Brandon Sklenar (‘1923’): Spencer Dutton’s journey ‘is like Homer’s ‘Odyssey” [Exclusive Video Interview]
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“This is like Homer’s ‘Odyssey’,” declares Brandon Sklenar about the journey of his character Spencer Dutton on the Paramount + drama “1923.” The period western is the latest prequel series to this hit drama “Yellowstone,” but Spencer exists in a world far removed from his fellow Duttons fighting to protect the ranch in the wilds of Montana. The first season of “1923” sees Spencer travel from the wilds of Africa to the waters off the Italian coastline as battles wild animals and runs from his past.
In an exclusive video interview with Gold Derby (watch above), Sklenar discusses the challenges and blessings of filming on location, as well as his view of how the character defies the stereotype of the leading man.
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Sklenar was initially drawn to Spencer’s tragic back story as a veteran of the World War I who was in essence hiding from his demons in the plains of Africa. “The thing that I sort of related to was the way he’s dealt with his trauma, and just trauma in general,” he says. It’s just a really interesting character study in how someone copes with trauma and the mechanisms they use to deal with it and move through it. His trauma definitely made him stronger in many ways.”
Yet despite the character’s strength, Sklenar also points to Spencer as a character that can be both hyper-masculine while having a vulnerability and sensitivity not often seen in the western genre. He credits series creator and writer Taylor Sheridan with making the character more than simply a one-not macho man. “It’s almost a reflection of how [Taylor] is as a person,” argues Sklenar. “He’s a very strong cowboy, but that man has so much sensitivity and so much vulnerability and and understanding of humanity. He really puts that into each of these men.”
Like all shows in the “Yellowstone” universe, filming “1923” on location proved to be both a blessing and curse for Sklenar. The actor describes shooting in a different location every week, often in incredibly inhospitable locations. “Taylor’s pretty notorious for putting his actors through it, and I love that personally,” he says. Sklenar describes the difficulty of working in water filming a climactic sequence involving a capsized boat. “It was a little brutal, and the water was freezing,” he recalls. However, he says that the discomfort helped him find the character more easily. “I love that because as an actor you don’t have to do much acting. It’s very real for you, and there’s not much method or technique involved in actually putting yourself through the shit and feeling it all.”
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