“She refuses to apologize for doing what she felt was right,” declares Isabel May about her character in the Paramount+ limited series “1883.” The period western recounts the arduous journey of the Dutton family as the travel from Tennessee to Montana and settle the land that will become the setting of the popular drama “Yellowstone.” May plays Elsa, the eldest Dutton child, whose headstrong nature occasionally puts her at odds with her parents, James and Margaret (Tim McGraw and Faith Hill). In our exclusive video interview (watch above), May talks about bonding with her onscreen parents and the physical and emotional challenges of her character’s tragic journey. Warning: spoilers about the series finale below.
Elsa Dutton is not like other young women of that time period. She is fiery and curious, and often rejects the traditional roles set out for her. May incorporated Elsa’s sense of individuality and impetuosity into the way the character moved. As the character became more independent, May made changes in the way she carried herself. “I put a lot of thought into every nook and cranny of her,” she says. “She sort of had the ability to be a little more wild, especially with a father like hers that kind of encouraged her to be able to do things on her own, which was very rare for a woman– especially a young one at that time– to get that kind of encouragement.”
Elsa also serves as the show’s narrator, a challenge that May took every bit as seriously as her onscreen performance. The actress memorized all of her narrative dialogue, and even performed all of the narration with her eyes closed in front of the show’s creator, Taylor Sheridan
When it came to filming Elsa’s death in the series finale, all of May’s preparation paid off. The actress describes creating a playlist of songs that were informed by everything that happened to Elsa throughout the series, including the character’s experience in coming to terms with her impending death. “I really don’t care how brave you are,” she argues. “I don’t think there’s anything scarier than the end of this lifetime because none of us really know what goes on after that.” May found herself nervous about her character’s death scene throughout the shoot, but was surprised by her feelings during the filming of the actual death scene. “It was just this weird release,” she recalls. “It didn’t feel hard necessarily. It just feel oddly satisfying.”
May hopes that the character of Elsa becomes a role model for young people, particularly young women. “I hope it gives them a thrill,” she exclaims. “You can do virtually anything. And even if you don’t succeed at it at first or even if it’s not necessarily what people consider to be the right way to do something, if it feels right in your heart just do it, because life is so damn short.”
