Here’s Why ‘1923’ Star Harrison Ford Feels Like He’s Been Married to Helen Mirren for 40 Years
Yellowstone helped put the Paramount Network on the map when the series debuted in 2018. And now, the show’s latest spinoff, 1923, brings two acclaimed actors together. The series stars Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren, and the project makes them feel like they’ve been married for 40 years. Here’s why 1923 feels so familiar to Ford and Mirren.
‘1923’ continues to expand the ‘Yellowstone’ universe
With Yellowstone focused on the current state of the Dutton family — led by Kevin Costner’s John Dutton III — it stands to reason that subsequent stories would continue exploring the clan’s history. First, the Paramount+ spinoff 1883 took viewers to the Old West, where Tim McGraw and Faith Hill played James and Margaret Dutton, the great-grandparents of Costner’s John Dutton III.
Now, 1923 switches gears to Jacob and Cara Dutton. Jacob is James’ brother and finds himself contending with westward expansion, Prohibition, and the Great Depression. The Yellowstone prequel debuted on Paramount+ in December 2022 to much acclaim. But for Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren, working on 1923 recalls a specific period in their lives.
Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren played a married couple before
In a behind-the-scenes featurette on the Paramount+ YouTube channel, the 1923 cast and crew discuss what it was like working with legendary performers like Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren. While they have nothing but praise for the two stars, Ford and Mirren look back on the last time they played husband and wife — nearly four decades before 1923 reunited them.
“What they told me right at the beginning is they’d already hired Helen. So it made it easy,” Ford says. “She played my wife in The Mosquito Coast 40 years ago. It’s almost like we’d been married for 40 years. She’s an amazing actress.”
Mirren echoes that sentiment, noting that working alongside Ford again after all this time feels natural.
“It was as if the years had not happened in between, as if that kindness he’d showed me on Mosquito Coast had just immediately leapt over the years,” the Oscar-winning actor says. “And there he was again, the same very kind, very generous person he is.”
Will fans get ‘1923’ Season 2?
1883 concluded after only 10 episodes, but 1923 fans can expect a bit more this time. Paramount+ has already revealed the show will run for two seasons of eight episodes each. But it’s also not the last time Yellowstone enthusiasts will revisit that world.
So far, at least another two spinoffs are in the works. 6666 will center on the Four Sixes Ranch, featured in Yellowstone Seasons 4 and 5. And 1883: The Bass Reeves Story will return to the Old West to explore the life of the real-life historical figure — the first Black deputy U.S. Marshal west of the Mississippi River.
