From creator and executive producer Taylor Sheridan, Paramount+ series 1923 is a prequel that builds out more of the Dutton dynasty first established on-screen in Yellowstone. The show takes place after the events of the previous prequel, 1883, starring Tim McGraw as James Dutton and Faith Hill as Margaret Dutton, which chronicled the story of the family’s journey West to settle in Montana and form the beginnings of what will become the Yellowstone Ranch. When 1923 begins, a new generation of the Dutton family has taken ownership of the Yellowstone — led by James’ brother Jacob (Harrison Ford), his wife Cara (Helen Mirren), and James’ surviving children, who are now running the ranch in his stead. That’s all before they’re confronted with the hardships of such events as Prohibition and the Great Depression — as well as competitors who are constantly looking to take over the land that the Duttons have firmly staked their claim on. The series also stars Darren Mann, Michelle Randolph, James Badge Dale, Marley Shelton, Brian Geraghty, Aminah Nieves, Brandon Sklenar, Robert Patrick, Jerome Flynn, Jennifer Ehle, Sebastian Roché, and Timothy Dalton.

In the wake of the series’ latest bombshell reveal, Collider was given the opportunity to chat with Sklenar, who plays Spencer Dutton, a war veteran, big-game hunter, and Jacob and Cara’s nephew. Spencer’s storyline has been playing out in Africa largely apart from the events going on back in Montana on the Yellowstone Ranch — and up until the end of Episode 4, he’s been completely unaware of what’s happened to his family until his new fiancée Alex (Julia Schlaepfer) finally starts reading all the letters that Cara has been writing to him over the last several months. The shootout that happened between the Duttons and Banner Creighton (Flynn) didn’t go down at the same time that Spencer and Cara were touring Africa together — it happened three months before. Now, with the remainder of 1923’s first season set to return in February, will Spencer be able to make it back to his family’s ranch in time to see his uncle alive, as well as help exact revenge for his brother John’s (Dale) death?

Collider: What was the audition process like? How much did you really know about the character of Spencer Dutton before you were cast?

BRANDON SKLENAR: I was tracking the show for a while. Taylor was at the top of my list in terms of filmmakers I wanted to work with for a long time, and I’m a huge fan of that sort of… I’ve heard Sam Elliot put it as the mythology of the American West. I wanted to work with him for a long time, and this audition came along. It came with the first two episodes and the character breakdown. I didn’t know much other than [he] was a veteran with PTSD and was now a well-known big game hunter in Africa, and the son of Tim and Faith’s characters and brother to Elsa. That’s all I knew at the jump. I sent a tape and [they] flew me out to Jackson Hole to meet with Taylor and Ben and the rest of the team, and the rest is history.

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Where was everything filmed for that Africa storyline? There’s almost a classic Hollywood feeling to that whole side plot. It’s so far beyond Yellowstone, and it looks like you got to travel to some really exciting places.

SKLENAR: We shot all over South Africa, I mean, really, all over South Africa. Cape Town, Durban, Djibouti. Shot in Kenya for a bit, and then we ended in Europe. So really all over.

That island in Episode 4 that Spencer and Alex stumble upon, was that also South Africa?

SKLENAR: That was in Kenya. Yeah, that’s like Spencer’s hideaway. In the show, it’s Zanzibar, but we filmed in Kenya. It ended up being a little more accessible than going to actual Zanzibar, from what I understand, and it worked better for us, but equally as beautiful.

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RELATED: ‘1923’: James Badge Dale & Marley Shelton on the ‘Yellowstone’ Prequel and Cowboy Camp

Speaking of Spencer and Alex, the characters have this very whirlwind romance, but in terms of the practical side of it, how did you and Julia really try to work to develop that dynamic on-screen?

SKLENAR: Well, fortunately, we had a really lovely working chemistry from the jump. We didn’t chemistry read or anything, but I think Taylor just did a great job in casting, and he clearly had some sort of intuition that we would get on with each other. We did, and we were able to really spend a lot of time together during Cowboy Camp for a few months before we started filming and to go over the text and go over the material and just hang out and get to know each other and build a relationship where we felt very comfortable and very safe with each other and very present with one another. And that’s what you’re seeing.

Basically, this is how we are as people, and we were just fortunate that we were able to build that relationship. That made it so much easier having that as people — not having to get in your head about something or feel unsafe. You’re just always to be able to be present with one another in the whole space. It’s the best thing you can ask for, especially when you’re doing things that are so intimate.

At this point, Spencer feels like a very internalized character. It’s not always clear as to what is going on in his head. In spite of their spontaneous engagement, do you feel like he has genuine feelings for her there?

SKLENAR: I think it’s all genuine, from the jump, She affects him in such a way, in the bar when they first meet and then, especially, the second meeting. She just resonates with him in his heart, in his soul, in a way that he’s never felt before, and she’s tapping into a part of him that’s been dead for years. So it’s very genuine, but there’s also a part of it …

He’s just doing whatever he can to survive most of the time, while also not caring if he died. A lot of their initial bonding in terms of his commitment to be like, “I’ll marry you right now,” some of that’s coming from a place of needing her to feel like he’s alive again because she does … There’s a bit of selfishness in there in that regard, but then it’s pure, and it’s genuine and then that evolves into something deeply profound. Initially, she’s given him something to live for that he hasn’t felt.

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You mentioned Cowboy Camp. I talked to a few of your co-stars before the show started airing, about the experience, and so I wanted to give you a chance to talk about it. Was there anything that you got to learn for the role that you had never learned as a skill before?

SKLENAR: Oh, yeah. I spent a little bit of time on a horse when I was a kid with my uncle, but nothing to the degree that I ended up doing. We spent probably two months every day with some of the best wranglers in the business. Hard for us to come out of that and not be pretty good on a horse. It’s all relative compared to these guys. You’re still a beginner. But from day one to the end of that, it was night and day for everybody. Everybody did such a phenomenal job. No one fell off. It’s the first Cowboy Camp I think they’ve had when no one fell off their horse or got bucked off.

It’s just such a bond. It’s such a great experience to take a bunch of actors that don’t know each other, and you’re all kind of neutralized because no one knows what they’re doing. You can build that together and everyone’s so supportive of one another. It’s so great to feel comfortable on a horse and to feel like you halfway know what you’re doing.

I heard from Marley and James that it got a little competitive, though. Is that fair to say?

SKLENAR: Oh, it definitely gets competitive. I was painting myself out to be a saint here, but I definitely throw some shade. I’d throw some shade during the wrangling competitions. We’d wrangle cattle, and we’d do these games. The last week or two, when everyone started getting comfortable, there was definitely some … People were messing with each other, for sure.

You talked about getting the first two scripts, but how early did you know that Spencer’s time in Africa was not happening alongside the events at the Yellowstone?

SKLENAR: I didn’t know that until [Episode] 4 was written. I can’t remember when I got [it]. That was something that everybody was going, “Oh, we’re on different timelines here.” That’s interesting. Everybody was taken aback by that.

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Looking ahead to the rest of the season, is there anything that you can tee up for viewers about Spencer in terms of his return to Yellowstone? Are we going to see you in Montana?

SKLENAR: I can say Spencer’s going to do everything in his power to get back there. I can say that he’ll go to the end of the earth to get back there. That’s his absolute purpose at the moment. He’s going to do everything he can.

Possibly with a new wife in tow?

SKLENAR: I hope so. She’s great for him and I think he’s all right for her, so I hope so.

The second half of 1923 returns February 2023 on Paramount+.