Yellowstone star Kelly Reilly reveals how Beth Dutton rubbed off on her as British-born actress shares she was ‘shy’

Kelly Reilly — the redhead beauty known as eloquent Montana financial wizard Beth Dutton on her show Yellowstone — has landed a high-profile magazine cover.

The British-born beauty stars in Town & Country’s December 2024/January 2025 issue.

Kelly shared with the publication that the former “shy” kid was at first “terrified” to play John Dutton’s ruthless daughter, but now the character has rubbed off on her.

She told writer Leena Kim: “I definitely gained more courage in my life from Beth. I didn’t know I could walk into a room and do that. I’m less afraid of a room.

And she’s having fun with Beth.

“A lot of acting is psychology, right? » » asked Reilly. “It’s like a treasure hunt. Where are the nuggets that lead me to understand who this person is?

She is very different from Beth as she describes her home life with her husband as “boring”.

She also has fruit and not vodka shakes for breakfast and loves nature walks in the English countryside.

“I love preparing to play her because there’s an adrenaline rush in Beth and it’s very energizing,” Reilly explained.

“But it’s also incredibly terrible. I have to hide completely to put some on. I love her, but I can’t live with her.

Kelly – who lives in both the English countryside and New York – added: “There’s a boldness to Beth’s fierceness that’s empowering. I think that’s why many women like it.

The actress kept a low profile before the release of Yellowstone, so no one knew that the very American Beth was played by a British star.

“I’m very private,” the mermaid said. “I don’t want people to know where I am, what I do, my inner workings. In an age of oversharing, it’s rebellious to hold back.

In the magazine she said people don’t want her, they want Beth.

“I was asked to join Cameo for a lot of money,” Reilly explained. Cameo is a platform where fans can pay for celebrities to record personalized video messages.

“But they don’t want me to continue as I am. They want Beth Dutton to tell them to fuck off.

In 2017, she almost left Hollywood.

“I’ve always loved my job, but the business can sometimes present challenges that I didn’t feel cut out for,” she says. “I just wanted to go back to the theater, do two or three plays a year and live quietly. It didn’t feel like a second prize. It felt like a choice, the life I wanted to have.

Then came Yellowstone.

“I remember reading it while I was getting our apartment ready and thinking, ‘Oh, shit.’ It was like throwing down a gauntlet. The challenge piqued my interest.

Creator Taylor Sheridan gave him the role. “I didn’t even audition. Then I was like, “Fuck, I didn’t audition.” I was terrified, because I didn’t know how I was going to do it. And it took me a minute to find it.

In the interview, Kelly shared that she was “shy” growing up, but blossomed when she started acting.

“It was like a drug. Nothing made me feel this way. I had never felt the excitement and rawness that I saw with actors on stage performing in very serious plays. It felt sacred, as if we were being transformed and healed by coming together in this human experience of art. I wanted to go to the circus with them. I wanted to do that.

Her first paid job was at age 17, opposite Helen Mirren in the British police procedural Prime Suspect.

She worked on stage and then appeared in Pride and Prejudice (2005) and the two Sherlock films (2009 and 2011) with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law.

His Hollywood break came in 2012 with Flight starring Denzel Washington.

She now stars as a housewife in Here with Tom Hanks, Robin Wright and Paul Bettany.

She will then spend the next few months in Wales filming Under Salt Marsh.

It is a detective series in which she plays a former detective. “There’s something about a new character clearing out the palace so a different woman can move in,” she said.

Kelly would not comment on whether there would be another season of Yellowstone.

All she would say is, “I’m really interested in Beth and who she is after certain things happened.” Who is she at peace? As an actor, you’re like, “Ooh, let me do that.” Wouldn’t it be fun to see Beth go to therapy?

The story appears in the December 2024/January 2025 issue of Town & Country. The photos were by Sebastian Kim.

It comes after she told the BBC that her success “didn’t happen overnight”.

The actress has already starred in many big budget productions like True Detective.

When asked what it’s like to be an in-demand leading lady these days thanks to Yellowstone, Kelly told the site, “Well, I’m 47, it didn’t feel right. produced overnight, you know.” So it’s not like I’m getting whiplash.

She added: “I’ve been an actress for 30 years.

“It hasn’t been lost on me that there are a multitude of series that have such success around the world and a character that has garnered so much attention or appeal.

“But I treat him at arm’s length. I don’t spend too much time thinking about it.

Reilly then insisted she was a normie at heart.

“I have a very normal life. It is very important to me that my life is normal. Nothing has changed except that I am very busy,” she said.

“I don’t sleep at home very often, which is annoying because I love the house!

She is also married to Kyle Baugher; they married in 2012.

Kelly says she “didn’t do any press” before Yellowstone started, because she wanted people to believe in her character.

Kelly shared, “People talk to me like Beth is real. We all talk about Beth like she’s a real person.

“I’m always going to be a little disappointed when people meet me. I go to the local bakery and the lady says, “I’d love to drink with you,” she said.

“I know what she means: she wants to drink with Beth. People want to feel part of this energy…someone so connected to their primal self.

“And we are so disconnected. We are all on the phone, on social media. It’s like it wouldn’t happen if someone didn’t take a photo of it. Beth is the opposite of that. She is so alive.