Yellowstone Spin-Off 1883: Faith Hill Opens Up On Filming Struggles

Sadly, the spin-off 1883 from Taylor Sheridan’s successful hit drama Yellowstone won’t return for a second season. However, it turns out this is probably good news for one of its lead actors, Faith Hill. In an interview with Kelly Clarkson, Hill opened up on the more challenging aspects of filming the show. According to the actress, the Montana climate was almost unbearable during the filming of the Paramount Network drama.

Faith Hill and filming of Yellowstone spin-off 1883

1883 star and country-western icon Faith Hill appeared on The Kelly Clarkson show recently to talk about some of the toughest moments in filming the Yellowstone prequel. As Hill hails from the south herself, she soon acclimated to the hotter parts of the filming. However, the whole cast had to stay outdoors for a number of lengthy filming sequences. This proved to be almost impossible for Faith and the cast. Hill said:

I’m from Mississippi, so the humidity, the heat… I could deal with it. Texas, though…

Kelly joked with Hill, saying “It’s God’s hairdryer,” which tickled her sense of humor. Faith said that is good. However, the cold combined with the cold in Montana was almost unbearable. She said, “It really pierces your entire everything.”

Husband and wife team in 1883

Meanwhile, Faith Hill starred with her husband and fellow musician, Tim McGraw in the hit limited Yellowstone prequel. In fact, they played James and Margaret Dutton, the ancestors of John Dutton (Kevin Costner) and his family in the main Yellowstone series.

During the series, Margaret’s world is thrown upside down when she and her husband had to flee their home in Texas due to poverty. The couple is taken along the Oregon Trail by aging cowboy Shea Brennan (Sam Elliott).

Speaking of playing opposite her true husband, Hill said they had a surprising rule. That rule was that if they are going to do the series together, they cannot run their lines together. She added:

We cannot talk about the scene that we’re filming tomorrow ever.

Kelly was confused by this unconventional approach to rehearsals. She asked Faith, “You wanted it to feel fresh and you wanted it to be something else, separate?”

Meanwhile, Faith confirmed that this was, in her opinion, the only way for her to feel real and authentic.

Sam Elliott also struggled with the cold

It turns out Faith wasn’t the only one to have issues with the 1883 film set, as Sam Elliott also confessed to struggling in the cold. The Express quotes him telling the Official Yellowstone Podcast, “We go up to Montana and it’s f*****g freezing cold. I mean cold,” Adding:

And I don’t have a lot of clothes on, I’m wearing, like, a pair of pants and a jacket for most of the thing. And a vest and a shirt.

We got layered up out there, of course. But there were times when it rains just enough to get wet, and then it started to ice up.

Sam added that he just remembers thinking, “What the f**k, man? Am I gonna [sic] die on this trail?”

For viewers outside of the US, Yellowstone seasons 1-3 and 1883 are now available to stream on Paramount+.