From creator and executive producer Taylor Sheridan, Paramount+ series 1923 is a prequel that builds out more of the Dutton dynasty first established on-screen in Yellowstone. The show takes place after the events of the previous prequel, 1883, starring Tim McGraw as James Dutton and Faith Hill as Margaret Dutton, which chronicled the story of the family’s journey West to settle in Montana and form the beginnings of what will become the Yellowstone Ranch. When 1923 begins, a new generation of the Dutton family has taken ownership of the Yellowstone — led by James’ brother Jacob (Harrison Ford), his wife Cara (Helen Mirren), and James’ surviving children, who are now running the ranch in his stead. That’s all before they’re confronted with the hardships of such events as Prohibition and the Great Depression — as well as competitors who are constantly looking to take over the land that the Duttons have firmly staked their claim on. The series also stars Darren Mann, Michelle Randolph, James Badge Dale, Marley Shelton, Brian Geraghty, Aminah Nieves, Brandon Sklenar, Robert Patrick, Jerome Flynn, Jennifer Ehle, Sebastian Roché, and Timothy Dalton.
COLLIDER VIDEO OF THE DAY

Ahead of the series’ December 18 premiere on Paramount+, Collider was given the opportunity to speak with several members of 1923’s ensemble about becoming a part of the Yellowstone franchise, including Nieves and Ehle. Over the course of the interview, which you can read below, the co-stars discussed how they approached each of their characters — Nieves plays Teonna, a young woman attending a government-run boarding school in Montana, while Ehle plays Sister Mary, a teacher at the school whose teachings clash with Teonna’s resistant spirit. They also talked about the importance of telling a story from this part of history, how their characters’ dynamic will involve, and more.

Collider: Aminah, this feels like an aspect of indigenous history that is so important and needs to be told on screen, especially given when the show is set. What excited you most about portraying this character, someone that we experience these events through?

AMINAH NIEVES: Teonna in general is an extension of myself and my family. So being able to dip into that, and to honor my ancestors, who have been through so much adversity and still continue to go through adversity, is very important to me.

My mom, she was the one doing all the auditions with me, and at first, I was really hesitant to continue doing them, but the third round, I looked at her after that third audition, and she was bawling uncontrollably, and I knew in that moment I needed to do it for her.

Image via Paramount+

RELATED: Harrison Ford on ‘1923,’ Reuniting With Helen Mirren, and Joining the Dutton Dynasty

Jennifer, you’re playing a character where we can understand her motives even if we don’t necessarily understand the way that she’s applying those motives. How do you approach a character like that, who believes that she’s coming from a good place but is also participating in this oppression?

JENNIFER EHLE: She’s definitely participating in the oppression. She feels mandated by government and by her God and her church to … There was a phrase that somebody said at the time … I mean, these schools existed from the 17th century into the 20th century, and there was a phrase they used to say, “Kill the Indian to save the man.” And that was what they believed was the right thing to do. Also, of course, if you decimate a people, and you remove their cultural identity, then you can have their land, which is something that I think is still … We’re still fighting that.

NIEVES: Oh yeah, food sovereignty is real, clean water is real. You know? If you take away our food, our language, our land, our water-

EHLE: And the Indian Child Welfare Act.

NIEVES: All of these things are so important for us to continue to advocate and fight for, because they’re our livelihood.

Image via Paramount+

I feel like we only kind of get a taste of what’s to come between your two characters. So how does that dynamic continue to evolve over the course of the season?

EHLE: It continues to evolve. That’s really all we can say.

NIEVES: I mean, I think it ends in Episode 1 on a really cool, kind of little sneaky, “What is going on under there?” So as we move through, it’s just going to grow.

1923 premieres Sunday, December 18 on Paramount+.