Dawn Olivieri will join the short list of 1883 actors who’ve appeared in both the prequel and flagship series, Yellowstone, with Season 5.
James Jordan. Martin Sensmeier. Yellowstone mastermind Taylor Sheridan himself. Each of these actors showed up in Sheridan’s hit prequel, 1883 alongside Sam Elliott & the gang after a stint on Yellowstone first. Fast-forward to Friday, June 10, and Paramount Network is revealing additional casting for Yellowstone Season 5.
Within, Dawn Olivieri is announced as a new cast member for the highly anticipated season. And once the episodes hit, she’ll join that short list of actors who’ve appeared on both Yellowstone and 1883. Olivieri’s raw talent certainly made the same impression on Sheridan as it did on audiences, it would seem.
‘Yellowstone’ fans Previously Saw Dawn Olivieri as Claire, the sister to ‘1883’s Margaret Dutton (Faith Hill)
In 1883, Olivieri rocked audiences as the shrewd, deeply-scarred yet perfectly Southern Claire. Sister to Faith Hill’s “dreamer” Margaret Dutton, Claire served as the perfect foil to the aspirations of her Dutton kin.
In Episode 2, “Behind Us, A Cliff,” this Dutton “dream” becomes Claire’s living “nightmare” as a round of bandits come calling. An unforgiving Claire takes it upon herself to challenge these outlaws, and a full-out gunfight ensues. Tragically, Claire’s only surviving daughter, Mary Abel, is killed in the crossfire.
Through it all, Olivieri is an absolute force of nature. In just two episodes, she shows us everything we need to know about Claire, and then some, before her character meets a gripping, gut-wrenching end. So it’s no surprise that the man behind 1883‘s creation and Yellowstone‘s wild success, Taylor Sheridan, asked her to come on board for the latter’s next season. But don’t expect her to be playing another relative of the Duttons.
Who is Dawn Olivieri Playing on ‘Yellowstone,’ Then?
While it’s tempting to think of Olivieri coming back to embody another relative of Yellowstone‘s infamous family, Sheridan’s track record shows he’s a fan of talent above stunt casting. Impressing “the creator” often leads to roles in multiple shows. This James Jordan can attest to, as he’s appeared in not only 1883 and Yellowstone, but Mayor of Kingstown, as well.
So come Yellowstone Season 5, Dawn Olivieri will play an entirely new character from elsewhere in the world. Paramount’s announcement lists her as Sarah Atwood, “a confident, corporate shark and a new arrival to Montana.”
Will Olivieri’s “shark” be a friend or foe to the Duttons? Perhaps Sarah’s description is ambiguous as to not give her alignment away. Or perhaps this “new arrival to Montana” distinction felt necessary to separate Olivieri from Claire and the Duttons altogether. But if that stellar 1883 performance is one to go by (which it is), then Yellowstone fans can rest assured we’ll have a completely new force to be reckoned with come Season 5.
Yellowstone returns this November 13 exclusively on Paramount Network.
