On "1883," Isabel May plays Elsa Dutton, the resourceful oldest daughter of the Dutton
family, but there's more to May than just that powerhouse role.
Wondering where else you've seen this talented young actress?
This is what you need to know about Isabel May.
Isabel May decided she wanted to become an actress as a kid, inspired by two of her friends
who were also into the performing arts.
She told Terroir Mag,
"I'd always said I'm gonna be an actor someday because my other two friends are a dancer
and singer.
Meanwhile I had zero experience and was terrified."
Getting her career off the ground took a while.
May explained that it took three years before she booked a single role, but she stayed positive,
focusing on school as she waited for her career to take off.
She added,
"[My parents and I] kind of made a pact, that I had to wait until ninth grade to really
commit to something like this."
She began to take her classes online after her first year of high school and, not long
after, booked the role that would change her life.
Isabel May was still in high school when she landed her big role on the Netflix teen comedy
"Alexa & Katie," which centers on a high school student with cancer, Alexa, and her best friend,
Katie.
May screen tested alongside Paris Berelc, and the two ended up cast as the titular characters.
She told Terroir Mag,
"It was weird and interesting, because I never thought I was funny, I had no comedic qualities
whatsoever, so it was strange to get a comedy and try to figure out how to do comedy."
May might have been new to comedy — not to mention, television — but she didn't
have to dig too deep to portray the character, explaining that, like Katie, she had supported
a close friend who had been diagnosed with cancer as a teenager.
In an interview with Bello, May said she loved playing Katie and that her, quote, "first
acting experience was portraying a genuinely kind, flawed person who just wants the best
for others."
She added that she hopes the character would serve as an inspiration to other kids "to
be a similar friend to one another."
Isabel May has both beauty and brains, and her skills and hobbies showcase her intellectual
pursuits.
She revealed in an interview with Bello,
"I can speak some French.
I play some piano.
I love to cook and bake (when it's convenient).
And I'm a marathon reader, I can go all day and all night."
In fact, it was her love of reading that led to her acting career.
May explained to Terroir Mag that, as a kid, she was "completely engrossed in fictional
worlds" and that she was also passionate about writing.
In an effort to get her out of her shell, her English teacher suggested she try acting.
May was already interested in an acting career, but her teacher thought it would also be good
for her to "express" her creative side through another outlet.
That love of reading has come in handy when researching roles, such as that of Elsa Dutton
in the Western show "1883."
The show follows the family as they journey westward.
May told Fox News of preparing for the role,
"I read probably 50 books, and in particular, the ones that I gravitated towards were journals
from young women that made the same trek."
Reading dozens of books was just the beginning of portraying Elsa Dutton.
The role also required Isabel May to master a historical Tennessee accent, working diligently
with a dialect coach to nail it.
She explained to Entertainment Weekly,
"Our version of the Tennessee accent today doesn't sound like what it would at that time."
"I always thought of mothers like nervous chickens, too worried about their clutch to
ever hunt for a worm."
What you see of Elsa on "1883" is what you get.
May revealed she doesn't wear any makeup on screen — just "dirt and sweat."
She explained that the show is all about authenticity, skipping the glam effect we so often see on
television.
"I'm just trying to look my age, like a real person.
And if I have a zit on my face, then the zit is gonna show."
May also grew out her hair — including her underarm hair — to properly portray a 19th
century pioneer woman.
She told Town & Country of going natural,
"I actually really like it.
You don't care what you look like.
There's none of that ridiculousness, you're just fully invested."
The show is primarily shot in Texas, where the cast and crew work under some pretty extreme
conditions, with May likening the setting to "a free sauna" in her interview with Entertainment
Weekly.
She joked,
"You're a little bit miserable, but I secretly loved it ... I think I could get accustomed
to this 1883 life, other than, you know, the frigid and sweltering temperatures."
There's no doubt that acting is a game filled with wins and losses, but sometimes a loss
leads to an unexpected win.
That's what happened to Isabel May when she auditioned for "Mayor of Kingstown."
While she didn't land the gig, she did leave quite an impression on show creator Taylor
Sheridan, who remembered her when it was time to cast the role of Elsa Dutton in "1883."
May recalled to Entertainment Weekly in December 2021 that Sheridan called her and offered
her the role, just two weeks after she lost out on the other show.
May revealed that Sheridan hadn't even written anything yet, but knew that May was perfect
for the part.
No one was more shocked than May herself, who called her casting "a bit wild and surreal."
While you might recognize Isabel May from comedies like "Alexa & Katie" and "Young Sheldon,"
she'd never had a leading role on a drama series before, so "1883" gave her a chance
to flex her serious acting chops.
The Western also got her on a horse for the first time ever.
Born and raised in California, May told Entertainment Weekly that she never considered herself much
of an outdoorsy person.
Once she landed the role of Elsa, though, she dedicated herself to learning how to ride
a horse and soon mastered her new skill.
