Most fans assume Reilly is herself an American, not the softly spoken Brit she is in reality.
She tells me that when Yellowstone started, she “didn’t do any press” because she wanted people to believe in her character.
“People talk to me as if Beth is real,” she says. “We all talk about Beth like she’s a real-life person.
“I’m always going to be a bit of a let down when people meet me. I go into the local bakery and the lady is like, ‘I’d love to drink with you.’
“I know what she means – she wants to drink with Beth. People want to feel part of that energy… someone so connected with their primal self.
“And we’re so disconnected. We’re all on our phones, on social media. It is like it doesn’t happen if someone doesn’t take a picture of it. Beth is the opposite of that. She is just so alive.”
To say Reilly’s character has been put through the wringer would be an understatement.
Beth has survived attempted rape, attempted murder, crushing heartbreak and being betrayed by family members.
She even exclaims: “I am the rock therapists break themselves against.”
Reilly describes Beth as a “powerhouse”, telling me it’s been “such a fun adventure to put her on”.
“I’m very introverted,” she adds. “I don’t have any dreams of vengeance in my life.
“There’s something really exciting about playing her. I feel like I’m on an adrenaline rush for four months while I play her, and when I’m finished I’m like, I now have to go back to my quiet, boring life. And I’m very grateful for my quiet, boring life after I’ve played her.
“But by the time every summer comes around where I’m sort of gearing up again and the scripts start coming in, I get excited again to meet her.
“I’m very aware of the gift of her as a character, but I lock her up in a padlocked box for six months of the year.”
