[This story contains spoilers from the third episode of 1923 season two, “Wrap Thee in Terror.”]
The latest episode of 1923 plays out like a mini-movie starring Alexandra Dutton.
Alex, who is played by Julia Schlaepfer, was ripped apart from her husband Spencer Dutton (Brandon Sklenar) in the Yellowstone prequel’s season two finale, and began season three of her epic love story setting out on a treacherous voyage to America to go find him.
In the third episode, “Wrap Thee in Terror,” Alex reaches America via Ellis Island after a second-class voyage aboard a ship from England. Hopeful and wide-eyed to gain entry to America, she is unprepared for the greeting she receives. As a woman traveling alone, who is also four months pregnant, Alex quickly finds herself in one of the most precarious positions an immigrant seeking to be accepted into the U.S. could find themselves in during this time period in America’s history.
In her first encounter with a U.S. officer, Alex is asked if she speaks English. When she quips that the English invented the language, he punches her in the stomach to put her in her place. From there, things only devolve as she is sexually assaulted by a series of doctors under the guise that she needs to be examined for venereal diseases. In her final encounter, a condescending immigration officer questions her worth and what she can bring to America. Amid the entire harrowing journey, Alex never loses her resolve. But even after her stamp of acceptance, danger lurks ahead. The episode ends with a hint of another attack, this time by a strange man at Grand Central Station who follows her into the restroom.
“She will not back down to get to where she needs to go. She just she keeps digging deeper and deeper to find the strength to get there,” Schlaepfer tells The Hollywood Reporter of Alex’s determination to get to Montana. “No one should have to go through what she goes through, but she gets through it and I think the shift in her is truly her child that she’s carrying. She’s got to get that baby to Montana.”
Below, in her chat with THR, Schlaepfer reveals how she researched what women like Alex faced at Ellis Island in 1923 America and how it parallels today’s immigrant experience, while explaining Alex’s bravery and what empowers her to keep going. She also speculates about the Dutton family tree and those Beth Dutton parallels. “Taylor [Sheridan] has written the ultimate example of a mother’s love,” she says of the 1923 creator. “They talk about how mothers can flip over cars to save their babies. That’s what we’re seeing from her this season.”
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You have said that Taylor Sheridan wants you all to bring as much of yourselves to your characters as possible. When you first got this script and realized how meaty it was for Alex, how did you prepare?
I felt so honored to get to tell a story that was a very real thing that happened to so many people. I knew it was going to be a challenge, and he told me it was going to be a challenge. As a woman in the world, I can really relate to the feeling of the threat of violation or violation itself and how scary that can be; I think so many women can. It was a different world back then and much more challenging for a woman who is pregnant and alone, and who was legally unwed, in the 1920s. I tried to bring as much of my own feelings surrounding that and tried to remember the whole time that Alex is going back to Spencer, so a lot of what was going through my head were [memories of] Alex and Spencer in Zanzibar [from season one] and the good times to give her the strength to keep going.
Like you said, Alex is traveling alone and she’s pregnant. Did you read accounts from women like Alex at that time? How did your research help put you in those shoes?
My great grandfather went through Ellis Island with like $15 in his pocket and was pretty mistreated. And so as a woman who’s pregnant and alone going through this, it’s absolutely one of the worst positions to be in, and it’s so devastating. Being on those sets and seeing all these people in costume with their tags was really, really intense for all of us. It was a really special storyline to get to tell — really devastating and brutal — but very, very special.
I did as much research as I possibly could on that time. But at a certain point, I did stop myself because there were some people who had great experiences on Ellis Island. What I found was that the good part was more of what was recorded. I don’t think anyone would be boasting about the bad side of immigrating to America during that time, so at a certain point, I put it aside and focused on the words Taylor wrote for her and what her story means for the people who did emigrate in the ‘20s, and also the people who are still immigrating to America now, and the experience of feeling like you’re not being treated like a human and knowing so fiercely that everyone deserves opportunity and everybody deserves a chance at that freedom. I focused on what he’d written for Alex.
Alex Dutton (Julia Schlaepfer) on her voyage to America in 1923 season two.