She said,
"I'm one of those kinds of people that when it comes to picking something up, I'm not
really intimidated by it.
I've been very fortunate in that I picked it up very quickly.
For some reason, it felt organic and natural."
Isabel May isn't a big fan of country music, and she's young enough that she wasn't even
born when Faith Hill's hit song "This Kiss" was released in 1998.
That means that she wasn't exactly starstruck when she started acting alongside Hill and
Tim McGraw in "1883."
Still, she's gotten to know the superstars quite well.
She told Entertainment Weekly,
"I've never listened to a song of theirs, so I didn't have any expectations, which I'm
really glad because they're just like mom and dad on set.
They're incredible people.
They're not, you know, music stars, which was really nice."
"Someday I'll only ride in the front of the train."
"That's a child's goal.
A woman's goal is to never ride a train again."
May developed a close bond with Hill and McGraw, telling the Hollywood Reporter,
"They kind of became real parents to me as well.
So I love them dearly, and the stars aligned perfectly."
Her relationship with the couple not only brought more authenticity to her character,
but it also served as inspiration for what she hopes her own love life might look like
one day.
In a Zoom interview with WrapWomen, she talked about how incredible it was to watch the "unbelievably
supportive" couple on set.
"Well, I certainly hope I have something like that in the future because that is the ideal
marriage for sure."
If you think that Isabel May bears a resemblance to fellow actress Jennifer Lawrence, you are
not alone.
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, she said she gets told she looks like Lawrence
"all the time" and has heard this over and over since she was 13 years old — not that
she's complaining.
She said,
"It's not a bad thing at all.
It's the biggest compliment in the world.
I admire that woman to death."
It's not just the physical resemblance to Lawrence that has people buzzing, though.
"Yellowstone" and "1883" creator Taylor Sheridan told Deadline that something about May's attitude
also reminds him of the actress, and it's part of the reason he cast her as Elsa Dutton.
he said,
"I saw she could represent innocence and hope."
While she's primarily known as a television actress, Isabel May has landed film roles,
too.
She made her screen debut with a small part as "Missing Poster Girl" in 2018's "Age of
Summer" and landed her first leading film role the following year in the horror film
"Let's Scare Julie."
The budding scream queen told Bello,
"Let’s Scare Julie to Death was such an interesting experience.
It’s a 90 minute uncut take – no stopping, one shot.
Really, really fun and creative and strange."
May enjoyed her role not only because it was her first feature film but because it was
such a departure from her role in "Alexa & Katie," which had just finished filming its second
season when "Let's Scare Julie" began production.
While she might be a newcomer to feature films, May didn't have time to get nervous since
the movie was made so quickly.
Far from being exhausted by the whirlwind, May was excited for the project, especially
as it involved a lot of improvisation, which she called "a dream."
The sky seems to be the limit as far as May's acting potential is concerned, but she'd also
like to do some actual globe trotting.
In an interview with Bello, the actress opened up about the places she'd like to visit — or
revisit, in the case of "a little village in France" she once visited with her family.
According to May,
"The experience was so wonderful.
I'd love to go again someday."
May would also like to explore other parts of Europe, such as Croatia, saying the continent
is, quote, "stunning with fascinating culture and history (and style)."
May also revealed she hopes to combine her love of travel with her love for animals someday,
saying,
"I'd love to go to any region of the world with a significant population of endangered
wildlife and offer my support in any way."
Isabel May is a relative newcomer to Hollywood, but she's already garnered a lot of fans — and
not just from people who have watched her on TV.
She's also won over her colleagues and seems to already be developing a reputation as an
actress who is pleasant to work with.
"Yellowstone" and "1883" creator Tayler Sheridan was so impressed upon meeting her that he
not only decided to cast her as Elsa Dutton in "1883," but he also began writing the first
season with her in mind, telling Deadline,
"When I met Isabel, the whole story, all 10 episodes, went right through my head."
May's on-screen mom, Faith Hill, had no problem selling their mother-daughter relationship
in "1883," telling Taste of Country that, quote, "it was a pretty natural pairing" and
that the two "just hit it off."
Then there's another co-star, Eric Nelsen, who plays Elsa's love interest, Ennis.
He raved to Decider about May,
"At just 21, she's one of the smartest people I've ever talked to in my entire life.
She's such a special individual and a real intellect."
While social media is especially popular among members of Gen Z, Isabel May's social media
presence isn't huge.
While she boasts over 640,000 Instagram followers, she rarely posts.
There's a TikTok account under her name, and, while its single video does feature May, the
profile is unverified.
Still, the account has more than 17,000 followers.
May seems to be doing her best to stay out of the public eye as her fame grows, and who
can blame her?
She once told Bello that she leads "a pretty private life," which has kept her fairly shielded
from some of the pitfalls of working in the entertainment industry.
May added that
"I don’t think too much about any of the negative sides.
I’m a homebody, what can I say?
Getting to work in this industry and then race back home to a good book is my cloud-nine."
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