Yellowstone
EXCLUSIVE: Brandon Sklenar Confirms What Fans Suspected About Harrison Ford & Helen Mirren on the Set of ‘1923’
EXCLUSIVE: Brandon Sklenar Confirms What Fans Suspected About Harrison Ford & Helen Mirren on the Set of ‘1923’
Brandon Sklenar is spilling the tea on what Yellowstone fans have long whispered about: Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren are the real deal—legends who light up the 1923 set with more than just their star power. In an exclusive chat with us on April 9, 2025, just days after the 1923 Season 2 finale aired on Paramount+, the 34-year-old heartthrob—who plays Spencer Dutton—confirmed what fans suspected all along: Ford and Mirren’s off-screen vibe is as iconic as their on-screen Dutton grit, blending humility, kindness, and a magnetic pull that had the cast in awe.
Fans have buzzed on X since 1923’s 2022 debut about Ford and Mirren’s dynamic—tales of Ford flying in on his helicopter with his own saddle or Mirren holding court at cowboy camp like a seasoned pro. Sklenar, fresh off the emotional rollercoaster of Spencer and Alex’s story (sorry, no spoilers here!), didn’t hold back. “You’ve all been onto something,” he grinned. “Harrison and Helen aren’t just actors—they’re forces. What you suspect about them being these larger-than-life yet down-to-earth souls? It’s spot on.”
Sklenar, who’d only crossed paths with Ford and Mirren at cowboy camp before Season 1 (he filmed in Africa while they held down Montana), finally shared the screen with them in Season 2’s finale. “Getting to work with them was a dream I didn’t know I’d get,” he said. “Harrison’s this ‘bloke’—Helen’s word, not mine—who commands a room without trying. The guys on set, me included, just gravitated to him. He’d hang out, crack jokes, never bolted to his trailer. And Helen? She’s the coolest dame alive—sharp, funny, and so present. They’re why they’ve lasted decades.”
He echoed what he told PEOPLE earlier this year: their staying power comes from “a deep level of humility and humanity.” Fans suspected Ford’s Han Solo swagger and Mirren’s Oscar-winning warmth would translate off-screen, and Sklenar confirmed it. “They don’t give advice like a lecture—it’s in how they carry themselves,” he said. “Harrison took care of Julia [Schlaepfer] in that birth scene like a dad, and Helen’s energy just steadies you. I’ll unpack that luck for the rest of my life.”
The 1923 set buzzed with their magic—Ford, 82, shrugging off horseback stunts like they’re nothing, and Mirren, 79, calling him a “broad” who hangs with the crew (per her PEOPLE chat). Sklenar laughed, “They’d shoot the breeze between takes—Harrison’s not the ‘I’m outta here’ type, and Helen’s right there with him. It’s like they’ve known each other forever.” That tracks with their Mosquito Coast days in 1986, a bond fans guessed still simmers.
So, what’s next? With 1923 done and 1944 looming, Sklenar’s coy about Spencer’s future but teased, “There’s more Yellowstone to tell—answers are coming.” For now, he’s left us with this: Ford and Mirren are the real Dutton MVPs, on and off the ranch. Fans nailed it—and Sklenar’s just happy to back it up.
