Some spoilers below for the latest Season 4 episodes of Yellowstone, so be warned.
So far in Season 4, Kelly Reilly’s Beth Dutton survived an explosion, helped save a kid from homelessness after his father’s death, threatened to kill Jamie and received an offer to join an enemy’s team in order to take down a more loathsome enemy. Those are just the headlines, and we’re only four episodes in. But for all that Beth can be the kind of firecracker that would blow your entire arm off if you held it too long, Reilly’s Yellowstone co-stars Cole Hauser and Wes Bentley positively adore working with the actress when she’s both in and out of her Beth element. At least that’s how it sounded when CinemaBlend spoke with both actors timed to Season 4’s early days, as seen in the video above.
Cole Hauser On Working With Kelly Reilly During Rip And Beth's Journey
After the man behind Rip Wheeler spoke about his character’s rage and his relationship with John in Season 4, I asked what he enjoys the most about Rip and Beth’s relationship. Cole Hauser gave props to co-creator Taylor Sheridan for the pair’s constant evolution, saying:
I mean, you know, once again, I think Taylor did just a fantastic job of putting these two kids together, and seeing how they can grow, and how their heart can be more open. How they can navigate different waters together, and find even a stronger bond through those waters. And once again, in Season 4, there's an obstacle or obstacles that they have to face, and it was wonderful doing it with Kelly. She's one of my favorite actresses I've ever worked with, and working with her on this relationship has just been so much fun.
Now, if Kelly Reilly herself was every bit as monstrous as Beth can be, I would suspect Cole Hauser would make those same claims, as not to get devoured on sight. But alas, the Yellowstone cast and crew have had nothing but good things to say about Reilly over the years, even beyond her stellar performances and line deliveries from week to week. Considering Rip is the one who shares smiles with Beth the most, though, it certainly helps that Hauser feels so comfortable building the characters’ fan-favorite romance with her. He’s definitely worked with some excellent actresses throughout his career, so Reilly is in fine company in that respect as well.
Beth and Rip didn’t fully tap into their domesticated instincts during the brief time so far that Carter was actually in her good graces, but viewers had a chance to see what that might look like, even if it won’t fully happen for the couple on a biological level. And Reilly herself recently spoke to the idea that Beth may tip Rip off to the fact that it was his baby whose abortion sparked her increasingly hostile and toxic relationship with Jamie. I’ll go ahead and consider that to be one of the “obstacles” that Hauser talked about.
Wes Bentley On Kelly Reilly's Sweet Side And Beth's Intimidating Side
Beyond their respective relationships with Beth, Jamie Dutton is the polar opposite of Rip in quite a few ways that aren’t immediately obvious. From the way both men reached their current statuses to the statuses themselves, to the way they’re viewed by the other Duttons and ranch population, to the way they look in cowboy hats. (I could probably keep this going a while.) But who am I kidding? The only difference that really matters is all about Beth. And while Wes Bentley would like to think it’s possible for his character to make brotherly amends, it doesn’t seem too likely, what with that albatross of a death threat hanging around his neck, which now also has Garrett’s potential role in the attacks on the other Duttons.
Thankfully, the contentiousness that thrives between Beth and Jamie is the stuff of fiction, and when I asked Wes Bentley about ever feeling intimidated by Kelly, with or without giant mousetraps included, he said:
Well, Kelly herself, not at all. She is one of the sweetest people and sweetest actors. She has to go so far to get to Beth. She does an amazing job. It's great to watch her. She's very intimidating as Beth, though. I get worked up for these scenes, and then she delivers. But we're very close; we trust each other. That's how we get those things done.
There’s an unmistakable genuineness in Bentley’s voice and tone as he speaks of his co-star, despite the fact that Bentley and Reilly have possibly never shared a scene where both of their characters were pleased and enjoying themselves in the moment. It’s always Beth emasculating Jamie to the point of ego annihilation, or Jamie eking out a morsel of satisfaction from watching Beth receive hyper-minimal criticisms from loved ones. And as far as Bentley is concerned, it takes a good friendship off-screen to make it work within the narrative. In his words:
It's hard because if you truly don't like each other, it almost has the opposite effect. There's a lack of chemistry, you know? You kind of have to have some connection to really go for the anger.
Now that Beth is possibly going to be very busy soon working with Jacki Weaver's epic conversationalist Caroline Warner, it seems like she might not have the time or the motivation to make good on her threat to kill Jamie, what with Shwartz & Meyer in her direct crosshairs. But I mean, if she takes care of them one week, there's always next week to pivot back to making Jamie's life misery, ESPECIALLY if he ends up trying to hide his biological father's involvement with the attacks, and everyone else finds out about it. I'm hoping Jamie isn't that stupid, but hope is not a commodity in large supply at the Yellowstone ranch.
New episodes of Yellowstone air Sunday nights on Paramount Network at 8:00 p.m. ET. Check out our Fall Finale rundown to see when all your favorite shows are heading into their winter haituses.
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