The ROMANCE and RUTHLESSNESS of the AMERICAN WEST

PHOTO COURTESY OF PARAMOUNT+

1923 stars Darren Mann and Michelle Randolph’s lovers ignite this period drama.

BY APRIL NEALE

Destiny, luck, and constant change dominate the storytelling of American actor, screenwriter, and director Taylor Sheridan, a modern-day Hollywood bard of epic dramas that immerse the viewer inside American worlds past and present. Known for, most recently, Yellowstone and Yellowstone prequels 1883 and 1923, Sheridan’s visionary casting decisions, historical accuracy, and Shakespearian touches dominate the Dutton family origin stories.

Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford play Cara Dutton and Jacob Dutton, the matriarch and patriarch of Taylor Sheridan’s period drama, “1923” for Paramount+.

PHOTO COURTESY OF PARAMOUNT+

Paramount+’s 1923, which will have a season two, unites stars Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford as Cara and Jacob Dutton, paralleling their story alongside Spencer (Brandon Sklenar), Alexandra (Julia Schlaepfer), and IdaHome spring cover lovers Jack (Darren Mann) and Elizabeth (Michelle Randolph).

Michelle Randolph plays Elizabeth “Liz” Strafford in “1923.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF PARAMOUNT+

There’s certainly chemistry between the youngest couple, and perhaps it is because this isn’t the first time Randolph and Mann have played love interests. Paired together years ago, Randolph said that she felt an emotional pull to Mann’s Jack. “It’s their first love, and they’re navigating their future. Liz is at a significant crossroads in her life. She’s a city girl who went to school on the East Coast and was exposed to a completely different way of life than Jack. Even though her family owned the neighboring Strafford Ranch, she only spent a little time there. She chose to stay at Yellowstone and become a Dutton, learning directly from Cara about the dangers in nature and that there were also dangerous men,” said Randolph.

Cara Dutton (Mirren) takes Liz Strafford under her wing on the Yellowstone Ranch.

PHOTO COURTESY OF PARAMOUNT+

As Liz is learning from Cara, so is Jack from Jacob, who delivers the brutal truth about their futures in a pivotal campfire scene. “Jack is living an interesting, fun time because he’s one of the only guys in the Dutton clan still figuring his way out and finding his path, who he is, and what he stands for. So a lot of this is still a big learning curve for him. Jack wears his heart on his sleeves. He does it all for the family, whatever he has to do to preserve their way of life, being a cowboy,” said Mann, who is himself learning from those who have come before. He recalled that scene beside the campfire as one of the first times he heard Harrison give a great monologue. “It was fun to be part of it and live through it with him,” Mann said.

Cara Dutton (Mirren) has looked after Jack Dutton (Mann) from early childhood at the Yellowstone Ranch.

PHOTO COURTESY OF PARAMOUNT+

Randolph noted Sheridan’s devotion to telling unvarnished truths of this period—truths that played a large role in shaping the west. The show’s romance happens against a backdrop of darker storylines that explore the unseeable limits of human cruelty—deadly range wars over grazing rights, an odious Scotsman and sheep rancher Banner Creighton (Jerome Flynn) hellbent on taking down the Duttons, the chaos of Teonna Rainwater’s (Aminah Nieves) escape from Montana’s Indian schools, and the horrific atrocities unleashed on Indigenous American youth by the Catholic Church. While 1923 is set amidst Montana mountains, in Idaho, things weren’t much different. Ranchers fought over where and how their sheep and cattle would graze, waging war with each other and the Indigenous people who occupied the land.

Darren Mann as Jack Dutton surveys the Ranch.

PHOTO COURTESY OF PARAMOUNT+

And, as the Yellowstone Ranch is ablaze with activity, Jack’s intrepid Uncle Spencer and his English aristocratic bride Alex have yet to reach Yellowstone—and America—by the end of season one, which puts all eyes on the future of the family as Jack and Liz steadfastly help Cara and Jacob hold the line against one of the most vicious Western villains to date, played by Timothy Dalton. Mann, who plays Jack with a youthful earnestness, was nearly cast as Spencer before settling into his eventual role. “I had read for Spencer six times. I always saw myself as Jack from the beginning and saw myself more when I read the scripts as that character. So when they called me and offered me the role of Jack right after the test with Taylor, I knew the part well from reading the episodes. I was thrilled to play such a fun, volatile, tough young cowboy with many layers and different things to do,” Mann said.

Liz (Randolph) and Jack hit an underground speakeasy in Bozeman, Montana.

PHOTO COURTESY OF PARAMOUNT+

Such richly experienced characters don’t come easily—Randolph and Mann honed their wrangling and roping skills under the direction of real cowboys at their Butte, Montana Cowboy Camp, where Mann noted that, in addition to giving them a taste of real-life cowboying, the cast bonded over the immersive experience, which sometimes involved riding for eight or nine hours a day and taking turns doing ice baths. “I’ve spent time around horses and taken lessons off and on throughout my life. I was beginner-level when I showed up and didn’t know what to expect except to learn how to be a better cowboy,” Mann said. “We all showed up and clicked immediately, which is a huge part of Taylor Sheridan’s mastermind work. He puts time into his casting. I know it was a long process for me [to break into Sheridan’s casting for an audition], but it’s a brilliant process.”

Cara Dutton (Mirren) and Jacob Dutton (Ford) know trouble and danger are upon them at Yellowstone Ranch.

PHOTO COURTESY OF PARAMOUNT+

Randolph, who rode as often as possible in Butte, praised Sheridan’s astute eye for detail, which positions women in powerful roles within the Yellowstone universe. “The women are just as essential to the ranch’s functioning as the men are. The men realize that when they leave, their women stay home and keep it working. So there are a lot of chores— Elizabeth looks up to Cara so much because she is the ultimate rancher’s wife who holds it together,” she said.

Cara Dutton (Mirren) has looked after Jack Dutton (Mann) from early childhood at the Yellowstone Ranch.

PHOTO COURTESY OF PARAMOUNT+

“The 1920s were such a time of change, post-WWI and the infrastructure and transportation technology growing, and people dealing with change. I admire Sheridan’s writing because he gives his female characters such strength; as we saw in 1883, no female characters are submissive to men. They demand just as much respect and have just as much pull in the household as the men. That’s Taylor’s writing. From that perspective, it’s empowering as a young woman to feel like we’re being heard in life and as characters set in the 1920s. It’s not common,” Randolph said.

Liz Strafford (Randolph) awaits Jack Dutton’s return from the ride with Jacob Dutton (Ford).

PHOTO COURTESY OF PARAMOUNT+

But powerful though she may be, Liz is a bride without a wedding, and audiences want to know if it will ever come. “We’ll have to wait and see. At this point, Elizabeth has sacrificed so much, giving up her city life. She lost her parents, and yes, I think she’s ready to be a Dutton,” Randolph said.

Darren Mann plays Jack Dutton on Paramount+ drama “1923.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF PARAMOUNT+