Whether you love or hate her, there is no denying that Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) is one of the most memorable characters in Taylor Sheridan’s “Yellowstone” universe. From bathing in horse troughs to treating her brother, Jamie, with utter contempt, the character steals most of the scenes she’s in. Beth is messy but nuanced, which makes her one of the best characters on “Yellowstone.” That said, Reilly didn’t understand Beth right away, so she was intimidated to play her early on.
“I remember reading it as I was packing up our apartment and thinking, ‘Oh, s**t.’ It was like laying down a bit of a gauntlet. The challenge of it pepped my interest,” Reilly told Town & Country, adding that Sheridan offered her the meaty role without seeing her in action first. “I didn’t even audition,” she says. “Then I was like, ‘F**k, I didn’t audition.’ I was terrified, because I didn’t know how I was going to do it. And it took me a minute to find her.”
Kelly Reilly has a complicated relationship with Beth Dutton
Kelly Reilly added that she is the character’s total opposite outside of the show.
“I love gearing up to play her, because there’s an adrenaline to Beth, and it’s very energizing,” Reilly told Town & Country. “But it’s also incredibly gnarly. I have to hide all of me away to put some of that on. I love her, but I can’t live with her.”
Reilly will reprise the role of Beth in an upcoming “Yellowstone” spin-off, which will document the character’s life with her husband, Rip Wheeler (played by Cole Hauser), following the events of the main series’ fifth and final season.