Taylor Sheridan Reveals He Cast ‘1883’ Lead Without Writing the Role Yet
Yellowstone’s director has been long praised for his specific writing rule, and his recent revelations about Isabel May’s part in 1883 is a perfect example of why his approach works.
Things might have become a bit more complicated for Taylor Sheridan and his numerous TV shows recently, but the director never wasted his potential on characters less than compelling.
Starting with Yellowstone that spawned two spinoff series and counting, Sheridan has been receiving nothing but praise from both critics and viewers for making a perfect connection between a character and the actor who landed the role.
Even though many might have imagined the writer-director making casting decisions with a full script ready, this isn’t always Sheridan’s case — and 1883’s star can confirm.
Taylor Sheridan Cast ‘Young Sheldon’ Isabel May in ‘1883’ Before Writing Her Role
The actress, who portrayed Veronica Duncan in Young Sheldon’s seasons 2 and 3, was also Taylor Sheridan’s top choice for Elsa Dutton’s role in Yellowstone’s both prequel shows 1883 and 1923.
“I found Isabel May when I read her for Mayor of Kingstown. Instantly, I knew there was my eyes into this harsh world. Paramount made a deal at my request with Isabel before a word had ever been written”, the director revealed in a recent interview with Deadline.
Talking about his usual work process, Sheridan added that he’d rather know who exactly he writes the role for than trying to choose the actor afterwards.
“I reached out to Billy and said, I have a world I want to drag you through. I told him the world. He said, great. We made a deal and I wrote it for him”, Sheridan said, referring to Billy Bob Thornton who has a leading role in the former’s ongoing Western drama series Landman.
The Future of Taylor Sheridan’s Shows Is Shaky at Paramount+
Even though there have been endless updates about the writer-director developing this or that spinoff series right now, Sheridan’s fans might want to keep an eye on the recent situation that Sheridan is having with Paramount+.
Considered a home to most of the director’s TV shows, the streamer was reported to be changing its policy in regard to production costs, aiming at reducing them at least by several million dollars.
The same reports suggested Sheridan wasn’t quite happy with the news, now seeking ways to move all of his projects to another streamer’s platform.
However, nothing like this has been confirmed yet, with the deal between Sheridan and Paramount+ expiring only in 2027.
Until then, fans can sleep tight knowing that Sheridan’s TV series are all stored on Paramount+’s platform.
