Taylor Sheridan Warned Julia Schlaepfer He Was Going to 'Drag' Her 'Through Hell' in1923Season 2 (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Taylor Sheridan at the premiere of ‘1883’ (left); Julia Schlaepfer as Alexandra in ‘1923’ season 2 (right).Photo:Gabe Ginsberg/Getty;Lauren Smith/Paramount+

Gabe Ginsberg/Getty;Lauren Smith/Paramount+

Warning: This post contains spoilers about1923season 2.

Julia Schlaepfergoes on a truly emotional journey with her character in1923season 2.

But she says creatorTaylor Sheridanmade sure to get her approval first.

“Taylor Sheridan called me before he started writing episode 3, and he was like, ‘Hey, she’s an immigrant coming to America. She’s a young woman who’s pregnant. And for all intents and purposes, as far as they’re concerned, she’s unmarried. They don’t legally recognize her marriage. And so she would go through a lot,'” Schlaepfer recalls.

“He was like, ‘I really want to write this episode, but I want to make sure, as an actor, you are okay with going through that, because it will be very traumatic.'”

Julia Schlaepfer as Alexandra in ‘1923’ season 2.Lauren Smith/Paramount+

Lauren Smith/Paramount+

She was quick to agree and “excited” even, as she saw it as an amazing “opportunity as an actor.” Still, Sheridan, 54, warned her, “I’m kind of going to drag you through hell a little bit.'”

“And I was like, ‘That’s okay. That’s okay. Yes, let’s tell this story.’ because it also is real. It’s a real story so many people went through,” she says. It’s also close to home for her. “My great-grandfather immigrated through Ellis Island with $15 in his pocket, and so I was like, ‘Let’s tell it.'”

When it came time to film the sequence, though, she admits, “It was really brutal.” It took around eight hours to film, and she says she was “taken such good care of,” but still, it was hard to shake.

“I thought I’d be able to leave it at the door and it was a lot more challenging for me,” she says. “I don’t think I slept for most of season 2 — I just couldn’t sleep at night.”

She says it’s “what keeps her going, and she has such a purpose. It’s no longer just [for] Spencer. She’s creating life, and I think you really see her go through the deepest, most beautiful parts of what a mother’s love can endure.”

Julia Schlaepfer as Alexandra and Brandon Sklenar as Spencer Dutton in ‘1923’ season 1.Emerson Miller/Paramount+

Emerson Miller/Paramount+

Alex’s tenacity and fearlessness are a big part of what drew Schlaepfer to the role in the first place.

“Even when I got the character breakdown when I first auditioned, there was just something about her that always needed to run free and experience the life in front of her and not be caged. She has this fire that is just a piece of who she is, that I think doesn’t end up making sense to a lot of people that she meets along the way.”

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The first three episodes of1923season 2 are now streaming on Paramount+ and new episodes premiere Sundays.

source: people.com