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Elle
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Elle
Michelle Randolph on That Major 1923 Episode 5 Reveal: ‘It Can't All Be Good'
Spoilers for 1923 season one ahead. 'You know Taylor [Sheridan],' Michelle Randolph teases over Zoom. 'When something good happens, something bad happens.' The actress behind 1923's Elizabeth Stafford is espousing what might as well be the thesis of creator Sheridan's Yellowstone cinematic universe as a whole: The sprawling cowboy opera—with not one but two spin-off shows—is forever riding the pendulum swing between the dirty and the divine among the American West. There is no good in Sheridan's world without its inverse nipping at its heels. And so episode 5 of 1923 offers a joyful you're willing to believe Sheridan has quelled his crueler instincts. In 'Ghost of Zebrina,' the Dutton family—led by Harrison Ford's Jacob and Helen Mirren's Cara—are reeling from the loss of multiple family members. Their oldest nephew, John Dutton I (James Badge Dale), has died of a gunshot wound from last episode's spar between cattle ranchers and sheep herders. And it's not long into episode 5 before they're burying another loved one: Emma Dutton (Marley Shelton), John's widow, kills herself shortly after his death. Together, they leave behind a son, Jack Dutton (Darren Mann), who's yet to marry the lovely Elizabeth Stafford thanks, in no small part, to his thirst for filial revenge. As Yellowstone spin-off 1883's Elsa Dutton narrates at the beginning of 'Ghost of Zebrina,' Jack's elected to 'spend his evenings patrolling headquarters, choosing revenge over passion.' This isn't exactly what the young Miss Strafford signed up for. As of episode 4, Elizabeth had chosen life on the range over the ritz of New York, where her mother returned after Elizabeth's own father died. An East Coaster since birth, Elizabeth might be familiar with ranching—her family owns the land neighboring the Yellowstone—but she knows little of what it requires to be a rancher's wife. 'She's so in love and she chooses Jack,' Randolph tells 'but that means that she has to shift her entire way of thinking because she's been a city girl.' So when the love of her life eschews her company in favor of war plans, she doesn't take too kindly to her abandonment. 'You haven't lost anything I haven't lost,' she tells Jack, referring to her now-deceased father and long-gone mother. 'I'm an orphan, too, now. All we have is each other, and I don't even have that.' Jack's response, rather than to argue with his bride, is to marry her on the spot. In true Sheridan fashion, they exchange vows—in the eyes of God, anyway, if not exactly the church—while overlooking the sweeping plains of the Dutton ranch, their hair blowing in the breeze and tears streaming down their cheeks. Cara watches from afar, renewed by the energy of their young love. It's a scene Randolph feels was vital to establishing the dynamic of the pre-present day Duttons. Elizabeth is 'the sunshine' of the group, Randolph says. 'It's a nice contrast to the Dutton family because she learns so much from them. But I think she has a lot to teach them as well. She is, in some ways, a good positive influence: that no matter what hardships she goes through, she still chooses to look at the world through a glass-half-full eye, which is rare. And it's beautiful because the world hardens you, especially when you're caught in all the Dutton family drama.' She adds, 'I think that's why Jack loves her so much, too. Because she's a light.' The California born-and-bred Randolph says she believes Sheridan cast her in the role because he recognized that same vibrancy in Randolph herself. 'I felt like I understood where [Elizabeth] could be underestimated a little bit and perceived with less strength than I think that she has,' Randolph says. Still, knowing Sheridan, she approached episode 5's big reveal with trepidation. In one of the chapter's final scenes, the audience learns Jack finally put aside brooding long enough to spend at least a little time with his wife, for his darling Elizabeth is suddenly expecting a child. (Not to worry, Cara says, swooping in; she'll make sure a real wedding covers up any threat of scandal.) Randolph was thrilled to think of what that news might mean for the Dutton family—might Elizabeth be the grandmother to Kevin Costner's John Dutton III, of Yellowstone infamy?—before her joy quickly gave way to worry. 'When I booked the show, I had only read the first three episodes, so I had no idea, "Am I going to die?"' Randolph says, laughing. 'I had so many ideas in my head of where it could go. I mean, we were filming before I even read episodes 7 and 8. And so I was excited to find out that [Elizabeth] was pregnant and hopefully carrying on the line of Duttons. But I also wondered, "Well, what's going to happen next?" Because you know Taylor, and it can't be all good.' Elizabeth's pregnancy has major implications for the Dutton family tree and Randolph herself. If Elizabeth is John Dutton III's grandmother, then she'll likely continue to be a major character in 1923. But if she isn't, then who is? Might it be Alex (Julia Schlaepfer), the fiery new partner of Spencer Dutton (Brandon Sklenar), Jack's uncle? And if it is Alex, what does that mean for Elizabeth's longevity in a land as harsh and unforgiving as the Yellowstone? 1923 has a future, regardless: The show was renewed for season 2, with Ford and Mirren set to reprise their roles. When asked if she plans to return as Elizabeth for the sophomore chapter, Randolph only smiles and says, 'I hope so.' This interview originally appeared on ELLE US in February 2023. ELLE Collective is a new community of fashion, beauty and culture lovers. For access to exclusive content, events, inspiring advice from our Editors and industry experts, as well the opportunity to meet designers, thought-leaders and stylists, become a member today HERE.
