Here's Why '1883' Star Isabel May (Elsa Dutton) Looks So Familiar

Here’s Why ‘1883’ Star Isabel May (Elsa Dutton) Looks So Familiar

1883, the highly anticipated Yellowstone spinoff, has a blockbuster cast, including Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Sam Elliott, and Billy Bob Thornton, but one new star-in-the-making holds her own against these stellar actors.

Isabel May plays young Elsa Dutton, teenage daughter of James and Margaret (portrayed by Tim and Faith). Elsa also serves as the narrator for the series, offering an unexpected perspective. She’s an optimist with a rebellious spirit and defies gender stereotypes of the time. She also lends her narrating talents to the next installment in the Yellowstone universe, 1923.

In the Yellowstone Season 5 finale, Elsa Dutton’s narration marks the end of the Dutton family’s time on the ranch, but the accent has some real-life Southerners scratching their heads.

Elsa’s accent in this narration actually was a “learned” accent. May, who isn’t from the South, had to master a Tennessee accent to authentically portray Elsa, with the help of studying Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Southern preacher character in Cold Mountain.

This is where her voice came from in the Yellowstone finale, concluding Taylor Sheridan’s prophecy.

“141 years ago, my father was told of this valley, and here’s where we stayed. Seven generations. My father was told they would come for this land, and he promised to return it. Nowhere was that promise written. It faded with my father’s death, but somehow lived in the spirit of this place.”

Emerson Miller

Isabel says of her role, “I think Elsa’s someone that can’t be dishonest. She has this pure, in the beginning naive, spirit. She’s so alive, and she appreciates everything to such a degree. It’s a perspective that we’ve never seen in a Western, and it makes it all the more interesting when she’s so in love with her surroundings. And the backdrop to that is how difficult that experience was. It’s this contrast between the beauty of the world that she sees and the hardship and the reality of it. And that brings the series to life in a new way.”

The 22-year-old actress considers herself fortunate to be in this role. She says, “I’m lucky to be a part of it. I don’t really know how I’ve had this opportunity. It’s difficult to find such depth and growth in a character especially at her age, considering the genre as well, being a Western it’s usually from a male perspective.”

This role may be groundbreaking, but Isabel is not new to the small screen. In fact, you may recognize her from some recent shows. The California native first found fame as Katie Cooper in the Netflix show Alexis & Katie, which had a three-season run. She also has a recurring role as Veronica Duncan on the CBS sitcom Young Sheldon. In 2022, she appeared in the rom-com I Want You Back alongside Scott Eastwood, Jami Gertz, Gina Rodriguez, and Jenny Slate. Up next, she’s scheduled to appear in The Smack with Kathy Bates and Marisa Tomei.