The brutality of 1923 meant that anyone could die at any time, and before the actors signed up for the show, no one was sure how long their character would survive. This was the case for series star Helen Mirren, who admitted to Gold Derby that Cara Dutton’s survival surprised her. “Both Harrison [Ford] and I, for the first time in our lives, had to commit without reading a single word of the characters or the story or anything. Because Taylor [Sheridan] said he likes to write for the actor that he’s got, he likes to write knowing who he’s writing for, which I thought was very interesting,” she prefaced to the outlet. She revealed her expectations regarding her character, saying:
“Harrison and I signed up for that without having any idea of what the story was going to be, where it was going to go. I fully expected to be killed off! But no, there I am at the very end. That was great. That was the surprise.”
‘1923’ Killed Off Many Characters
Image via Paramount
Mirren’s instincts about death were not far off, even if that did not happen to her character. The penultimate episode of 1923 Season 2 had a record number of deaths, and even more in the series finale. For Jack Dutton’s actor Darren Mann, his character’s death was a huge surprise. “When I read it, I went through all sorts of emotions. I was angry at first. I was pissed off. I was sad,” Mann told The Hollywood Reporter after the episode aired. However, many actors knew it was always on the table, given the show’s creator. “Before we started filming Season 1, when Taylor took us to dinner, I literally sat next to him and I was like, ‘I’m dying, aren’t I?’ Like, ‘I’m going to die,'” Julia Schlaepfer revealed. Her instincts were right on because her character dies in the series finale.
1923 wrapped up another era of the Dutton family, showing their struggles to survive many years before Yellowstone. More will come as Paramount+ and Sheridan have already set their next show in the franchise. 1944 will follow the Dutton clan in that time period, but further details about what to expect have not yet been revealed. But whoever is cast should be prepared for their character to die, since that’s the Sheridan way. If they don’t, that’s the surprise.
Stream 1923 on Paramount+ and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
