Previously, Elliott said he didn't agree with the comparisons between 1883 and Yellowstone. "Yellowstone is all over [1883]. We're tainted by Yellowstone, which on some level I can't stand because I think 1883 stands alone and will," he told Taste of Country and other news outlets before 1883 premiered.
Elliott's current role in the Paramount + series 1883 — a Yellowstone prequel — as Shea Brennan has earned him a Screen Actors Guild Award. The series details the Dutton family's tragic cross-country journey on The Oregon Trail. The 78-year-old has said filming the tragic character of Brennan was not easy.
Before Elliott got his 1883 role, franchise creator Taylor Sheridan actually offered him a part in Yellowstone, which he promptly turned down. “I passed on it, but during that time that he made that offer to me, we started talking,” Elliott said on The Official Yellowstone Podcast.
After surviving harsh weather conditions and various opposing threats during their journey, 1883 saw Shea take his own life in the series finale, though this may not be the end for the character. During a recent interview with Variety, Sam Elliott reflected on his time working on Paramount+'s 1883.
The Yellowstone co-creator has found major success with the Kevin Costner-led series, which led to several spinoffs including 1883, 1923 and the upcoming 1883: The Bass Reeves Story. While the four shows exist in the same universe, Sheridan has opted to use the same actors and actresses to take on different roles.
Sam Elliott Shares His Harsh Words After 1883 Season Finale
How many kids did Margaret and James Dutton have?
James Dutton
He's married to Margaret, and they have three children: Elsa, Spencer, and John Dutton Sr. The character is also seen during flashback scenes in season 4 of Yellowstone. James has two siblings: Claire, who shares the screen in 1883, and Jacob, who makes his appearance in 1923.
Elsa was also planning to split from the group to stay with Sam, but after many goodbyes, everyone decided they were going to Oregon anyway. Even Elsa decided to leave her boyfriend so she could find out where Oregon was, while planning to return to the plains in June to reunite with him.
Elsa, who had decided to see her family in Oregon before returning to be with Sam, may be dead, but just as her spirit narrates the series (and the following 1923 series), so it's implied that her spirit reunites with Sam's in the afterlife.
Indeed, as there are no condoms or any other reliable form of birth control in the frontier, there's a real possibility that Ennis really did impregnate Elsa. Sadly, before 1883 could even drop any clues that Elsa was pregnant, Ennis died in the next episode while Elsa died during the finale.
HBO turned down Costner as John Dutton, and then rejected 'Yellowstone' Sheridan recalled that when originally pitching "Yellowstone" to HBO, the cable network turned down the idea of Costner as John Dutton. "They said, 'If you can get us Robert Redford, we'll greenlight the pilot,'" Sheridan said.
During a recent appearance on Marc Maron's WTF podcast, the 77-year-old actor opened up about his dislike for Yellowstone. This revelation from Elliott comes as he stars in the popular drama's prequel series, 1883. "I'm not a Yellowstone fan. I don't watch Yellowstone," he said.
He called her two weeks later and offered her the lead role in the Yellowstone prequel series 1883, playing Elsa Dutton, the 18-year-old daughter who embarks with her parents, James Dutton (Tim McGraw) and Margaret Dutton (Faith Hill), on a treacherous trek across the Great Plains to Montana.
1883's historical innacuracies, in hindsight, were never that bad, unoffensive, and didn't interfere with the story being told. Despite the controversy about the 1883 cast's teeth, the show remains a fairly realistic depiction of the socio-political realities and harsh material conditions faced by American pioneers.
Elliott married actress Katharine Ross in 1984, becoming her fifth husband. They have a daughter, Cleo, who is a musician in Malibu, California. Ross and Elliott live on a seaside ranch in Malibu, which they purchased in the 1970s. Elliott also maintains a property in the Willamette Valley in Oregon.
The two then ride off where Sam tells Elsa that he chose his name after a man named Sam killed his wife; he wanted to take the man's name after taking the man's life. (Sam killed Sam.) Sam gives Elsa a nickname, “Lightning Yellow Hair.”
Throughout the episode, Elsa's narration is used to fill in the gaps of what has happened to the Dutton clan in the four decades that have passed since the events of "1883."
It also sets the stage for her relationship with Sam, who will later become her unofficial husband. Elsa grew exponentially through her short romance with Ennis, and her more serious relationship with Sam is a representation of that growth.
Towards the end of Episode 8 we see Elsa and Sam prepare to part ways. He teaches her phrases in his language like "I love you" and how to say her given name "Lightning Yellow Hair." The lovers depart, with Elsa now heading north wearing her new Native American clothing.
Patriarch James Dutton appears in 1883 and is portrayed by Tim McGraw. James and his wife Margaret have three children: Elsa, John and Spencer. The patriarch is originally a farmer from Tennessee and a Confederate veteran of the Civil War.
