Harrison Ford Describes Harsh Shooting Conditions on ‘1923’
From Indiana Jones’ Temple of Doom to a galaxy far, far away in Star Wars, there are few settings actor Harrison Ford hasn’t experienced. Filming everywhere from Tunisia to Canada, Guatemala to Santa Fe, Ford has worked all over the world. Yet, Ford says the filming conditions for his first TV series — Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone prequel 1923 — were particularly harsh.
‘Yellowstone’ prequel ‘1923’ filming locations
Taking place one hundred years before Yellowstone, the series’ prequel, 1923, is set in Montana just as the flagship series is. 1923 is also the sequel (yes, you read that right) to Yellowstone’s first prequel, 1883, creating a type of Dutton-verse that continues to expand.
Following the Dutton family tree in various directions, Yellowstone and its various spin-offs are all primarily set in Montana. As such, filming for 1923 included 10 locations in Big Sky Country including the real-life Chief Joseph Ranch in Darby, Montana (the filming location for Yellowstone Dutton Ranch in the series). The Yellowstone prequel didn’t stop there, however. Filming for 1923 also took place in South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, and Malta (Decider).
Harrison Ford on playing Jacob Dutton and filming conditions in ‘1923’
In 1923, Ford plays Dutton family patriarch, Jacob Dutton. Jacob is brother to James Dutton (played by Tim McGraw in 1883) and great-great uncle to Kevin Costner’s John Dutton from Yellowstone.
When the series begins, Ford’s Jacob is 77 years old and has been running the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch since James’ death in 1893. The series takes place at a tumultuous time in history—in the midst of Prohibition and before the Great Depression—when drought and turf wars were raging in the American West. For Jacob and his wife Cara (played by Helen Mirren), this means surviving in a time when people are growing increasingly desperate. But for Ford, the biggest challenge when filming 1923 was the wicked cold of Butte, Montana.
Ford talked about the filming conditions — specifically what it was like filming in Montana in winter –during his recent interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Though Ford is bleeped out in the clip, viewers can be sure the veteran actor’s choice description for the experience was “s***.”
“It was terrible… awful,” Ford continues, pointing out that Butte, Montana is the coldest city in the contiguous U.S. In another interview with Today, Ford reiterates: “I’m down with it, [but] it’s sometimes bloody cold.”
Brutal temperatures aside, Ford seems to genuinely appreciate Sheridan’s dedication to immersing actors in their setting. “The reality of the thing is amazing,” Ford says, detailing the lengths to which Sheridan went. “We were out there with 1,200 sheep [and] 800 head of cattle… you’re really there. You’re really doing it.”
Reviews for ‘1923’
Not surprisingly, reviews for the Yellowstone prequel, 1923, have been excellent. Having premiered on Dec. 18, 2022, the series is currently just over halfway through its first season and has a 90% Tomatometer rating on Rotten Tomatoes. General viewers mostly seem to agree with critics resulting in the series’ 76% Audience Score.
These scores are similar to 1923’s predecessors with the reception for both Yellowstone and 1883 being equally impressive. And while the scores are indicative of 1923’s appeal to both critical and general audiences, they also point to Sheridan’s ability to continually generate landmark content be it within the Dutton-verse or the larger and ever-expanding Sheridan-verse.
