Actress Kelly Reilly embodies Beth Dutton on Yellowstone so perfectly with her unapologetic attitude and acerbic wit, it’s hard to believe this British actress used to be typecast in comedy roles. Reilly has spent the last five seasons playing Beth Dutton, the only daughter of Montana rancher John Dutton (Kevin Costner), and now-wife of the Dutton Ranch foreman Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser).
The back half of Season 5, which has been announced as the final season, was originally set to premiere in November, but production has yet to begin on the final episodes. With the current writers and actors strikes, it’s anyone’s guess when production will commence.
Filmed before the entertainment industry strikes began and prior to the announcement that Season 5 would be its last, Reilly is featured in the bonus material on the Season 5, Part I Blu-Ray/DVD of Yellowstone. In it, she admits she doesn’t always see eye-to-eye with creator/writer Taylor Sheridan on the path Beth travels. Like the viewers who are watching an episode for the first time, the actress isn’t always aware of what’s next for her character. Sheridan, who has written almost every episode of the series doesn’t share details ahead of scripts being distributed. Reilly admits the process is fascinating, to say the least. “I’m coming to it almost the same as the audience,” she said. “I mean, I have my hopes and thoughts for the character. Also, as I’ve played her for over five years now, I feel like I know her so well, but I’m still learning.”
Since the show’s premiere, Reilly’s character has gone through the wringer a few times. She was beaten up by the Beck brothers and their goons one season, suffered an unplanned hysterectomy as a teen orchestrated by her brother, Jamie (Wes Bentley), and managed to survive a mail bomb in another season. Even Reilly isn’t sure what’s next until the script lands on her desk. “There are still things that I read I didn’t expect, or sometimes I wish for something else for her,” she said.
For Beth Dutton, the light at the end of the tunnel is her first and last love, Rip Wheeler. The two have been an on-again-off-again item since their teen years but love found a way to triumph and the two were married in the Season 4 finale, but is it all wedded bliss from here on out? Reilly doesn’t think so. In a behind-the-scenes featurette, Reilly says, “She’s probably certain that she will lose him.” she adds, “Beth is haunted by her past. She has a lot of regrets and she has a lot of secrets that he doesn’t know.”