Lauren Smith/Paramount+
We see Alex get punched in the stomach by an officer. We hear that she’s going to get sexually assaulted by three doctors. We see one of those assaults. How many days were you filming these Ellis Island scenes and did you film them in order?
We didn’t film all of it in order. The day that we did film in order were the scenes with the doctors where they sexually assaulted her, and then right after, the monologue that she gives to the immigration officer. That was really helpful for me as an actor at the end of the day, to get out of that headspace and stick it back to the man a little bit.
Overall, we filmed Elis Island probably in a span of four days. It was all in this one chunk of time. That week was really challenging. After the first day, I was like, “Oh, this is going to take a lot of stamina and endurance to get through.” You just hang on to the adrenaline and keep pushing forward.
Last season you and Brandon filmed together when your characters were in this sort of time capsule of love; you faced external challenges, but had each other. This season, you are on a solo journey and in this episode, your scene partners are unfamiliar. Was there an intimacy coordinator on set to help you through?
Yes, I had an incredible intimacy coordinator named Sarah Scott who was on set with me. It was really the first time I felt I needed someone there. She really had my back. She really took care of me on those days. The crew is also like family to me at this point. We all went through so much together, and I think we all really cared about poor Alex’s journey. So they also really had my back, and I had theirs and they took good care of me.
It is fascinating because it was such an opposite experience from season one. Even though Alex and Spencer do go through some scary things, Alex’s head was always a bit in the clouds because Spencer was there to save the day. It almost felt mystical what was happening with the lions and the shipwrecks [in season one], like a grand adventure, even though it was really challenging. This season, the challenges feel a lot more rooted in this gritty reality. Brandon and I were totally ripped apart for all of it.
I remember running into Brandon on set one day after he filmed half a day and I was about to go in. It was the first time I had really seen him since we started filming. He was like, “How are you?” And I was like, “Um, yeah, I’m good. It’s hard! How are you?” He was like, “Oh, it’s so much fun. We have a fight and I’m beating up these dudes.” And I was like, “Cool, cool, awesome. I’m so glad.” (Laughs)
Just over here, trying to get to you!
(Laughs) Exactly. I’m clawing my way!
There are questions about the Dutton family tree: Are you and Brandon the grandparents who continue on the lineage for the main Yellowstone family, or is it Jack (Darren Mann) and Liz (Michelle Randolph)? Now we know you’re pregnant, and I’m sure you’ve seen that viewers have spotted some of Beth (Kelly Reilly)’s ferocity in Alex. Do you see that comparison?
I do. I’m honored. I love that, she’s so badass. I didn’t know who in the Dutton lineage would be the grandmother [of Kevin Costner’s character, John Dutton], if it would be me or Liz. But at the beginning, I felt strongly that I wanted to incorporate Beth into Alex a little bit in those ways because regardless, Spencer is a part of the Dutton family and he falls in love with a woman like Alex, so I felt she would be somebody who also had qualities of Cara [Helen Mirren‘s character in 1923] and Beth — the feisty, fierce women in this family. It was pretty important to me to filter some of those things in. Alex gets to show a lot more of her badass strength this season that Beth has an incredible amount of, so that was exciting.
Brandon Sklenar as Spencer Dutton and Julia Schlaepfer as Alexandra during their season one adventures.
Paramount+
This episode ends with more danger ahead for Alex. We see the man from the trailer (who tries to attack her) trailing her into the women’s bathroom at Grand Central. You mentioned the scene where you verbally stick it to the immigration officer, and how she never loses her resolve.
Yeah, she digs deep. That’s what’s so beautiful about Alex. She’s very brave. Sometimes she puts her foot in her mouth, but she keeps going and is so resilient, and it’s all because she’s chasing love and chasing happiness and living truthfully. That’s something I take inspiration from out of Alex — she’s so honest and brave because she knows what she wants, she will not back down to get to where she needs to go. She just she keeps digging deeper and deeper to find the strength to get there. That’s for sure.
How do you imagine she carries the trauma from this journey with her? Is her outlook that she’s going to get there no matter what, for both this baby and for Spencer?
