Every “Yellowstone” wishes they had just a little bit of Beth Dutton in them. The ability to say what you want, with no thought to the consequences, is as tempting as it is troublesome.
But we love to watch Beth be fearless and bold every week, and so does star Kelly Reilly. If you ever see or hear Reilly in real life, she’s a rather sweet British woman. And she recently told Looper how playing Beth on TV is fun in so many different aspects.
“Well, she’s so brilliantly written,” Reilly said. “There’s not a line that she says that I don’t love. She’s a bit of a fantasy of all the things that you want to say, but you’d never have the courage to say or do.”
Anyone remember, “You are the trailer park. I am the tornado” from Season 3? Classic. And let’s not forget her zingers from Season 4 already. “I am the bigger bear,” “I am the rock therapists break themselves against,” and this one from her confrontation with Bob Schwartz: “Martinis have vermouth and are enjoyed with friends. I don’t like vermouth, and these aren’t my friends.”
The “Yellowstone” star continued, talking about how she wishes she were more like Beth.
“So, there is an aspect of fantasy of when I read her like, I wish I could have a bit of Beth in me to be able to say some of those things … and I get to be able to do that,” Reilly said. “So, to be able to do that and get to do it with all those great lines, it’s just so satisfying.”
It’d be satisfying for anyone, but few people could pull of Beth as perfectly as Reilly has.
“I love her so much. I’ve been playing her now for four years,” Reilly concluded. “She’s become one of the dearest characters I’ve ever played. She feels very real to me. It’s equal parts fun and equal parts deeply challenging and terrifying to play sometimes.”
‘Yellowstone’ Star Kelly Reilly Opens Up About Playing Beth Dutton
“Yellowstone” star Kelly Reilly recently spoke with Men’s Health about her process for playing Beth on the show.
“Honestly, and I know actors say this all the time, it is a feast for me,” Reilly said. “It’s such an honor to be able to get closer to the edge of things when Beth gets to the point where you’re like, ‘Oh, that’s a bit too much.’ ‘Oh, should I just stop on that a little bit?’ That’s when I’m in the sweet spot of where Beth exists. If I step off it, then that’s not true to who it is.”
It’s incredible to see how well Reilly has a grasp on her character. She admittedly does try different personifications of Beth in different scenes, but Taylor Sheridan seems to like one version of Beth in particular.
“I can do several different takes where I can soften something, or I can really go full pelt at something to give them options in the edit,” the “Yellowstone” star said. “Ultimately, they always pick the harder version, the tougher version, the more explicit.”
