Brian Konowal Looks Back At His Role In 1923

(Warning: If you haven’t yet seen producer Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone prequel, there are several spoilers here.)

Must admit: We didn’t trust Clyde the very first time we saw him in 1923.

As memorably played by Philadelphia-born actor Brian Konowal, the character immediately set off a muted but distinctly untrustworthy vibe in Episode 6 of Season 1 of the Yellowstone prequel as he interviewed with Cora Dutton (Helen Mirren) and Sheriff William McDowell (Robert Patrick) for the job of livestock agent. Clyde certainly had credentials for the job, as a former Chicago P.D. officer, and came across as extremely polite, even as he made some unflattering (but very funny) things to say about the location of his previous peacekeeping gig. (“I don’t know what hell is like, but it ain’t worse than Chicago!”) So Cora hired him on the spot.

Big mistake: Clyde turned out to be in league with Banner Creighton (Jerome Flynn), who employed him as a spy for villainous land-grabber Donald Whitfield (Timothy Dalton). And in the Episode 6 of Season 2, he actually murdered Jack Dutton (Darren Mann), great nephew to Jacob Dutton (Harrison Ford) and his wife Cora, as part of a raid to seize the Yellowstone ranch by any means necessary.

1923 ended its two-season run on Paramount+ a couple weeks back, but it remains available on the streamer for viewers who might want to give it a second or third look. We recently had the privilege of conducting an e-mail interview with Brian Konowal about his role in the series, and the challenges of being a bad guy in freezing weather on location.

Cowboys & Indians: While preparing to play  Clyde, what was the toughest nut for you to crack?

Brian Konowal: While preparing to play Clyde, the biggest challenge was to get absolutely confident on a horse. I had been on horses before, but not like this. In a scene where we steal the Duttons’ cattle, Jerome Flynn and I were herding 800 head down a mountain in the dark of night. That was wild, sparks flying off of hooves, cows mooing, and being right in the middle of it all on a horse. So as you can imagine, I wanted to know what I was doing!

Taylor’s team gave me amazing training at cowboy camp. If we had downtime I would try to get as much saddle time as possible out at the ranch. I have a newfound love for horses and cowboying.

C&I: Do you remember a specific scene in a specific episode you’re particularly proud of?

Konowal: I loved the work we did in Episode 6 where Clyde kills Jack. It’s the moment where we see just how ruthless Clyde has become. He’s not just following Banner’s orders, he’s taking pleasure in killing Jack Dutton.

It was great fun to ride in on my horse, play the scene with Darren Mann and Colt Brown, and get to shoot Jack in cold blood. I mean, what a great scene from Taylor, to be able to act that iconic Western villain moment.

C&I: You are a professional, working with other professionals. But were you ever intimidated by anyone else in the cast?

Konowal: I never felt intimidated by anyone in the cast, they’re all super down-to-earth people. The feeling was excitement to work with all these great actors, all legends. Robert Patrick and I enjoyed some good old ribbing with each other. I love Robert. A bunch of us would have coffee in the mornings and just laugh and I’d get to hear these fantastic stories from not only Robert, but folks from the stunt team.

As we were coming up on the scene where Clyde interviews to become a livestock agent with Helen [Mirren] and Robert, Robert’s saying “You ready, kid? Don’t blow it.” I’d give it back and say “Don’t you blow it,” and we’d laugh. Robert has the best laugh. A great pal and awesome actor to work with. It was such a thrill to work with so many actors whose work I admire on 1923.

C&I: Were there ever days on location when you found yourself thinking “Damn! This is cold!”?

Konowal: Yes! The thought “Damn! This is cold!” came up a few times. We were shooting a night scene in Bannack State Park in Montana. It’s when Clyde is spying on Zane [Brian Geraghty] and his family, and peeping through the window at the children. Peeping Clyde!

Once the sun was down the temperature dropped dramatically. I had to de-ice my beard several times. Costume designers Megan Guthrie-Wedemeyer, Gaby Acosta, and Janie Bryant had me bundled in a warm Clyde costume,  but when you’re below zero you feel it! I’m from Pennsylvania and know cold, but this was next level, real North Pole type cold. It was exhilarating, though. It’s a beautiful place to shoot. I loved the cold and the entire experience.

I did a scene with Timothy Dalton on the side of a mountain near Butte, Montana. High elevation. Tim looked at me and said with his great British accent “Brian, it’s so cold up here!” I said, “It’s really cold, Tim.” The crew had to work to keep the camera gear from freezing up. Tim looked at me again and said, “I mean... it is really cold!” It was awesome to be out in the elements on location. The scenes in the cold were entirely authentic!

C&I: Did the final outcome for Clyde surprise you?

Konowal: Clyde’s fate was 100 percent a surprise! I did not see it coming. I had a couple of ideas in my head about how Taylor might send Clyde off into the sunset. I certainly didn’t expect Clyde to survive, but I did not think Banner would finish Clyde off! Taylor genius!

Clyde had Jacob [Harrison Ford] in his sights! We were one second away from taking the Yellowstone! Clyde would have been a king with land and riches if Banner hadn’t turned on him to protect his family. And after all Clyde did for Banner! Ha! Ha! Ha!