One of the most powerful characters in the Yellowstone universe is Beth Dutton, and that sentiment stands true for our beloved Dutton daughter in her adolescence and as the man-eating character we’ve grown to love as she embraces adulthood with a target on her back. Kylie Rogers breathes life into young Beth while Kelly Reilly plays the force to be reckoned with in today’s timeline.
Being part of the Dutton family immediately puts you at both an advantage, and a disadvantage, which everyone involved with the series is aware of as they breathe life into their characters. In addition to the high stakes and emotions in each episode, Yellowstone shines when the series includes flashbacks to earlier days at the ranch, which means we get to see each character through various stages of development. Rogers, who we see in flashbacks as a wild and inspired teenager, gives fans perspective into what shaped Beth into the woman we love today.
Of course, that version of Beth shares scenes with a younger version of everyone else at the ranch, too, including her father, John Dutton. In an interview with The Mary Sue, Rogers described seeing two versions of John throughout Yellowstone. The version played by Josh Lucas and the one she sees on screen, brought to life by Kevin Costner.
“I mean I love working with Josh. Josh is great. And it’s crazy because when I watched the show, of course, I’ve actually never met Kevin because our timelines obviously don’t cross and Josh plays my dad. So when I see the actual show and I see how future John Dutton is versus past John Dutton, it’s actually so crazy how many similarities they have and I just think Josh is so talented. But, I think for all the flashback characters, you know, Kyle, Josh, Rowdy even, even though he’s not in present day, I think we all try to find a good balance of like ‘we are playing these characters but we’re also playing like a different version of these characters’ and we just try our best to keep them alive.”
Doing their best to “keep them alive” is an understatement. Viewers are as in love with the younger versions of our favorite characters as we are with the Duttons in today’s timeline; they’re vulnerable and open, giving us glimpses into the inner workings of the women and men we know now. Rogers is lucky to experience both versions of John in different ways, working closely with Lucas and seeing what he develops into on-screen with Costner. As for Rogers, she loves giving viewers another look at who Beth is and where she started.
“It’s pretty crazy because I’ve been a part of the series since season one. I’ve been lucky enough to do that. I keep in touch with Kelly all the time, and we make sure to talk before I go on each season. And I think developing the sort of image of young Beth and her growing up and she’s not immediately the Beth as everyone else knows her. She’s not immediately so out there. She has to start from somewhere. So it’s important to play it as not Beth as an adult if that makes sense. That’s the main thing me and Kelly speak about is making sure that I’m not playing Beth. I’m playing Beth as a kid.”
You can see more of Rogers in Yellowstone when season five returns later this summer, and if you’re missing the series as it experiences its first midseason hiatus — us too, you can rewatch the first four seasons streaming on Peacock now.