The seasoned actor will be joining a long list of big names on the cast of 1883 including, Sam Elliott, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, and Billy Bob Thornton just to begin with. The Oscar-winning star, who is known for such memorable films as, Born on the Fourth of July, Saving Private Ryan, and Forrest Gump, will not be joining the regular cast but is set to appear in the second episode during a flashback scene.
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In this particular episode, Hanks portrays Union General George Meade who meets James Dutton in one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War – The Battle of Antietam.
Adding to Taylor Sheridan’s long list of accomplishments, 1883 is a Yellowstone prequel that takes us back to tell the story of how James and Margaret Dutton (Tim McGraw, Faith Hill) took the long journey from Texas to Montana in search of a better life.
Sam Elliot will be portraying Shea Brennan who Deadline has describes as “a tough-as-nails, handsome cowboy with immense sadness in his past.” It’s Brennan that must guide the wagon train from Texas to Montana and the group quickly learns that he isn’t one to “suffer fools.”
In a statement to Deadline about joining the cast of 1883, Elliot said, “It all starts with the writing, and Taylor Sheridan is a brilliant writer. I think the western genre speaks clearly to both of us.”
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Also starring in this throwback to the early westerns is Graham Greene who may be remembered for his role, also alongside Kevin Costner, in Dances with Wolves.
Greene will be portraying a Crow elder, Spotted Eagle who helps the family on their journey through the American West. Also in the film are notable actors Audie Rick (Kenobi: A Star Wars Story), Eric Nelsen (All My Children), Marc Rissmann (Game of Thrones), and James Landry Hébert (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood).
On the show’s realism, creator Taylor Sheridan tells Us Weekly, “I don’t build a world with visual effects,” he said, per Us Weekly. “I go shoot these corners of the world that people haven’t seen,” adding that the audience is “so experienced” moving them becomes more and more challenging.
He went on to say, “But we can do it as John Ford did it,” adding that, “when you need 50 wagons, you’re going to see 50 [real] wagons.”
1883 premieres on December 19 at 8 PM Central on the Paramount Network. Return here regularly for Yellowstone and 1883 spoilers, news, and updates.