[This episode contains spoilers from 1923 season two, episode four, “Journey the Rivers of Iron.”]
1923 has officially welcomed back Zane Davis, the ranch foreman who is played by Brian Geraghty in the Yellowstone prequel series. A dire prognosis was given to Zane last episode when he returned to the Dutton family ranch with a severe brain injury. The local doctor explained they will have to drill a hole into his head, without anesthesia, in order to drain blood from an injury sustained when he was arrested last season because of Montana’s anti-miscegenation law. The racist law in that era, which wasn’t outlawed until 1953, forbid his interracial marriage to wife Alice Chow (played by Joy Osmanski). In a surprisingly hopeful outcome for the Western series, Zane survives the surgery. He is able to walk again on his own two feet to embrace his wife, and tell Jacob Dutton (Harrison Ford) he’s ready to seek justice. Below, Geraghty talks to THR about filming the brain surgery scene, while sharing some stories about co-star Ford and opening up about why Zane’s fight is both timely and personal.
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You’re not dead!
Not yet.
I know you all had pre-season chats with 1923 creator/writer Taylor Sheridan about your season two arcs. How did you react when you heard Zane’s story?
When I started this process, I actually auditioned for John Dutton, who was played by James Badge Dale [John was killed in season one]. I was like: I like Taylor Sheridan. I’d like to work with him. I made a tape and and a month later, they gave me a couple of scenes to read for Zane and said, “It’s a good part, it’s gonna go throughout the season.” Then a month into shooting, Taylor called me and said, “I have this idea. I want to pitch this storyline. You’re going to be in an interracial marriage that was outlawed by anti-miscegenation laws.” I thought, “Wow, this is awesome, a really personal storyline.” I didn’t know where it was going to go until I actually read the script. I was sent all the scripts almost all at once, and I read them over a month. I read 15 pages a day because we had the time, because of the [SAG-AFTRA] strike. I was thinking, “how are we going to do this?” And I started cooking the idea. So yeah, he called me and told me it was gonna be something great, and then it was.
Do you know if Zane was inspired by anyone?
I’ve seen a famous rodeo guy named Zane Davis. I don’t know if he was named in that honor, I never asked.
What research did you do around Zane’s family storyline?
It was really, really fascinating for me because their rules were so wishy-washy. You could marry an American Indian woman, but you couldn’t marry an Asian woman or a Hispanic woman. That’s how it was from town to town, from the research that I did. And then it was like, that’s it, you are just locked up and thrown in jail, and you’ve done something wrong. And I think some of the people actually thought they did something wrong. Imagine trying to hide that, hiding your family and love.
I’ve seen you call this a personal storyline for you.
My wife Genesis Rodriguez is Hispanic. She stars on Lioness, another Paramount show [from Taylor Sheridan]. I was able to really learn about what it’s like to be with somebody who is of Hispanic heritage and roots, and how coming to this country can really affect you or the way people, especially early on in this time frame, really look down upon you. Taylor did a good job of showing how you could marry an American Indian woman or a Hispanic woman, but couldn’t marry an Asian woman in this city. So for me, it was more personal. I’ve been learning to speak Spanish for the last three years because I love the culture. You realize, this was my wife a hundred years ago, and it’s like, wow. It gave me an appreciation and more of an emotional understanding of what to fight for. As an actor, whatever you can do to make it personal is a blessing. So that was a good gift from Taylor to give me that.
I’m trying to think, are there other married Sheridan-verse couples?
(Laughs) It just kind of worked out. She has a great part on that show, and she’s amazing on it. I think once they did her test and once she was getting the job, I wrote Taylor to say she was my wife and he was like, “What?” (Laughs) We may be the first. But it’s been awesome. He’s a great boss to have. First of all, you get great material and the scripts don’t change. I think they changed one logistical thing in the 16 episodes I did.
Actors tend to hop around in the Sheridan-verse, so maybe you two could end up on a show.
We have better chances! Lioness season two, Taylor’s awesome in the episodes. And then watching Genesis, Zoe [Saldaña], Nicole [Kidman] and Michael Kelly… they are all so great. Ii’s a totally different show. I’m looking forward to seeing The Madison and a few of the other shows that are coming out.
