Photo: Bertie Watson/Contour/Getty
Kevin Costneris sharing his insights on what makes a great Western — and whyYellowstonehas captured the attention of fans of the genre.
The actor stars in the popular Paramount+ series as John Dutton, the patriarch and owner of Montana’s largest ranch as he navigates conflict within his own family and with the bordering Broken Rock Indian Reservation, national park and developers.
Costner, 67, thinks what “makes the show so successful” is how it’s intentional with it world-building and character development.
Bertie Watson/Contour/Getty
Of course, Costner is no newbie to Westerns himself, having starred inWyatt Earp,Silverado,Open Rangeand the Academy Award-winningDances with Wolves(for which he also won a Best Director Oscar).
He continues, “To drag your wife and your children and put them in imminent danger — people thirsted to have something of their own.”
Costner also points to how the show seeks to infuse its storytelling with humanity and nuance.
For example, he notes, “The word ‘stranger’ — we think a stranger is somebody down the hallway we’ve never met. But in the West, that was like the boogeyman. A stranger would scare people. Because they didn’t know where he was from. They didn’t know if he just come out of jail. And you had to measure things. If you saw someone on the open plain, you didn’t know if they wanted what you had — including your wife, including your kids. So, you had to make these weird decisions all the time. So, when I think you create the architecture in a Western that shows you some circumstances where you go, ‘Ooh my goodness, would I have acted that quickly?’ It works.”
Paramount Network
Since its debut in 2018, Tyler Sheridan’s series has inspiredmultiple spin-offs, including the prequel1883starringTim McGrawand Faith Hill and told the story of how the Duttons came to own the land in Montana now known as the Yellowstone Ranch.
Helen MirrenandHarrison Fordwill star in anotherupcoming prequel,1923, about the Dutton family during prohibition, drought and cattle theft during Montana’s Great Depression.
An additional spin-off series titled6666was announced in February 2021 and will detail the raw and authentic perspective of a real cattle ranch in West Texas.
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Yellowstoneand1883are now streaming on Paramount+.
source: people.com
