[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Dark Winds Season 3 Episode 1, “Ye’iitsoh.”]
Dark Winds is back, and while Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon) is tackling a new mystery with the help of detective Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon), Season 3’s premiere makes way for one of TV’s most epic double cameo as executive producers Robert Redford and George R.R. Martin pop in to play a couple of jailbirds.
After starting an investigation into blood stains and a missing boy in the desert, Leaphorn and Chee return to the station where the Lieutenant checks in on the Navajo jail’s prisoners who happen to be in the middle of a game of chess. Observing their plays, Leaphorn watches as Redford tells Martin, “George, the whole world’s waiting. Make a move!”
Leaphorn chimes in with a move for George to take, giving him the edge against his competitor. “Thanks a lot,” Redford says, turning to Leaphorn, who walks away with a smile.
Michael Loccisano / Getty Images; Jon Kopaloff / Getty Images
It was a big moment for McClarnon, who tells TV Insider, “[It was a] very exciting day for me. A dream come true. Working with two legends. I grew up with Robert Redford and his films. He was one of my idols growing up in the ’70s, there was a movie, Little Fauss and Big Halsey that was a big inspiration to me at six years old,” he shares fondly.
“Robert plays a motorcycle racer and he has his toothbrush in his mouth the whole movie. And I walked around with a toothbrush in my mouth at six years old until my parents finally took it out. I was so inspired by who that character was… So I never thought in my life I’d be doing a scene with Robert Redford,” McClarnon adds. He also heaps praise on Martin, whom he calls, “one of the best fantasy science fiction writers of our generation.”
“They’re both warm people, and I’m always in awe and have to pinch myself when I’m in their company,” McClarnon notes.
His costar Gordon confirms McClarnon’s excitement on the day of filming, sharing, “As soon as the camera would cut, you’d see Zahn just put on this big cheesiest grin and he just looked like a little kid… He’s living the dream for all of us. And it was just so cool to watch him watch his hero and be in the same shot with him.”
“It’s great to have legends in your show and a little nod to them,” Gordon adds, sharing, “It’s really cool of them to make it happen because George hates cameos, but he did it for us. He loves the show, and I think that goes a long way.”
As for Redford’s line, which is most certainly a joke about Martin’s Game of Thrones book writing schedule, showrunner John Wirth tells us, “Those words came out of Mr. Redford’s mouth, and he is the author of those words. So I guess I just threw him under the bus, which I didn’t mean to do.” Wirth adds with a laugh, “I found it very amusing, and I think George did, too.”
The cameos were years in the making as Wirth notes they’ve been trying to figure out a scene or moment that could work for the executive producers to take part in. Ultimately, the idea for jail prisoners came from Martin. “George came to me one day and said, ‘I know how we do this. Bob and I are going to be in the jail cell playing chess,’” Wirth recalls.
And while he admits he doesn’t know how these two characters ended up in the jail cell with a chessboard, Wirth says, “It kind of made sense.”
“I mean, the whole thing is probably less than 90 seconds, and then we’re right back into the Dark Winds story,” he continues. “So I thought it was delightful. It was really a pleasure to see those two gentlemen on stage and to hear them talking and acting in our series. It’s very meaningful.”
And that’s just one highlight fans are sure to enjoy as the latest season of Dark Winds unfolds, so stay tuned for more excitement and let us know what you thought of the surprise cameos in the comments section, below.
Dark Winds, Season 3, Sundays, 9/8c, AMC and AMC+