Helen Mirren Came Up With A Crucial Part Of Her Yellowstone Character On Her Own
It was Helen Mirren's idea to have her Yellowstone 1923 character be an Irish immigrant.
Helen Mirren says her Yellowstone 1923 character’s Irish origins were her idea. The actress made the revelation in an interview with Deadline, saying it was important to showcase America as a country of immigrants in 1923. “I wanted to heighten that fact,” she told the publication. Taylor Sheridan was happy with the change, and Cara Dutton became Irish.
Helen Mirren also said that Yellowstone will not be exploring Cara’s origin story since it’s not relevant to the plot. “We don’t go into the back story,” she said. But the reality was America in the late 19th century was full of many different accents. When we were shooting in Butte, which was an old mining town, the miners came from Moldova, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland,” she continued
“So there would’ve been this absolute mishmash of different accents and different cultures and different foods. That was how America was born,” Helen Mirren explained. Cara Dutton being an immigrant adds an extra layer to her character even without a back story. Her accent is a reminder of her journey to Montana.
While it might seem like an insignificant detail, being an immigrant reinforces the strength the character needed to keep the family safe. This was evidenced in Cara’s (Helen Mirren) dealings with businessman Donald Whitfield and sheep herder Banner Creighton who attempt to steal the Yellowstone property from the Duttons in the season finale.
Created by Taylor Sheridan and led by Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford as Cara and Jacob Dutton, Yellowstone 1923 follows an earlier generation of the Dutton family. The pair portrays the brother and sister-in-law of Tim McGraw’s James Dutton from 1883 as the story explores elements of The Great Depression, prohibition, and a historically crippling drought.
Along with Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford, the Yellowstone prequel also stars Brandon Sklenar as Spencer Dutton. Julia Schlaepfer appears as a freethinking British woman named Alexandra. Jerome Flynn is featured as Banner Creighton, a Scottish sheepherder and adversary of the Duttons. Timothy Dalton stars as Donald Whitfield, a powerful business tycoon who is used to getting what he wants.
Darren Mann stars as Jack Dutton, a dedicated rancher who is deeply loyal to his family. Michelle Randolph appears as his fiancée Elizabeth Strafford. Brian Geraghty is featured as Zane Davis, along with Aminah Nieves as Teonna Rainwater. Isabel May narrates as Elsa Dutton. As the only daughter of James and Margaret Dutton, she tells the story of Cara (Helen Mirren) and Jacob in Yellowstone 1923.
The second season of the Helen Mirren-led series will see the Duttons racing to pay off the Whitfield loan to ensure the Yellowstone property’s future. While Jacob tends to the ranch, Cara must keep the family from imploding while supporting Elizabeth as she struggles with losing her child. As Alexandra makes her way to meet Spencer in Montana, Cara will do what she can to ensure he has a home to come back to.
Season two of Yellowstone 1923 will consist of eight episodes. According to Deadline, there is no release date for the Paramount+ series at this time.
