With1923coming back for a second season, it’s very possible that Spencer Dutton’s death could be a storyline, and actor Brandon Sklenar has some insight into how it could happen. Set in the universe created by Taylor Sheridan,1923is the secondYellowstoneprequel spinoff, and depicts the trials and tribulations of the Dutton family in the titular year. At the center of it all are Jacob (Harrison Ford) and Cara Dutton (Helen Mirren), who maintain their family homestead in Prohibition-era Montana as the Great Depression looms large.
Jacob and Cara have no children, but raised their orphaned nephews, John Sr. (James Badge Dale) and Spencer (Brandon Sklenar) as their own. While John Sr. dies a tragic death in1923season 1,Spencer is living abroad, working as a big-game hunter in Africa. Most of Spencer’s storyline is about his romance with Alexandra (Julia Schalepfer), a high-society British woman he meets on his travels. They elope together but are separated in the1923season 1 finale, which also sets up Spencer’s potential — and possibly fatal — return home.
1923 Actor Brandon Sklenar Believes Spencer Dutton Has A Death Wish
Spencer Appeared To Have PTSD & Coped In Dangerous Ways
Prior to the events of1923, Spencer Dutton fought in World War I, where he was subjected to many horrors, which left him traumatized and likely suffering from PTSD. In Africa,Spencer lives recklessly, drinking heavily and going on dangerous hunting missions.In an interview withDaily Express, Brandon Sklenar said, “he was coping with his PTSD by chasing danger and putting himself in harm’s way.” Spencer discovers a newfound purpose when he falls for Alex, but true love isn’t a cure for a serious mental health condition. Sklenar also said,
[Spencer’s] kind of, almost, trying to kill himself. He’s drinking himself to death, he’s putting himself in these circumstances because it’s the only way he knows how to feel anything. It’s the only way he knows how to feel alive.
Now that he and Alex have been ripped apart,Spencer has even more hardships to cope with, which may see his riskier behavior increase. It’s unknown whether Spencer and Alex will reunite, or even if he’ll make it back to Montana, in1923season 2, but the show’s sophomore installment could very well drop some hints as to how Spencer Dutton dies — if not show it completely.
In the sameDaily Expressinterview, Sklenar admitted that he doesn’t know exactly how Spencer is related toYellowstone’s John Dutton, and that there’s no concrete information on the much-discussedYellowstone-universe fan question.
Where You’ve Seen Spencer Dutton Actor Brandon Sklenar Before
His Broke Out With 2024’s It Ends With Us
The New Jersey-bornBrandon Sklenar has been acting since 2011, and his early-career credits includeNew Girl(as “Loner”),Mapplethorpe(as Edward Mapplethorpe), andVice(as Bobby Prentace). Sklenar also memorably portrayed Burt Reyolds in the Paramount+ miniseriesThe Offer, about the development and production ofThe Godfather.
1923 Cast & Character Guide
Helen Mirren, Harrison Ford, Timothy Dalton, Jeromy Flynn, and Brandon Sklenar are just some of the big names in the cast of Taylor Sheridan’s 1923.
Playing Spencer Dutton in the cast of1923is by far Sklenar’s biggest TV credit, butthe actor broke out in the Hollywood mainstream in the summer of 2024 withIt Ends with Us.Sklenar plays Atlas Corrigan, the first love of protagonist Lily Bloom (Blake Lively) who’s living in an abusive marriage. Based on Colleen Hoover’s novel of the same name,It Ends with Uswas marred by behind-the-scenes controversy, but Sklenar’s strong performance shouldn’t be discounted. It’s very possible he could reprise the role of Atlas should the book’s sequel,It Starts with Usget a film adaptation.
1923
Cast
1923 is a series following the Dutton family during the early twentieth century. It explores the challenges they face amidst pandemics, the end of Prohibition, historic drought, and the Great Depression, as they struggle to maintain their home in the mountain west.
It Ends With Us
Based on Colleen Hoover’s 2016 novel, It Ends With Us is a drama-romance film directed by Justin Baldoni. The film follows a recent college graduate named Lily, who meets a man named Ryle and falls in love with him. However, a traumatic incident compounded with her former high-school sweetheart re-entering her life complicates her plans.
