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Nat Wolff has always been a fan of Westerns growing up. When the opportunity came up to star in RLJE Films’ Murder at Yellowstone City, he knew he couldn’t pass it up, especially when it also meant being on set with some of Hollywood’s most venerable screen actors in Gabriel Byrne and Richard Dreyfuss. The film follows the events of a murder of a prospector at Yellowstone City after striking gold and the conspiracy that follows. The Joe Vs. Carole and The Stand star spoke with Bleeding Cool about his love of Westerns, favorite films, working with director Richard Gray, and the unique connection he has with Dreyfuss.
Bleeding Cool: What interested you in ‘Murder at Yellowstone City?’
Nat Wolff: At first, it was the cast; I’m a huge fan of Gabriel Byrne. He’s such a sweet guy, and I’m also a fan of Richard Dreyfuss since I was a kid. Those two were a real draw. I’ve always been a huge Western buff. I thought this was my chance to get on horseback and go to a beautiful place like Montana. I got to really learn how to ride horses in a real way. Every day, I had off from shooting. I’ve just been riding horses, and it was such a beautiful experience getting down there; it makes me want to live in Montana.
BC: What were some of your favorite Westerns growing up?
Wolff: ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’ was probably my favorite movie when I was a kid, and I was obsessed with it. I adored their relationship and friendship. I love the film the remake with Christian Bale and Russell Crowe chasing after each other I saw when I was a kid.
BC: ‘3:10 to Yuma’?
Wolff Yeah. Those were my introductions when I was a kid. I love ‘Tombstone, Unforgiven, The Searchers. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.’ Casey Affleck was fucking great in that movie. There are so many great ones with the original ‘Magnificent Seven.’ There’s this crazy one that [Marlon] Brando directed ‘One-Eyed Jacks.’ What about you? What are your favorites?
BC: ‘The Magnificent Seven,’ of course. I liked ‘True Grit.’ Also, ‘Unforgiven’ was probably my favorite Clint Eastwood one.
Wolff: I think it’s my favorite Eastwood, too. Yeah.
BC: How would you describe the set that Richard Gray ran?
Wolff It was a blast because they had created this whole town. I think it was either the first or second movie shot in this old western town [Richard] created. So we got to kind of just live in that in that environment, and it was so fun. It had a saloon. You had the horses there. You would ride your horse up to the saloon just like you were in an old-timey movie. Everything was set up. So it wasn’t like doing something on a stage, or it wasn’t like they built it for the film. It was really it was like living through it. You kind of felt like you were in this little town every day, and the trailers were set up right nearby. At lunch, you get to go and walk down to the mountains, and it was kind of like living through a childhood dream of mine.
BC: Did socialize regularly on set? You mentioned Richard Dreyfuss. Did you have an opportunity to poke his brain and learn anything about the craft from him?
Wolff: I luckily had this kind of connection to him. A vocal coach I worked with before had been in the Royal Shakespeare Company with him. When I told them about each other, you could tell they had this special deep relationship. So that was kind of a good bonding moment for us. I didn’t get to spend that much time with him, but he’s got that magical energy only a few people have where he’s just kind of lit up. I was so happy I got to spend time with him, and he’s such a professional. It’s got tons of energy when he’s working, and he’s always been one of my favorite actors. That was really exciting.
Murder at Yellowstone City, which was written by Eric Belgau, also stars Thomas Jane, Isaiah Mustafa, Anna Camp, Aimee Garcia, Emma Kenney, and Richard Dreyfuss, is currently in theaters, digital, and on-demand.
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