Yellowstone series architect Taylor Sheridan hired this 1923 star on the spot, as soon as he met him. And, no, it’s not Harrison Ford.
Taylor Sheridan is a man who knows what he wants, and when he wants it. That’s how he’s been able to turn Yellowstone into one of the greatest shows on TV right now and create seemingly neverending ideas for spin-offs: 1883 and 1923, as well as the upcoming 1944, 2024, and 6666.
That decisiveness was on full display for Brandon Sklenar, star of Yellowstone‘s second spin-off series, 1923, during his audition process for the role of the mighty lion-battling Spencer Dutton. Ahead of officially joining the Yellowstone cast, the actor met with Sheridan, and the Oscar-nominated mastermind knew he wanted Sklenar instantly.
“He pretty much told me in the room that it was my gig,” Sklenar recalled, in an interview with Esquire. Sklenar then elaborated on how it felt to be offered a role within the Dutton family tree, saying, “It was so smooth, man. I felt very confident about my connection to the material and to Spencer. It was the most confident I’d ever been auditioning for a role. It just felt like something that I was supposed to do.”
Sklenar’s connection to Spencer, the second son of 1883’s James Dillard Dutton and Margaret Dutton, is instantly evident from even the first seconds of 1923. He’s one of the greatest parts of the spin-off, embodying the complexity of the Yellowstone character — his equal strength and vulnerability — perfectly, successfully turning him into one of the greatest Duttons we’ve seen across the entire Yellowstone timeline.
In fact, Sklenar’s performance as Spencer is so good that the professional hunter is right alongside other top-tier Duttons in our ranking of the family members. He’s right alongside John, Beth, Elsa, James, and Margaret as a Dutton for the ages, and his continent-spanning adventures were an integral part of 1923, as was his relationship with Alexandra.
This all means that we can barely wait for the 1923 season 2 release date to finally arrive. Unfortunately though, while we know a second season is coming, news about the show’s return has been light. We don’t have a confirmed release window yet, and we also don’t know much about when filming could resume either.
But, historically with Yellowstone, once filming does begin the turnaround have always been quick. That means we could still get 1923 at some point in 2024, or if not 2025. To be honest though, for Spencer Dutton, we’d wait an eternity.
For more Yellowstone fun, check out our guide on Yellowstone season 5 part 2, or see what we know about the upcoming 6666 and 1944 spin-offs.