element is rushed, providing one of the most fulfilling storylines the show has to offer. And this rests fully on the immense talents of Gratiela Brancusi and LaMonica Garrett.
For Gratiela, this boils down to an immediate kinship that flowered between them. Smiling warmly from her apartment on the West Coast, the actor behind 1883‘s Noemi describes LaMonica as “A very generous human being. And he brings that to Thomas. It’s so easy to be in a scene with him, because it’s all in his eyes,” she offers with wildly expressive eyes of her own.
“For myself, my salvation is always in the other artist that I’m sharing scenes with. And he couldn’t give more,” she continues of Garrett. “He is so, so generous. And it really helped that we developed a friendship throughout this process.”
Through their work on 1883, Brancusi has gained much more than a co-star. “He truly feels to me like the brother I never had. He’s a really, really sweet guy.”
‘1883’s Gratiela Brancusi on LaMonica Garrett’s Athletic Background: ‘He Brings That Discipline to His Acting’
Fans of 1883 creator Taylor Sheridan may recognize LaMonica Garrett from his own time on Sons of Anarchy as Deputy Sheriff Cane. But before that, Garrett was a professional athlete, starting with college football and ending up the highest-scoring player in the U.S.’s first professional Slamball league.
“He’s so hardworking,” Gratiela says to all of the above. “He was an athlete, and he brings that discipline to his acting. He wakes up in the morning, he’s in the gym, and sometimes we would work out twice a day together. So he is always working on his stuff,” she praises.
For her first role on film, Gratiela says her co-star’s focus has proven invaluable in the work. “He does not get distracted, and it’s such a good influence to have and to be around him. I’ve learned a lot from LaMonica.”
Unsurprisingly, she says the same of Sam Elliott. Brancusi’s first-ever scene put to film was with the Hollywood icon, an experience she’ll absolutely never forget.
“I really love that I have this story,” Gratiela laughs. “My first scene on camera was with Sam Elliott!”
For those curious what it’s like to work with the one and only, Brancusi says “he could not have been more generous. I forgot that it was Sam. He was just this really kind and supportive artist who made sure the environment was warm enough for me to get there.”
‘I think I was trying really hard not to faint…’
That scene came courtesy of Episode 3, “River,” in which Noemi holds a “dangerously intimate” encounter with Elliott’s Shea Brennan. The stalwart captain shuts her down, but it provides a first glimpse of a pioneer who’s willing to do anything to survive.
At the time, however, “I think I was trying really hard not to faint,” Brancusi grins. “It was so overwhelming because it was my first day on camera,” she reiterates. She didn’t indulge Elliott with this revelation.
The only person she told was LaMonica Garrett, a testament to the bond they’ve built through 1883.
Gratiela Brancusi returns for 1883 Episode 6, “Boring the Devil,” this Sunday, Jan. 30 exclusively on Paramount Plus.
