1923's Brian Geraghty On Keeping Up With Harrison Ford On The Set Of The Yellowstone Prequel [Exclusive Interview]
The following post contains mild spoilers for episode 1 of "1923."
The new Paramount+ series "1923" premieres on Sunday. It's the second prequel to the hit series "Yellowstone" after "1883," and follows the Dutton family's next generation as they galloping headlong into the twentieth century and run smack into the era's pandemics, drought, the Great Depression, and the end of Prohibition. Harrison Ford stars as Jacob Dutton, the brother of James Dutton, played by Tim McGraw in "1883." The reason Jacob is running the ranch is made clear in the first few minutes of the first episode (which was shown to press); I won't spoil it here, but let's just say that the Dutton family isn't the luckiest in the land. His wife and matriarch of the family is Cara Dutton, played by Helen Mirren.
Brian Geraghty ("The Hurt Locker") plays the role of Zane, the "fiercely loyal" ranch hand at the Dutton place. I recently got a chance to speak to Geraghty about his character, the two-week cowboy camp that the cast had to go through, and how he managed to keep up with Harrison Ford on the set of the show.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
'I've ridden horses before, but when you're working with Taylor, that's the bar'
We didn't get to meet your character for that long in this first episode. So what can you tell us about him?
So Zane is the ranch foreman for the Duttons. And he works with Jacob and does anything that really Jacob needs, and sometimes not even pertaining to the ranch. He'll take care of him. But his job is a bit like Robert Duvall in "The Godfather." You know what I mean? He's behind ... trying to make sure everything's going well.
He's described in some places as "fiercely loyal," but he's not actually a member of the family. So is there a backstory there or anything you can let us know about?
Yeah, I think there is. I don't think we quite brush on it yet this season, but I feel like we may. But I think you'll see. Yeah. I think Jacob really helped him out, and I think he's got loyalty beyond his job title.
Is this a backstory that you have for yourself, or did you get some hints from [series creator] Taylor [Sheridan]?
Yeah, it was something that I made up for myself. I thought, "That's my job. Let me figure this out." And the higher stakes it was for me, then the more it would be ... "loyal" is a very general word. How loyal? And I figured, "Well, if we're making a TV show about it, it's got to be the nth degree of loyal. Or what's the point of even playing the part, right?" So yeah, I did it myself, and maybe I'll share it with Taylor. But I wouldn't even want to do that. I'd just rather him just write his great words, and then be like, "Oh, it's this." Because you go through the front door, you go through the back door, it's going to tell the same story. Either way, I'm loyal. Right?
That's true. And he is obviously very set in this world. So were there any pointers, any information that you got from him that was really useful?
Well, he set up a two-week cowboy camp for us. And so we all rode horses and learned and were sore and felt like we were terrible, and then got good. Yeah. So it was just about repetitive — just time in the saddle, time around the ranch, time in my boots, my chaps, really getting used to wearing my spurs, kicking the horse with them. We had two weeks. We didn't start shooting with horses for about six weeks, and that's right when I felt like I was in a [good] place. Granted, I've ridden horses before, but when you're working with Taylor, that's the bar, because he's a real cowboy.
'I've got to stay in the shot there with Harrison'
Harrison has a ranch that he lives on. So did he help you guys out? Did he go through the camp with you?
No. He showed up for a day, and we're like, "Goddamn, he's good at riding." That's it. Yeah, he just showed up. Got used to his horse a little bit, but he could ride. And he likes it. His thing is that he just goes too fast. It's hard to keep up with him.
Oh, so did that end up being a thing?
You can't keep up with him on a horse. You're like, "I've got to stay in the shot there with Harrison."
What was it like working with him? You've got Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford on this TV show, and he's doing TV for the first time. What was that like?
It's a surreal moment anytime you have those moments. And then you get through it, and then you realize, like, "Okay." The best you can, you watch them, you try to learn, and you try to be there. Then, at the end of the day, they're actors that care. And that's the great part about both of them. It's not that Harrison's down, and we're freezing — we're all in a van together, trying to get warm. He's very inclusive. He's very funny. And Helen's just a dream to work with, really, and to watch act. So you just try to hang in there with them. That's my best hope.
"1923" premieres on Paramount+ on December 18, 2022. Paramount Network is also hosting a linear airing of the debut episode following a new episode of "Yellowstone."