‘1923’: Sebastian Roché Details His ‘Horrific’ Character in the ‘Yellowstone’ Prequel

Sebastian Roché’s involvement in the Yellowstone prequel 1923 has been known for a while, but at first, there weren’t many details about who he would portray. The actor recently discussed what to expect from his character in 1923, and fans aren’t going to love the character.

‘1923’ takes place during a significant time in American history

In December 2021, Paramount+ released the first Yellowstone prequel, titled 1883. The second installment, 1923, will pick up the Dutton family history forty years later. 1923 follows Jacob and Cara Dutton in the early days of the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch as they struggle for survival.

A synopsis for 1923 shared by Town & Country stated that the prequel series “will introduce a new generation of the Dutton family and explore the early twentieth century when pandemics, historic drought, the end of Prohibition, and the Great Depression all plague the mountain west, and the Duttons who call it home.”

Sebastian Roché warns fans of his ‘horrific’ 1923 character

Sebastian Roché joins the cast of 1923 as Father Renaud. Interestingly, Roché has played quite a few religious characters before. “I played Jesus, the angel Gabriel, John the Baptist with Al Pacino on Broadway,” Roché said while speaking with Deadline. “I played a Cardinal with Jude Law in The Young Pope, and now here I am playing the most horrific Father Renaud, who is truly a horrific character.”

As well as exploring Prohibition, drought, and pandemics, it seems that 1923 will also explore a tragic aspect of Native American history. In the United States, Indigenous people were often forced to attend boarding schools where they were expected to assimilate into “white culture.” According to Northern Plains Reservation Aid, “conversion to Christianity was also deemed essential to the cause.”

This is likely where Father Renaud comes into the conversation in 1923. “It’s an important character to talk about,” Roché told Deadline. “It’s a very necessary subject to broach. The subject of the American Indian schools and the abuse that took place there. It’s a very polarizing but necessary subject.”

These schools didn’t just threaten to wipe out Native American culture. As Roché said, they were also rife with abuse. “Discipline within the Indian boarding schools was severe and generally consisted of confinement, deprivation of privileges, threat of corporal punishment or restriction of diet,” Northern Plains Reservation Aid says. “In addition to coping with the severe discipline, Indian students were ravaged by disease at boarding schools.”

Sebastian Roché is excited to join the Taylor Sheridan universe

While speaking to Deadline, Sebastian Roché revealed that he was a big fan of the Taylor Sheridan universe before joining the cast of 1923. “I basically have seen everything that Taylor Sheridan has done,” the actor said. “I put myself on tape and willed this role, and I’m so unbelievably thankful to be part of the universe. He’s an unbelievable writer.”

1923 premieres Sunday, December 18, 2022, on Paramount+.