You Know Yellowstone’s “Beth Dutton” Is British, Right?
I don’t care how many times I see it; I’m ALWAYS amazed at how well British actors “do” us. Honestly, I think you’d be shocked at how many of your favorite performances on television and in movies of Texans, Bostonians, Californians, etc., are pulled off by people who in real life sound like David Beckham’s nanny. It’s so prevalent that I still can’t believe how often I’m surprised, but I am. The latest and greatest of these was when this summer I got addicted to, and binged through, “Yellowstone.” “Beth Dutton” is that show’s best character. She is the whiskey-drinking, tough, saber-tongued daughter of Keven Costner’s show patriarch. I wish I could post my favorite “Beth” lines here, but they aren’t even close to being SFW. Anyway, “Beth Dutton” is embodied by Britain’s Kelly Reilly.
Like most actors I’ve heard talk about this, Reilly says living in the US-being emersed daily-really helps with mastering the accent. In an interview with Looper, she claims she was so committed to nailing “Beth’s” accent during “Yellowstone’s” first season that she went to great lengths to conceal her actual voice from cast and crew. “When I first played Beth, I didn’t want anyone to know that I wasn’t American.” She admits that several people on the production understandably did know, but she tried to keep it from others, stating, “I didn’t talk to anyone, unless I was playing Beth.” If I thought I was freaked-out to find Kelly Reilly was British, imagine the shock of people who worked with her for a year before finding out.” Wow. Anyway, get ready for more of what Kelly-I mean “Beth”-does best as “Yellowstone” returns this Sunday night for its fifth season on The Paramount Network.
