'1923' actor Jeremy Gauna on taking over Cole Brings Plenty's role after his death: 'It's my purpose'

“1923,” the “Yellowstone” prequel, is backmost for its 2nd and last season.

Among Season 2’s changes, the relation of Pete Plenty Clouds has been recast pursuing the decease of Cole Brings Plenty, who played a sheep herder successful the archetypal season. Jeremy Gauna takes connected the relation and continues Plenty Clouds’ storyline.

Brings Plenty was recovered dormant successful Kansas City past April. The 27-year-old actor’s household filed a missing persons study connected March 31 aft an alleged home unit incident. His assemblage was recovered adjacent an unoccupied conveyance a week later. No origin of decease has been revealed, but Kansas authorities ruled retired immoderate “indication of foul play.”

The deceased actor’s father, Joe Brings Plenty Sr., said successful November that helium was “fighting to find out” what happened to his son. “We privation a afloat probe done, a just investigation, to find retired what happened with Cole,” helium said astatine the Red Nation Film Festival successful Los Angeles.

Before filming resumed past July, showrunner Taylor Sheridan made the determination to recast Pete and hired Gauna to measurement in. Gauna played Tall Shadow successful Netflix’s “American Primeval,” arsenic good arsenic smaller parts successful “The Last Son,” “The Harbinger” and different “Yellowstone” prequel, “1883.”

The histrion talked to The Times astir paying tribute to Brings Plenty, who helium considered to beryllium a adjacent friend, and tackling the caller relation — calling it his “purpose.”

This interrogation has been edited for clarity.

This isn’t your archetypal quality successful the “Yellowstone” universe; you besides played a cardinal relation successful “1883.” How did you respond to being invited back?

Yeah, I was the Native that changeable and killed Elsa successful “1883,” which is simply a pivotal portion of the show.

But first, I should accidental that this accidental didn’t travel without the nonaccomplishment of Cole Brings Plenty successful existent life. It was a precise hard telephone to receive, but it was besides bittersweet. I’ve mislaid a person and idiosyncratic who was a staple successful our community. I besides got to grant my truly bully person and his family.

I didn’t recognize you and Cole knew each other. How did you guys go acquainted?

We were adjacent friends and it each started done societal media. I besides cognize his uncle, Mo Brings Plenty [who appears connected “Yellowstone”], and got to conscionable Cole done him, and conscionable emotion connected him. We would speech connected a regular basis. I would perceive his struggles successful beingness and perceive the joyousness astir what was to travel with “1923.” He was truthful pumped for this role. He couldn’t judge helium was going to beryllium successful each episode. It’s pugnacious to wrapper your caput astir the mode things are now.

But to beryllium successful that position, I understood that it was bigger than thing that had to bash with me. I’m not doing it for the accolades. I’m not doing it for thing different than conscionable to marque definite that everyone remembers and honors him. I recognize that it’s my purpose. Some radical mightiness not afloat grasp that, but I wholly have, and Cole has been with maine passim the full process.

After you got the telephone to measurement successful arsenic Pete, however did you statesman to attack oregon hole for this role?

Honestly, it was supplication and ceremonial that led maine to person communications with Cole. I was trying to grasp what was needed for Pete to proceed connected and however to attack the abstraction that was determination before, portion besides adding my ain small flair to him.

I gave it to the ancestors and to Cole and said, “Look, I americium going to bash my portion successful knowing and trying my champion to larn the connection and to grant the tribe, but besides grant Cole and everybody other that had already worked connected Season 1.” I felt that I owed it to them to springiness my each and to absorption connected being the rock, the boulder for everybody who was going done it emotionally.

What was the ambiance similar connected set? Were determination immoderate moments wherever you could consciousness Cole guiding you?

There were aggregate times I conscionable could perceive Cole saying immoderate astute small remark nether his enactment like, “I wouldn’t person done that” oregon “I don’t cognize if that was good.” I could conscionable consciousness it. But I ever knew the archetypal clip I came retired of the trailer arsenic Pete would beryllium hard, particularly for Aminah [Nieves, who plays Pete’s emotion interest, Teonna Rainwater].

When I got into wardrobe, the vigor was precise somber. Everyone could archer that thing was different. I retrieve I got dressed, they took their pictures, and past I was astir to leave, the squad asked maine if I wanted to look successful the reflector first. I said, “Not really” and they said I should “just for myself.” And boom, erstwhile I did, tears flowed from everyone. I walked retired to find Amina, and it was a precise beauteous and saccharine infinitesimal wherever she broke down. I conscionable got to clasp her and hug her and conscionable fto her cognize that I was going to beryllium determination with her passim the full process.

I knew that my occupation was to beryllium determination successful that infinitesimal and passim this full process, which was conscionable to emotion connected him and fto them cognize that Cole’s inactive with us.

From his family’s perspective, Cole’s decease inactive has unanswered questions. How bash you deliberation your portrayal of Pete whitethorn resonate with those radical who are mourning him?

His household opened up their hearts to maine and allowed maine into their satellite of grief and symptom — but besides relief, joyousness and the quality of life. It fed maine whenever I became Pete. It allowed maine the state to determination arsenic if Cole was close adjacent to me, telling maine what to do. As an artist, I felt Cole moving my assemblage and doing things. It wasn’t conscionable me. It was going done maine and allowed maine to execute to the champion of my ability. When I ticker clips, I tin consciousness that it’s not me. It’s virtually Cole pushing maine and the ancestors guiding maine to present the show that was needed.

Were determination immoderate moments wherever you were doubtful oregon felt similar you couldn’t instrumentality connected Pete’s character?

I was assured the full time. I had zero fears. I wholeheartedly gave it to Cole and our ancestors. I knew what I needed to bash to get the occupation done, that’s wherefore I was prepping and moving my butt off.

Sometimes “1923” tin get gruesome, particularly erstwhile portraying Indigenous people. Why bash you deliberation this benignant of depiction stands retired in the show?

It’s beyond thing that I could fathom oregon adjacent wrapper my caput around. These stories, immoderate fabrication and nonfiction, are a fewer of thousands. And successful galore ways, this communicative is adjacent toned down — determination are ones that are 100 times worse than what you’re witnessing. Though it whitethorn beryllium hard for immoderate to watch, we request radical to beryllium down and ticker this due to the fact that they whitethorn not person known astir it before. What makes it truthful hard to ticker is that it’s partially true.

Without these stories being told, past could repetition itself. And we decidedly bash not request to regress. We request to progress. We request to grow. We request to beryllium amended each the mode around, passim humanity and conscionable successful general. All I tin accidental is that everyone has their story. Until we each get the accidental to perceive everybody’s story, it’s going to beryllium hard for everybody to recognize others’ lessons if they don’t instrumentality the clip to larn it.

“1923” streams Sundays connected Paramount+.