Yellowstone star Kelly Reilly reveals why she was ready for Under Salt Marsh after "violence and revenge" of Beth Dutton

Yellowstone star Kelly Reilly has said that she was “definitely ready” to play the lead in Sky Atlantic’s new thriller Under Salt Marsh after six years playing the mad, bad and dangerous to know Beth Dutton in the hit US show.

“I was working on the last season of Yellowstone when I read [Under Salt Marsh] and I was really in the throes of Beth's violence and revenge. It's quite an interesting vibe to hold in yourself and it's not something that's particularly comfortable.”

Reilly told Radio Times that getting into the right headspace to play Beth takes a psychological “boot camp” and exploring the psychology of Under Salt Marsh’s protagonist, Jackie Ellis, felt like a change of gear.

"Jackie feels like she’s hiding, like she doesn’t want to take up space,” she explained of the character who, upon discovering the body of a murdered child three years after her own niece disappeared, starts her own covert investigation into the deaths. According to Reilly, the more contained Jackie is "more aligned to myself and easier to access than Beth”.

“I love Beth to bits – I’m playing her now [in Yellowstone spin-off The Dutton Ranch, due 2027] – but Beth is quite far removed from who I am and how I live my life,” she says. “I love leaning into that aspect of myself, but I could never speak like Beth or do what Beth does.”

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As for Beth’s appeal, and her transformation from a character in a TV show into something of an iconic cultural figure complete with her own merch – you too can own a Don’t Make Me Go All Beth Dutton On Your Ass t-shirt if there’s a dearth in your wardrobe – Reilly is reflective:

“I think people loved Beth's audacity. There was something about her in full ownership of herself that felt refreshing. She was unapologetic about her own inner violence, which is kind of scary to see in a woman, and her ferociousness tapped into some sort of zeitgeist.”

Under Salt Marsh airs on Fridays on Sky Atlantic and NOW.

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