Canadian star Patrick J. Adams breaks down Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan’s latest — a tender yet rugged exploration of redefining yourself in the wake of profound trauma
When the Clyburn family experiences a life-altering loss, the New Yorkers travel to southwest Montana prepared to tie up loose ends, both literally and emotionally. But, as is the case in most of Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan’s oeuvre, the majestic landscapes of Madison River have a surprising effect on these city dwellers. In Sheridan’s latest work exploring the relationship between man and the environment, Michelle Pfeiffer plays Stacy Clyburn, the matriarch mourning the tragic demise of her husband Preston (Kurt Russell) when she gathers daughters Abby (Beau Garrett) and Paige (Elle Chapman) — along with Abby’s two daughters and Paige’s husband Russell (Patrick J. Adams ) — and brings them to Preston’s old stomping grounds in rural Montana.
If, at first, it is the family’s desire to support Stacy’s desire to stay that keeps them in the Northwest, things eventually start to shift for the other Clyburns as well. “Each character starts having their own lived experience of this place. I think it grows on them,” says Adams. “As I think many of us experience, when we go to places like this, at first we’re still on our phone and connected to our other life. We’re like, ‘Oh, this is beautiful. Oh, those stars are nice, but I’ve got things to do and emails to return.’ And then, if you stay long enough, even if it’s a forced stay, you start to slow down and take deep breaths and you’re like, ‘Wait a minute, why do I feel so much better?’”
Sheridan’s series is a contemplation on grief and identity, but it’s fair to say that part of the overall enjoyment is watching certain characters not quite being cut out for provincial living. “It’s fun to have people who are completely out of place in the world that [Sheridan] puts most of his shows,” says Adams. “We still get all the magic of shooting in these environments, but for us, it’s an opportunity to be a bit silly and uncomfortable, and highlight all the ways in which city people can be very much out of their element in these places.” It is also the kind of environment that initially brings out a lot of frustration within the group. “They’re struggling so much with this loss and they have so much anger. They don’t know where to put it so they take it out on each other,” Chapman explains.
It is surprising to no one that the younger generation of Clyburns are a somewhat pampered breed. “When you first meet [Paige], she might seem a bit image focused,” says Chapman. “I think that she is also a bit stunted emotionally. She was the younger child and watched her sister make all these mistakes, so she tried to be perfect — but still wasn’t getting really the attention she wanted.” Paige’s hunger for attention and impatience is something that extends to her relationship with Russell. “Paige could be a little bit kinder to him at times, but I also think it’s like a fun game that they both are participants of,” says Chapman. “Over the course of the show, I think we see how they start to reconcile that. Maybe Paige realizes things that are more important than bullying your husband.”
Russell may not share a lot of qualities with the rugged Preston, but there is one important quality they have in common. “He does share wanting to show up,” says Adams. “Even though he is not a person who is comfortable in the outdoors in any way, he is willing to make himself uncomfortable in the process of showing up for his wife and her family.” It was that nobility that attracted the Suits star to the role. “I was drawn to somebody who’s got a calling beyond just themselves,” says the Toronto actor. “On paper, he’d seem like the guy who’d probably stay home and be like, ‘I’m good. I’ll see you when you get back with your family. Good luck. Give me a call.’ It’s a different kind of character that shows up. Russell’s a quiet character, so I wasn’t sure exactly what to make of him, but I was intrigued enough that I wanted to get to know him better.”
Sheridan may not be an open book when it comes to character evolution, but for those embarking on a project of his, the legacy of his work is what speaks volumes. “Taylor has clearly demonstrated that he’s a writer in full charge of his process, that he has a game plan and that these stories evolve in really interesting ways,” says Adams. “I had no doubt that this is a character that wouldn’t just sit in this gear forever, that this is really just a starting place.” For Chapman, growth is inevitable — especially when it comes to Paige and Russell. “The gift in both of our characters is that we start the most uncomfortable out of the whole ensemble, in this new environment,” she says. “It gives us the farthest way to go.”
Another superpower of Sheridan’s, says Adams, is his ability to cast families for his epic array of series. “He’s really good at building ensembles,” he says. “He’s really good at understanding how to put people together who are all going to be on the same page, and really good at discovering talent. He’s casting Michelle Pfeiffer, Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford on one end, but he also sees, for example, in Elle Chapman, ‘You’re ready for this part,’ and getting it so right. That’s not an easy thing to do.”
When it comes to what is on the page, Adams praises Sheridan’s conviction to not create by committee. “He’s a world-class writer and it’s straight from his heart, onto the page, into our hands,” he says. “There’s no middle ground. There’s no people in there trying to change it or make it more appropriate to an algorithm. It is him writing what he’s going through, what he’s thinking about. And I think that’s his real gift.” If in previous Sheridan shows there has been a certain nostalgia for the past, The Madison is a look at truly staying in the present. “Take a look at how you’re living right now,” says Adams. “Grief is going to come for all of us. We’re all going to lose something very suddenly. That process is a real test of how you live your life and who the people in it are. A lot of people can be destroyed by that event, because they don’t have the right people or they’re too isolated, which can really happen to us in a city environment. And this family, in this very beautiful place, is given the opportunity to try something different and see if they can reconnect in a way that didn’t seem possible.”
All six episodes of The Madison are now available to stream, in full, on Paramount+.