I think so. I think that every struggle and challenge she faces this season just makes her resolve that much stronger to get there. It pushes her forward and empowers her to keep going, and also helps her realize what she’s capable of on her own. No one should have to go through what she goes through, but she gets through it and I think the shift in her is truly her child that she’s carrying. Of course, she needs to get to Spencer, but I don’t think there would be as much urgency if she didn’t have this family that she’s creating and starting with him. It’s not just the two of them off on this wild adventure anymore. It’s something much bigger than both her and Spencer. She’s got to get that baby to Montana.
You and your cast have teased an epic finale ahead. How did knowing where Alex’s season two story was going impact how you played her this season?
Taylor sent me six of the last scripts all at once, and I spent an entire day locked in a room reading them. I called him after just sobbing because it’s so beautiful. We all knew where it was headed, which was different from season one — season one, we had no idea. Me and Brandon were in Africa being like, “No, they’re separated by the end!” So we knew where it was going and I’m so excited to tell the story. It’s really, really beautiful. He’s written something special.
I think for all of us, it was a really good moment of learning how to make sure we weren’t foreshadowing anything in our performances. I completely memorized the entirety of the episodes before we started filming, and then really charted her journey, physicality-wise and emotionally, so that when I got to set every day I was focusing on what she’s going through right now. Not what she goes through tomorrow or at the end of this. Is she feeling joy today? You see in episode three when she meets the newspaper stand man or the worker at Grand Central, those are little wins for her. When I showed up to set on those days, it was like, “Someone’s nice to me today!” And I really needed that, to make sure I didn’t lose those moments of her own sparkle and positivity that she was just kind of born with.
Taylor Sheridan shined a light on the reservation school era in American history that people don’t often talk about with Teonna Rainwater’s story. It feels like he is similarly doing that here through Alex’s immigration storyline. How has going through what she’s been put through — and that even includes cowboy camp! — impacted you in larger ways?
I have learned so much about history, about our worlds. As me Julia, I feel as though I went through that full emotional journey and arc with Alex. So in many ways, I feel like I’m still recovering! I truly feel like I gave a piece of myself to her and she gave a piece of herself to me. So it completely changed my life, and I moved to Montana because of this show.
During cowboy camp, we were working with some of the best cowboys, cowgirls, wranglers in the entire world. We got to learn about that world. They are such incredible and amazing hardworking people and I just fell in love with the world. So after season one, I went back to New York City where I’d been living for 10 years and for fun, I looked on Zillow and I was like, “What about a ranch?” I found kind of the perfect place and I bought it sight unseen, and moved out there a month later. I love the world that Taylor and the show has introduced me to so much.
What is your life like in Montana?
I’m not full rancher yet. Taylor did invite me out to Texas at some point if I want to, which I do, to learn. I would stay with his wrangler gals in their apartments and learn how to take care of a ranch properly. Eventually I want to get a couple horses, I don’t have the infrastructure for that yet. I found a community out there. I love the little town that I’m nearby and there are so many amazing local people who have lived there their whole lives who have accepted me. There’s swing dancing every night; it feels like a movie. It’s so lovely and such a nice way to get away when I’m not working.
Taylor does a lot of authentic casting in his shows and has a tendency to cast people in his world across his shows. Would you be interested in playing someone else in the Sheridan-verse?
If Taylor came to me with an incredible character, of course; I’ve had the time of my life on this show. Being a part of the Yellowstone franchise itself [in another character] would be a bit odd because I feel like I’ve given everything I have to Alex and her place in the universe. But I would absolutely work with Taylor on another one of his shows. He’s such an incredible writer and I’ve had the best time getting to know him and work with him. He loves actors because he was an actor, so speaking to him about the work and the show is like a dream, because you really get to dig in.
We don’t know if season two is the end of 1923. Would you say the finale leaves the door open to continue exploring more of this time period in Dutton history?
I think there’s always room for that. I really do. These characters are so incredible and they’re all beloved for a reason, because Taylor’s written them so beautifully. I know for a fact that every actor on the show would die to come back for another round because we loved it so much. So, never say never! I don’t know what Taylor’s got up his sleeve.
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1923 is now streaming the first three episodes of season two on Paramount+. Head here for all of THR‘s season coverage and interviews.
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