There is still much more for fans of Yellowstone and its prequel series, 1883, to learn about the family history of the Duttons. From creator Taylor Sheridan comes 1923 — a new series that takes place between the events of those hit series that viewers with a Paramount+ subscription can now stream exclusively.
This latest installment to the popular Western saga follows another branch of the Dutton clan as they struggle to come to terms with challenges of the early 20th Century. Leading the 1923 cast are Academy Award nominee Harrison Ford and Academy Award winner Helen Mirren, whom we will start with in our breakdown of who plays whom in this highly anticipated period drama.
Harrison Ford (Jacob Dutton)
Leading the 1923 cast as Jacob Dutton — brother of Tim McGraw’s 1883 character, James Dutton — is Harrison Ford, whose previous experience with westerns includes 1979’s The Frisco Kid, 2011’s sci-fi flick Cowboys & Aliens, and the Star Wars movies (which I would say count for a few thematic similarities) as Han Solo. The actor has also a whole franchise of period pieces in the form of the Indiana Jones movies — the title character of which he is reprising in the upcoming fifth installment.
Ford’s first time working with George Lucas, however, was for 1973’s American Graffiti, and he eventually worked with Francis Ford Coppola for Apocalypse Now before playing Rick Deckard (for the first time) in 1982’s Blade Runner, and later earning his Oscar nomination for 1985’s Witness. In addition to other action/adventure thrillers like Air Force One or The Fugitive, the only actor to play Jack Ryan in two movies has also done endearing dramas like Regarding Henry, comedies like Morning Glory, and historical biopics like 42.
Helen Mirren (Cara Dutton)
As Jacob’s wife, Cara, we have Harrison Ford’s The Mosquito Coast co-star Dame Helen Mirren, who is making her Western debut with 1923, but is certainly no stranger to period pieces — many of them Shakespeare adaptations like 1968’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream or Julie Taymor’s ambitious take on The Tempest most recently. She has also played a number of royal figures — most notably her Oscar-winning role as Queen Elizabeth II in 2006’s The Queen.
With the exception of the occasional biography (i.e. Trumbo and Woman in Gold), voice acting roles (such as in Monsters University and Zack Snyder's Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole), and hosting the satirical rockumentary series Documentary Now!, the English actor has become a bit of action star more recently. After joining the National Treasure franchise, she appeared in two movies based on DC’s RED comic and later became a part of the Fast and Furious movies in the role of Queenie.
Darren Mann (Jack Dutton)
Playing Jacob’s great nephew and loyal member of the Duttons, Jack, is Darren Mann, who first made a name for himself with guest appearances on The CW original series like The Tomorrow People, The 100, iZombie, and Supernatural. After making his feature-length debut with the 2015 horror flick, Even Lambs Have Teeth, he scored a recurring role on the bizarre drama Wayward Pines and went on to star in more movies like sports drama Hello Destroyer and queer romance Giant Little Ones.
After appearing on eight episodes of Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Mann earned a starring role on Canadian drama Fortunate Son in 2020 and appeared in the MMA flick Embattled the same year. Also in 2022, he played Baz on TNT’s Animal Kingdom and appeared opposite Yellowstone cast member Cole Hauser in The Minute You Wake Up Dead.
Michelle Randolph (Elizabeth Strafford)
As the feisty Elizabeth, who aspires to join the Dutton Family through marriage, we have Michelle Randolph. The model and social media influencer actually made her acting debut alongside her fellow 1923 cast member Darren Mann in the SyFy original horror movie, House of the Witch, in 2017.
The following year, Randolph played the lead of A Snow White Christmas — a modern, holiday-themed retelling of the eponymous fairy tale — for ION before starring in the family rivalry dramedy 5 Years Apart in 2019. She appeared in two horror movies in 2021 — The Resort and The Undertaker’s Wife — and has another in post-production called Chasing Nightmares, as well as an upcoming comedy called The Throwback.
James Badge Dale (John Dutton Sr.)
Playing John Dutton Sr. — Jacob’s oldest nephew and trusted right-hand, as well as Jack’s father — is James Badge Dale, who is not exactly a household name, but has a career that would suggest otherwise. Years after making his debut as a child in 1990’s Lord of the Flies, he joined the 24 cast as Chase Edmunds before appearing in Martin Scorsese’s Best Picture Oscar winner, The Departed, and later leading HBO’s Emmy-winning miniseries, The Pacific, and AMC’s short-lived drama, Rubicon, in 2010.
