She’s journeying into the past.
The “Yellowstone” prequel series “1923” returns for Season 2 on Sunday, Feb. 23 (on Paramount+). Helmed by Taylor Sheridan, it follows a cast of Dutton ancestors including Jacob (Harrison Ford), Cara (Helen Mirren) and Alexandra (Julia Schlaepfer).
“He’s the funniest person alive,” Schlaepfer, 29, said about Harrison Ford.
“We all spent so much time together, and he just has the best sense of humor. He would joke with me all the time. He would … ask for my autograph and then crumple it up and throw it in the trash. He would make fun of me, and I would make fun of him.”
She added that the “Indiana Jones” star “respects the work so much and respects all the people who are working and is obviously so talented and a legend — but he’s just so humble and cool. He’s somebody you just want to hang out with. He’s really a special person.”
“1923” follows “Yellowstone” main character John (Kevin Costner’s) ancestors, who are living on the family ranch in Montana during the titular time period.
Jacob and Cara have to defend their ranch from politicians and elite suits — much like their descendant, John Dutton, did during his time period. Donald Whitfield (Timothy Dalton) is their main foe.
In Season 1, their nephew who they raised as their son, Spencer Dutton (Brandon Sklenar), is returning home from being a war hero and traveling in Africa. Spencer and his British wife, Alexandra, also got separated during their journey home on a ship, and Alexandra promised that she’d reunite with him in Montana.
In Season 2, she must journey through an unfamiliar land to reunite with her lost husband.
“The whole arc was so fun for me to map out, because she goes through a lot of different obstacles. It’s a very long journey. It was so exciting to me to kind of build and find what level she was at at different times and how much hope she has — what incidents dash her hopes for a second, and her doubt in what she’s doing,” Schlaepfer said about Alexandra in Season 2.
“Taylor Sheridan and our casting director are so brilliant. We never met before we were cast and somehow they knew that it would just work,” Schlaepfer said about Sklenar.
She added that the first day she met the “It Ends With Us” actor who would be playing her on-screen husband, “We both were like, ‘whoa!’ Like this is really something special. We got really lucky with that chemistry. And then we spent four months in Africa together, which also really helped because we were just around each other 24/7.”
“1923” is just one of many “Yellowstone” spinoff shows. There’s another prequel in the works coming at an unannounced date called “1944,” following the Dutton family in the ‘40s. It’s plausible that Spencer and Alexandra would be part of it, since they’re both fairly young and would be alive 20 years later.
Schlaepfer played coy when asked about it.
“I cannot confirm nor deny, unfortunately,” she said, about whether she might be in “1944.”
She added, “I’m sure [the show] will happen and be glorious. They’re kept very under wraps for us. So all I know is what we’ve done on ‘1923.’”
