The Kansas-born actress impactfully played the sometimes critical, sometimes supportive wife of Banner Creighton.
1923 may have reached the end of its two-season run, but the entire series continues to stream on Paramount+, now and for the foreseeable future. Longtime fans and curious newbies are free to rewatch repeatedly, following the various story arcs to see how hints were stealthily planted before eventually paying off, and focusing on the many and various outstanding performances by the ensemble cast assembled by producer Taylor Sheridan.
Among the players who made significant impact in supporting roles: Kansas-born actress Sarah Randall Hunt. As Ellie Creighton, wife of Scottish shepherd Banner Creighton (Jerome Flynn, pictured above with Hunt), she made one of the more interesting evolutions in the drama.
Ellie started out as deeply suspicious of Donald Whitfield (Timothy Dalton), the cunning and cruel tycoon bent on claiming the Dutton Yellowstone Ranch for himself, and warned her husband to steer clear of the interloper.
But as she, Banner and their young son Henry got a taste of luxury while her husband was doing Whitfield’s dirty work, she… Well, she never really warmed to Whitfield. But as we noted in our Season 2, Episode 4 recap, Banner confided in her “that he may soon be doing some very bad things in order to ensure a comfortable life for them and their son. Mind you, he doesn’t go into any details about what doing these bad things might entail — like, dumping dead prostitutes in Wyoming — but judging from Ellie’s Lady Macbeth-like reaction, she just might share her husband’s by-any-means-necessary philosophy.”
Naturally, nothing good could ever come of this. But we must admit, it nonetheless hit hard when — spoiler alert! — the chickens came home to roost. The conscience-stricken Banner got caught in the crossfire at the train station just as he was trying to leave Montana (and Whitfield) far behind and set out for a new life elsewhere with his family. Ellie and Henry watched in horror as Banner fell, mortally wounded. Fortunately, he provided her with a hunk of cash before the shooting started so they could continue their journey.
Ellie obviously loved her husband. But she also loved her son. They boarded the train, albeit reluctantly, and made their getaway. Still, we couldn’t help thinking of the original ad tagline for Steven Soderbergh’s 2000 movie Traffic: “No one gets away clean.”
We recently had the chance to conduct an email conversation with Sarah Randall Hunt about Ellie Banner.
C&I: During Season 1, Ellie seemed wary of Donald Whitfield. What do you think changed her mind in Season 2?
Sarah Randall Hunt: Desperation has a way of shaping morality. Prior to moving to the hotel in Livingston, Ellie only ever knew struggle. She and Banner were poor in Scotland and went looking for a better life in America. Ever since Banner befriended Donald Whitfield, Ellie has new clothes, a new modern hairstyle, and steam heat! She’s no longer in danger of frostbite while caring for her sheep and family. Her son won’t go hungry this winter. She has had a taste of the good life, and she wants more.
C&I: We saw more than a little of Lady Macbeth in Ellie. Did you feel the same way?
Hunt: Absolutely! That's the first thing I thought when I read the script. Taylor isn’t afraid to write women in all their colors, and it’s my favorite part about his female characters. There's a moment sitting in front of that fireplace with Banner in Episode 4 where she moves away from who she used to be and steps into her unbridled desires. I have a lot of empathy for how hard-won life was on a homestead and the things Ellie survived before this moment.
“It was like someone giving me permission to Mama Bear the crap out of this and fight for my family, no matter what the cost.” — Sarah Randall Hunt
C&I: You and Jerome Flynn established a convincing chemistry together — you really believed they have been together for quite a while. How difficult was it to establish that?
Hunt: Ah, thank you for saying that. It’s so easy when your partner is an open-hearted, kind creature like Jerome Flynn. I’m a human puppy always looking to make new friends, which helps. But I had to keep the puppy impulse somewhat restrained because people like Banner and Ellie in the 1920s weren’t very touchy-feely. The director, Ben Richardson, and producer, Michael Friedman, are excellent at giving notes to craft the story of a strained marriage in Season 1 to a coming together of sorts in Season 2. Taylor’s scripts are dripping with their unsaid history. Add in research and imagination, and you’re off to the races with your partner in crime.
Hunt: I was raised in Kansas City, and I come from a long line of “good girls.” Thank God for Ben Richardson, again. He leaned to me between takes and said, “You’re just as responsible for this, you know.” That broke it all open for me. It was like someone giving me permission to Mama Bear the crap out of this and fight for my family, no matter what the cost.
C&I: Did the final outcome for Ellie surprise you?
Hunt: I gasped out loud, then cried when I read the final train scene. I still feel impacted by what happens to the Creighton family in this story. It makes me think of my own family. Both my grandmothers were widowed fairly young, which required a capacity for loneliness and a fortitude of spirit. Shout out to all the single moms out there fighting the good fight. But on a larger scale, what does this ending say about morality? Ambition? Justice? Revenge? What is right and wrong, especially in this time and place? I don't have the answer to these, I just love that this show makes us wrestle with it all. And that, my friend, is the sign of a damn good story.