In 2011 he appeared alongside Michael Fassbender in the NC-17-rated movie Shame, and opposite Liam Neeson in the survival thriller The Grey, shared the screen with Denzel Washington in Flight the next year, and his biggest hit from 2013 would have to be Iron Man 3. His other notable films include Robert Zemeckis’ spectacular biopic The Walk, Michael Bay’s fact-based thriller 13 Hours, and the vastly underrated horror film from 2020, The Empty Man.
Marley Shelton (Emma Dutton)
As John Dutton Sr.’s wife, Emma, we have Marley Shelton, whose breakthrough role was in the Sandlot cast as the iconic Wendy Peffercorn before starring in the 1997 fantasy film Warriors of Virtue and the acclaimed fantasy drama Pleasantville the following year. In 1999, she starred alongside Drew Barrymore in Never Been Kissed and had a busy 2001 that included romantic horror movie Valentine, romantic-comedy Bubble Boy, and coming-of-age crime comedy, Sugar and Spice.
Years after working with Robert Rodriguez on Sin City and Grindhouse, Shelton joined the Scream movies franchise as Judy Hicks in 2011 and, in 2014, led Lifetime’s sci-fi miniseries The Lottery. She later followed up the video game adaptation movie Rampage with the Glee-like drama, Rise, in 2018 and starred on Season 2 of Discovery Channel’s true crime anthology series, Manhunt.
Brian Geraghty (Zane)
Zane — a ranch foreman with undying loyalty to the Duttons — is played by James Badge Dale’s Flight co-star Brian Geraghty, who started out making guest appearances on shows like Law & Order and The Sopranos before starring in films like Jarhead — which was only his first movie about military personnel. He later appeared in The Guardian and the Oscar-winning The Hurt Locker and, in between those, starred in fact-based dramas Bobby, We Are Marshall, and An American Crime.
After leading the Christmas horror movie ATM, he joined the cast of Boardwalk Empire in 2013 and, the following year, appeared on nine episodes of Ray Donovan and became a part of NBC’s “One Chicago” universe as a member of the Chicago P.D. cast. After playing Teddy Roosevelt on The Alienist and Ted Bundy’s lawyer in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, Geraghty starred on ABC’s crime thriller, Big Sky.
Aminah Nieves (Teonna)
As government residential boarding school student Teonna, we have Aminah Nieves. Joining the 1923 cast will mark the young actor’s first starring role on a television series.
Nieves made her acting debut in 2021 with the coming-of-age LGBTQ+ romance, Blueberry, and, that same year, appeared in a dramatic short film called Dogwood. The following year, she starred in the scary, found-footage and anthology-style 2022 movie, V/H/S/99.
Julia Schlaepfer (Alexandra)
Playing Alexandra — a British woman who befriends a Dutton — is Julia Schlaepfer, who made her debut with a guest role on the CBS political drama, Madam Secretary, in 2017. The following year, she appeared in an episode of another CBS series — the short-lived crime drama Instinct — and also made her feature film debut with Charlie Says as a member of the Manson family.
Schlaepfer would land her first starring role on a TV series in 2019 with The Politician — a Netflix original satire from co-creator Ryan Murphy, whom she would work with again in 2022 on a Season 2 episode of American Horror Stories. Also that year, she starred in the visually inventive AppleTV+ movie The Sky is Everywhere.
Jerome Flynn (Banner Creighton)
Starring as hard-headed, Scottish sheep man Banner Creigthon — according to Variety — is Jerome Flynn, who is best known today from his role in the Game of Thrones cast as Bronn. Some of his most notable earlier roles include his 1988 feature-film debut in the romance A Summer Story, Steven Soderbergh’s Kafka from 1991, and British TV shows like Badger and Soldier Soldier.
Flynn would later star on BBC’s procedural period crime drama Ripper Street and appeared in one of the best Black Mirror episodes (“Shut Up and Dance”). In 2017, he leant his voice to the game-changing, Oscar nominated animated film Loving Vincent and, two years later, became a part of the John Wick movies franchise with a role in Chapter 3 — Parabellum as Berrada.
Looks like the 1923 cast has an ensemble for the ages. See for yourself by streaming the latest Yellowstone prequel on Paramount+ now.
