INTERVIEW: Lilli Kay Talks Representation and ‘Yellowstone’
Lilli Kay joined the cast of Yellowstone as Clara Brewer, an assistant of John Dutton’s (Kevin Costner) and a character that is honestly delightful to see. From her trust in others (with a great quote in the mid-season finale about how people were making up lies about John) to her being one of the first LGTBQ+ characters, Clara has been a fun addition to the cast.
And it is all thanks to Kay’s performance. She’s funny, quick, and loves the Dutton family. And it makes Clara a character that fans can relate to. She’s us with our obsession with John and his kids. As she learns about them and what makes them tick, so are we.
And getting to talk to Kay was an absolute delight! Might like Clara, she’s just excited to be talking about this and it shows in how open she is to talking about the fans of Yellowstone and her character. I started by asking about her journey in this season!
“She’s been on a big journey. She’s been placed in a lot of situations that I don’t think she expected to be placed in when she took this job,” Kay said. “But I think what’s really exciting to me is watching her get more comfortable in herself, more willing to take risks and grow. She’s learned from spending time with the Dutton family and a lot of her views have been sort of challenged in terms of how she approaches the political sphere. And I think just really getting to know and falling in love with this lifestyle, this family, has changed her and has shown her a lot about who she can be. The fans of the show are a lot of fun and are really cool and passionate.”
I also brought up the fact that there were some fans angry over Clara’s kiss with another woman at the fair. Why? Because I guess there are some who considered it “woke” of the show to include anyone from the LGBTQ+ community as if they do not exist within our real lives. Which is what excited Kay about it.
“I was excited to do that because I think that it’s important to normalize just people existing,” she said. “Because we’re all over the place and I think it’s exciting. I remember I read something where somebody was saying like, out of nowhere a gay thing and I was like, well, gay things don’t necessarily have to come from anywhere. We’re kind of just around. I think to me that is an exciting thing to have just a relaxed and not a fanfare, no comment. Just, ‘Hey, here we are.’ I think it’s kind of cool. So I was really happy and I’m happy a lot of people have had really excited reactions to it. So that’s been really gratifying.”
One thing about Kay is that you can tell she loves being a part of the show and being near a world she grew up knowing. Clara is an office girl though and doesn’t get much time on horseback but I do hope we get to see more of Clara at the ranch in the future and I think that Kay would like that too. “What was so weird is that I, Lilli, am so much more comfortable in the other environment. There are very few places that I’m more comfortable than when I’m on a horse. And so I was like, great, are we gonna get to ride? And then I’m like, cool office, love offices love it, but when we get to escape, which is really fun.”
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You can catch Lilli Kay as Clara in Yellowstone and you have time to catch up before season 5 returns this summer!
(image: Paramount)
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