‘1883’: Isabel May Admits She Was Not the Only One Who Thought It Was ‘Pretty Damn Cool’ to Hear Sam Elliott’s ‘Tombstone’ Stories
Isabel May plays 17-year-old Elsa Dutton on 1883, and she admits she still can’t believe it. In less than eight months, May went from being a relatively unknown actor auditioning for a supporting role to one of the stars of the most-watched series on Paramount+.
May is now part of a star-studded cast that includes country music superstars Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, as well as Western icon Sam Elliott. While recalling her experience filming season 1, May revealed that Elliott told Tombstone stories on the 1883 set. And she wasn’t the only one who thought that was “pretty damn cool.”
The ‘1883’ cast and Isabel May loved Sam Elliott’s ‘Tombstone’ stories
Isabel May said that filming for 1883 took place in both Texas and Montana. And during the Montana shoot, they all stayed in the same place. That arrangement resulted in a lot of late nights and “really interesting stories” from Elliott, who plays cowboy Shea Brennan on the Yellowstone prequel. And May noted she wasn’t the only 1883 cast member who enjoyed the experience.
“It’s one of those strange things where you sit down and go, “I’m listening to the iconic Sam Elliott talk about an interaction he had on the iconic Tombstone.’ So that was pretty damn cool; I can’t lie,” May told The Hollywood Reporter. “And it was fun to see how intrigued Tim [McGraw] and Faith [Hill] were while listening to him as well.”
“So watching them listen to Sam Elliott tell stories with big, wide kid eyes, googly eyes, was really amusing. It was almost more entertaining to watch Faith and Tim take it all in … Almost,” May said with a laugh.
Elliott’s stories aren’t the only Tombstone connection with 1883 or Isabel May for that matter. In preparing for 1883, May worked with the same gun master Elliott collaborated with on Tombstone.
Isabel May’s audition for ‘Mayor of Kingstown’ led to the role of Elsa Dutton
1883 star Isabel May also shared the story of how she landed the role of Elsa, the daughter of McGraw and Hill’s James and Margaret Dutton.
The 21-year-old explained that she didn’t beat out hundreds of other actors for the part. Instead, a failed audition for the Taylor Sheridan series Mayor of Kingstown led to the role.
“I didn’t audition for her. I auditioned for a different project. Taylor was doing another project called Mayor of Kingstown, and in March 2021, something like that, he flew three girls out to Texas, including myself. So I auditioned for that, and I was terribly wrong for it,” May admitted.
Taylor Sheridan knew she was Elsa when he saw her
May says she doesn’t know what happened during her failed audition — or what it was about her and her interaction with Sheridan — that sparked something for him. But she insists that “Elsa came to life” after the meeting.
“I take zero credit for it. So he called two weeks later and said, “You’re Elsa Dutton. I want you to be Elsa Dutton. Please be Elsa Dutton.” And I said, “Well, of course, I’ll be Elsa Dutton because you’re Taylor Sheridan and it’s my dream to work with you.” So that’s what we did,” May explained.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
