Sam Elliott breaks his silence. The “1883” actor explains why the spinoff show is “tainted” by “Yellowstone.” In an interview with Taste of Country, he says that “1883” is often compared to its predecessor.
The actor says that they are two completely different shows. He wants viewers to watch it without referencing “Yellowstone.”
“Yellowstone is all over this. We’re tainted by Yellowstone, which, on some level, I can’t stand,” Elliott says, “Because I think 1883 stands alone and will. Once it comes out, people are gonna say, ‘Oh, yeah — the only connection there is that it got John Dutton to Montana.”
While Sam Elliot shows his frustration, he is not criticizing “Yellowstone.” In fact, he praises Taylor Sheridan for creating such complex pieces of television.
“Taylor is a brilliant writer. He is a genius. It is really inspiring on a lot of levels.”
So next time you watch an episode of “1883,” try to watch it from Sam Elliot’s perspective!
Filming “1883”
Filming “1883” is a grueling experience. Sam Elliott tells The Hollywood Reporter what Taylor Sheridan said to him before the process began.
“It’s been wonderful and grueling at the same time. [Showrunner] Taylor [Sheridan] told me, ‘You’ll hate me at the end of this thing.’ There is no chance that is ever going to happen. But it’s a tough shoot. We shot in Fort West for almost two months in 106-degree temperatures. Montana was the complete opposite. Bitterly cold and freezing.”
Fellow costar Tim McGraw talks about the difficulty of working in dust storms. With production taking place in West Texas and Montana, this is a common occurrence.
“Literally, we left in the middle of nowhere in the panhandle of Texas, in a 60 mile per hour dust storm, shooting bad guys, running horses over rough terrain, horses jumping Yucca plants, that whole thing […] and we get on a plane, fly here, and I’ve had three showers since then. And this morning, I took a q-tip in my ear […] and there still was dust in my ears. I had dust in places that I don’t even want to mention.”
While the conditions are tough at times, the natural scenery is beautiful. Faith Hill says that these parts of the country are too beautiful to fully take in.
“I said to someone on set that my eyes and my brain can’t equate. I wish there was a way to register it – and film it what I’m seeing. Because photography and a phone just cannot capture…it’s just so beautiful […] I literally went out into a field…I was in full costume and I just started cutting things, like for decoration, because it was so beautiful.”
