1883's Isabel May Opens Up About the Yellowstone Prequel

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Taylor Sheridan may be taking over the television world, but the Duttons will always be the first family of the ever expanding Sheridan-verse. So what does it take to become a member of the family that made Yellowstone a mega-hit? Turns out it may be a failed audition.

"I tested for something else, another one of [Sheridan's] projects, and I was completely wrong for the character, but he kept bringing me in. That didn't go through obviously, and he sent me a letter and said, 'I will find the role for you.'" says Isabel May. "I thought, okay, well, that's nice, but that's probably six years from now or something. I didn't have any expectations whatsoever. And then two weeks later, he called and said, I haven't written it yet, but you are Elsa and I want you to be Elsa."

And Elsa, indeed, she is. Elsa Dutton, that is: the teenaged narrator of the new Yellowstone prequel series, 1883. The show, which debuts on Paramount+ and Paramount Network tonight, tells the story of the Dutton family as they traveled from Texas to what will one day become their namesake Montana ranch in the late 19th century. May stars as the rebellious, spirited daughter of James and Margaret Dutton (played by country music greats Tim McGraw and Faith Hill) who looks poised to become the most trouble-making (and fan-beloved) Dutton woman since Beth.

Of course, that doesn't mean that it's all come easy. "The minute that I knew I was doing this, and that I would need to be able to ride a horse very well and authentically, I immediately said, who can I ride with right now?" The answer turned out to be Deidre Rodriguez, the wife of the show's stunt coordinator, Jason Rodriguez, who gave her a crash course, followed by an intensive three week "cowboy camp" set up by the production itself to make sure all of 1883's cowboys and girls were up to snuff.

Then there was nature itself to deal with. The production, which is still filming even as the show begins to air, kicked off in late summer in Ft. Worth, Texas, in the midst of 100+ degree heat. They later transitioned to Montana where the temps dipped well below freezing. "I've never sweated that profusely," May says. "There's something gratifying about it, because you can leave saying, 'I was fully in that. I was shaking the way that my character needed to be shaking for real.'"

That's far from the only element of authenticity on the show. "This is my real hair. I'm very proud of it," May laughs, about the thatch of underarm hair that her character sports on the series. "It's not that bad. Everyone was freaking out about it because all the ladies on set had to grow their hair out as well. I think it's rather nice. What's not great is the smell, I'm not gonna lie. It's a whole other beast in 106 degrees. I carry around deodorant everywhere I go."

"Taylor said from the very beginning, 'I want everything to be authentic.' I mean, women didn't start shaving until the 1920s. He really wanted that to be an aspect of the show, and so I was more than happy to oblige."

Naturally, the same applied to hair and makeup. "We don't wear makeup. We wear dirt. It's like a natural contour. I'm just going to start wearing dirt everywhere I go," May says. "I actually really like it. You don't care what you look like. There's none of that ridiculousness, you're just fully invested."

As for becoming the onscreen daughter of real life A-list couple Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, Mays says their relationship, "felt authentic right away."

"Tim and Faith are two of the loveliest people I've ever met. They're so respectful of one another. They have three beautiful daughters, and I love my parents to death, but I'm trying to become like daughter number four a little bit," she laughs. "Faith's one of the most compassionate individuals. She's an incredible business woman, and an incredible actor. Both of them are. Tim cares so deeply about his character and this project."

The Dutton parents aren't the only big names May is sharing the screen with, of course. When it comes to working alongside Western film and TV legend Sam Elliott, May says, "It is really hard not to fall in love with that, man. He's quite literally the classiest, kindest, most considerate individual I've ever met."

It sounds like she'll be seeing plenty of all of them in the near future. Though the show debuts this week, the first season hasn't wrapped filming yet—and if it inspires anything like the fervent fan-following that its predecessor Yellowstone has, it seems likely not to be the show's last.

Sign up for Paramount+ to watch 1883.

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