“You Don’t Know What’s Coming”: Helen Mirren Reveals Why She Never Knows What Happens Next in ‘1923’

With 1923 now back for its second season, Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford are once again stepping into the boots of Cara and Jacob Dutton, picking up right where they left off—despite a two-year break between filming. The Yellowstone prequel, which has also been created by Taylor Sheridan, continues to take viewers through the violent and turbulent history of the Dutton family. But while fans are excited to see how this particular story ends, Mirren has admitted that, much like in their real lives, she and Ford are often totally clueless about what might be coming next. Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Mirren revealed that even the actors don’t have the full picture of 1923’s story in advance.

“We came back with alacrity and excitement, not quite knowing what was going to happen, not knowing how it was going to finish up, but with great anticipation,” Mirren said, about returning to set after the long hiatus.

While some cast members—like Brandon Sklenar, who plays Spencer Dutton—have known the season’s ending from the start, Mirren and Ford have been discovering the story as they go.

“That’s the other amazing thing about the whole thing: Like life, you don’t know what’s coming. We get our scripts probably three or four weeks [ahead] … But we don’t have much of an idea of where it’s going. That gives it an excitement and a thrill.”

Mirren added that she had the utmost trust in the entire production process, and that because of that, she never had any issues with the way things worked: “There’s this amazingly beautiful machine at work. You’re not quite sure where it’s going, but you know you can rely on the machine absolutely, and so you’re in very safe hands. I never had a feeling of insecurity ever.”

Harrison Ford Loves Working With Taylor Sheridan

The way Sheridan has approached the making of 1923, and indeed, all of his many, many shows for Paramount, have struck a chord with not just audiences, but also Ford himself, as he explained. “This is a guy with incredible ambition, but it doesn’t have that kind of unctuous feel that ambition has,” Ford said of Sheridan. “It’s just that he knows what he wants. He has a clear idea of how to get there, and there’s no bullsh*t in the way—just straight-forward storytelling.”

Ford also credited the strength of 1923’s writing with making the acting process effortless for the cast members, who are given the best platform they could hope for to achieve their goals.

“When you arrive in a scene with those words, you just have to say the words. The character has been developed for you by the writer, and the extension or the complication of that character is in that scene. You just have to say the words and be in the room. Be there, and it happens to you. You don’t have to act it. It happens to you.”

New episodes of 1923 premiere Sundays on Paramount+.