Tim McGraw Said Acting in ‘1883’ Was the Hardest Job He’s Ever Had
Tim McGraw has long been one of the biggest stars in the country music scene. For decades, McGraw has been releasing hit tunes such as “Live Like You Were Dying” and “I Like It, I Love It.” However, in recent years, McGraw has been carving out a secondary career as a dramatic actor.
McGraw’s most recent venture was in the Taylor Sheridan series 1883, which debuted in December 2021 on Paramount+. While McGraw received acclaim from fans for his work on the series, the actor has been open about the challenges he faced while filming the western series, admitting in an April 2022 interview that acting in 1883 was the “hardest” job he’s ever tackled.
What role did Tim McGraw play in ‘1883’?
1883 debuted in late 2021 as a prequel to the hit series Yellowstone. The show tells the story of James and Margaret Dutton, an ambitious married couple who are determined to build a legacy for their family by settling what would eventually become the Yellowstone Ranch in spacious, wild Montana.
Every step of the way, the two encounter adversity and even outright hostility from locals and other settlers, forcing them to reach for depths of unimaginable strength.
McGraw portrays James Dutton, the great-grandfather of John Dutton from Yellowstone, according to IMDb. A serious leader and a skilled fighter, James must often rely on his own ingenuity to ensure that his family stays safe while they build their own slice of paradise in the wild west. The series is intense, dramatic, and full of scenes that defy the imagination.
What did Tim McGraw say about working on ‘1883’?
While the role of James Dutton is far from McGraw’s first acting credit, it definitely proved to be the most challenging. As McGraw related in an April 2022 interview with Bobby Bones, “the TV series was the hardest job I’ve ever had. I mean, I grew up working on a farm, moving irrigation systems, and driving tractors…”
McGraw described how he and his wife, Hill, who played the Dutton family matriarch Margaret Dutton, endured “14-hour days” for five or six months of the year while they worked to bring 1883 to life. McGraw said that he and Hill were “out in the elements every day,” likely enduring some pretty wicked cold temperatures as they acted.
In a separate interview with NPR, McGraw recalled one particular scene that involved navigating a wagon across a river:
“[Faith] was driving that wagon across the river and it was probably 36 degrees out, freezing cold. I was up to my waist and on the horse in water. And it was probably 3:30 in the morning and it was our 25th wedding anniversary when we did that scene.”
Will Tim McGraw return to the ‘Yellowstone’ universe?
Through it all, McGraw said that it was “fantastic” to be able to step inside the Yellowstone universe. 1883 concluded in early 2022, and while there likely won’t be a full second season of the limited series, outlets such as Men’s Health have reported that there will likely be additional episodes of 1883 coming to Paramount+ in the near future.
These could serve as standalone episodes or a shorter limited series. McGraw hasn’t confirmed his participation in these new episodes, but fans are hopeful to see the rugged actor step back into character as James Dutton sometime in 2023 or early 2024. For now, they can binge-watch the entire season of 1883 on Paramount+.
