Warning: This post contains spoilers for the 1923 series finale.
1923 was life-changing in more ways than one for Brandon Sklenar and Julia Schlaepfer.
The actors played beloved onscreen couple Spencer and Alex Dutton in the Yellowstone prequel series, which came to a heartbreaking end on April 6 as the lovebirds had a long-awaited and emotional reunion — only for Alex (Schlaepfer) to die after giving birth to their son, John.
Speaking to PEOPLE about the devastating finale, Sklenar, 34, reflects on the off-screen bond he developed with Schlaepfer, 30, in the years since they landed the “life-changing” roles.
“It’s a lot, you know? We spent almost three years with these people. And I’ve never done a series before and it was…such an incredible life experience for Jules and I,” Sklenar says.
“I remember when we were in Africa in season 1, we were like, ‘What the actual f—? This is crazy. We are in Africa.’ Like elephants are eating out of our hands and stampeding.”
Sklenar and Schlaepfer “shot six days a week” during their months in Africa for season 1 “and every seventh day, we’d get in a van or a plane and fly somewhere else.”
“It changed our lives, you know? Personally and professionally,” he says. “So growing with these characters and then shooting these scenes that on the page are so emotional, and also just the catharsis of this whole three-year journey on top of it, it’s been a trip. It’s definitely a trip.”
In this week’s issue, Sklenar reveals that he and Schlaepfer “didn’t chemistry read” before securing the roles, but rather, says creator Taylor Sheridan “knew that we would get on just by spending time with us individually.”
“And we had incredible chemistry from the jump, and it was so easy to work together and to fall into it,” Sklenar says. “I think a lot of that back and forth that’s on the page that Spencer and Alexandra have — that sort of banter and that shorthand — Julia and I just had that together as people. And that’s not something you can… If you don’t have that and you do those scenes, it’s not going to hit the same way.”
He continues, “You have to sort of have that vibe in how you communicate. And I’ll miss that for sure, having that type of scene partner and that type of work partner to play with in that space.”
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The 1923 series finale is now streaming on Paramount+.
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