Forbes
21-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Jennifer Coolidge Loves Hanging With ‘Riff Raff' After ‘White Lotus'
Although Emmy-winning actor Jennifer Coolidge misses The White Lotus terribly, she's glad that directors are seeing her potential for playing characters dramatically different from the effervescent Tanya McQuoid. Director Dito Montiel certainly gets Coolidge's expansive range, which is why the filmmaker cast her in the lead role of Ruth in the dark crime comedy Riff Raff, which debuts on digital streaming via premium video on demand on Friday. In Riff Raff, Coolidge's Ruth plays the ex-wife Vincent (Ed Harris), a former mobster who has found peace with a new wife, Sandy (Gabriel Union) and son, DJ (Miles J. Harvey) in a peaceful remote abode far away from the rat race. But when Vincent's son, Rocco (Lewis Pullman) shows up at his estranged dad's house along with his very pregnant better half Marina (Emanuela Postacchini) and his passed-out mom, Ruth, the former criminal's life starts to come back to haunt him. It seems that Rocco has seriously upset Vincent's former crime partner, Lefty (Bill Murray) and Lonny (Pete Davidson) — and they want payback. Ruth, as we discover from the get-go, is a tough-talking, F-bomb-slinging and booze-chugging East Coaster who will tell you like it is whether you like it or not. 'I'll be really honest. I was extremely surprised that I was being offered the role,' Coolidge told me in a recent phone conversation. 'It was Dito Montiel's idea and I just was surprised because I don't get offered parts like that. It's interesting. The movie business and the television business are strange. I can't tell you how many times I've been offered the exact same role over and over.' Coolidge — whose first screen credit happened in a 1993 episode of Seinfeld — has been fortunate to amass more than 100 screen roles in the past three decades, but admits that she had long stretches where she felt stuck. 'I went through a whole decade — I think it was after Best in Show — where a lot of trophy wife roles were being offered to me,' Coolidge recalls. 'I turned down a lot of them, thinking, 'Something else will come up.' [They were all for] a certain type of woman, this generic, trophy wife sort of thing.' Ruth in Riff Raff, though, is anything but a trophy wife. 'I know a lot of Ruths. Growing up, I knew them,' said Coolidge, who hails from Boston. 'Ruth is pretty rough [in Riff Raff] As an alum of the legendary improvisational comedy troupe The Groundlings in Los Angeles, Jennifer Coolidge has had the opportunity to put her improv skills to work in films like actor-director Christopher Guest's documentary-style comedy gems Best in Show, A Mighty Wind and For Your Consideration. And while Riff Raff has dark comedic elements woven within the murder and mayhem that goes on in the film, Coolidge said she mostly followed screenwriter John Pollono's lead. 'There's very little improv. All my funny lines were really written by John Pollono,' Coolidge recalled. 'I screened [Riff Raff] at the Toronto Film Festival for the first time and I didn't remember hearing lies that I came up with. I'm so glad I got that role because I don't know if I'll ever get that kind of role again. There were physical things that I [improvised] that weren't written in the script but those were mostly John's lines.' While Best in Show — Guest's 2000 dog show comedy that also stars Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Jane Lynch, Michael McKean and the late Fred Willard — resulted in a slew of trophy wife offers in its wake, Coolidge is still forever grateful for the role. 'It was a good job because the actual industry got to see me because I hadn't really done much before that,' Coolidge recalled. 'I had American Pie [as Stiffler's Mom] under my belt and Legally Blonde was around the same time as Best in Show — maybe a little bit after. Best in Show helped me because people you know people love Christopher Guest's films and that was the first one I ever got to do.' Not only did Best in Show allow Coolidge to spotlight her improv skills, but it put her on the path for much bigger things in the future, including the first two seasons of The White Lotus and now, Riff Raff. 'People in the industry liked [Best in Show], so I think it got me a lot of auditions,' Coolidge said. 'I loved playing the part, and even while I did play a couple of trophy wives in different films, it helped get me to where I am now, where I can be in a gangster film. I'm glad that things are getting more varied as I get older … I'm thrilled I get to play a bad lady for once!' Rated R, Riff Raff is available on digital streaming on a variety of outlets, including AppleTV, Fandango at Home and Prime Video.
