‘1883’: Isabel May Horse Chase Was ‘a Little Scary’

1883 gave Isabel May a landmark role. She had appeared on series Alexa & Katie and Young Sheldon before, but those were relatively modern day. 1883 required May to ride horses, learn to shoot guns and speak with a southern accent. And that’s before all the drama her character, Elsa Dutton had to convey. Some of that horseplay was harrowing, too.

May was a guest on The Hollywood Reporter’s Award Chatter podcast on April 14. Discussing the challenges of her 1883 role, May described one horse chase that got “a little scary.”

‘1883’ could teach Isabel May to ride a horse but some things were out of their control

Cowboy camp taught May and the cast herding cattle and loping. Those skills could help May in 1883’s riding scenes, but there was no training for some of the hardships while filming. Shooting in the open plains of Texas and Montana meant some scenes could be blistering hot above 100 degrees, or freezing cold in the winter.

“The challenging stuff, quite frankly, was being chased on a horse because we were in 10-8 degree weather,” May said on Awards Chatter. “I didn’t have any gloves on. My hands were freezing. We’re racing.”

Isabel May’s scary ‘1883’ horse chase

Still, even an expert equestrian would be nervous about the sort of horseplay on 1883. May described how filming chases on horseback worried her. She could only learn so much at cowboy camp.

“I’m not that good on a horse,” May said. “It got a little scary a couple times. That was more daunting.”

After that, she welcomed harrowing dramatic scenes

The subject of horse chases came up because May was asked about conveying heavy drama like the grief at losing a loved one. May cited the horse chases as an example of the scarier elements of 1883. After that, she welcomed doing intense drama. 

“What was a luxury was being able to do those scenes,” May said. “I’m not a cryer. I don’t really cry that much and yet there’s something about being able to get emotional, really emotional, playing being someone else. It’s not necessarily daunting. Of course, you are a little nervous but it’s kind of thrilling. So I love doing those scenes.”

The discussion centered around episode 5 of season 1‘1883’ Actor Isabel May Couldn’t Get Work Until She Was 16 Because She Was ‘Too Tall’ of 1883. If you know, you know. 

“The one in 5 I just knew was very, very important and essential,” May said. “They were moving so fast when we were doing it. I maybe had three takes or something. The fourth, I got one more little bit but he stopped it in the middle. That kind of stuff, filmmaking. You have to be able to do anything but I really hope it did what I wanted to do.”