Yahoo News Lawmen: Bass Reeves’ Lauren E. Banks Is on Her Way to Rodeo Glory, Courtesy of the Yellowstone-verse
Bass Reeves gets a lot of well-deserved fame for being a legendary gunslinger. But his wife, Nellie Jennie Reeves, was a badass in her own right. (Though the church-going Mrs. Reeves likely wouldn’t love us referring to her that way.)
So TVLine jumped at the chance to speak with Lawmen: Bass Reeves‘ Lauren E. Banks, who plays Jennie opposite David Oyelowo’s Bass in the Paramount+ drama. Read on to hear the City on a Hill alum tease what might happen when trouble comes Jennie’s way later this season — and stick around to find out how prep for the show introduced Banks to a surprising new, Taylor Sheridan-influenced hobby.
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TVLINE | I’m in love with Jennie. What were your first impressions of her when you were reading the scripts?
There’s very little recorded information about Jennie Reeves, but what is known is very telling of the woman she was. So my first impressions were what a courageous woman she was to be married to a man like Bass Reeves at that time. There’s no doubt about the amount of tension and attention that such a unit would receive in that time period. In addition to that, they said, “You know what? While we do this, we’re going to raise 10 kids plus, you know?” [Laughs] And that’s a huge family, and clearly she was a multifaceted woman to be able to do that on her own — and with Bass, but also a lot on her own when he was serving in the service of the U.S. Deputy Marshal.
TVLINE | You and David have developed a really moving love story, even though Jennie and Bass don’t get a lot of screen time together. Can you speak to how you built that?
You know, I didn’t realize until you said that there’s a short amount of screen time, but you’re right.. Early on, we all — [Oyelowo], Chad Feehan [showrunner], myself — we talked about how important the love was, how central to the story the love was. Because again, there’s a considerable amount of faith that comes when two people at that time period are separated. And it’s something that happened a lot in terms of the domestic slave trade. But even after that, it’s just like, you never know if you’re ever going to see them again.
But there is a considerable amount of faith that comes with knowing that “I am universally, soulfully mated to someone,” and so, they keep coming back to each other. And I think you only maintain something like that if you feel connected to each other, even when you’re apart.
So, we held that. I think we even held that in the filming of things. Like, if I was somewhere in Texas filming my scenes and David was somewhere else, we still maintained that kind of understanding of that connectivity. Because I think it was important for him to always be present in my mind and heart when I’m working because I think that was Jennie’s reality, and same for him when he was out there alone.
We talked a lot about that, and we talked a lot about how radical that kind of faith is in that time, and how inspiring that can be. It certainly inspired me.
TVLINE | When Jennie woke up from a nightmare in Episode 4, it was the first time we’ve seen her waver in her steadfastness. It made me really think about how she’s a woman by herself in the middle of nowhere with all these kids —
A young woman.
TVLINE | Right! And we know from the series’ trailer that there’s a scene ahead where Jennie is holding a gun in her front yard, and there are men around her. So I’m wondering if you can preview what you can tell us about what she’ll run into while Bass isn’t around.
I’m so glad you caught onto that because it was really important to me to see: Strength isn’t monolithic. It isn’t inflexible. It has peaks and valleys… I see that softness in Jennie and that vulnerability. And so, that [Episode 4 scene] was a moment for sure where she’s woken out of her sleep and she doesn’t quite have the time to put on her armor before she goes and wakes up her kids and before she goes and becomes mommy — and she is mommy, but she’s also scared. She was literally scared, and she’s genuinely scared about “what have we gotten ourselves into? What are we doing with you being away for so long and the kids not recognizing you,” you know?
TVLINE | As you were just talking, I was thinking about how Bass is a man who puts away bad guys, and how that information has to get around — how people will be coming for him and the family.
Exactly. Yeah, and it’s a new thing, even that the U.S. government is trying to enforce in this particular kind of way. So, yeah. It shows up. It shows up at the front door and it shows up in many different ways. [Laughs] … And so, Jennie finds herself face-to-face with a mob. You know, she finds herself face-to-face with the very visceral threat of danger that existed in that time, and she’s in between them and her children, and she definitely needs the gun at that time. Thank God she knew how to shoot! I mean, I wouldn’t imagine that the wife of Bass Reeves doesn’t know how to shoot, you know?
TVLINE | Speaking of shooting, tell me about attending Taylor Sheridan’s cowboy camp ahead of shooting. What skills are you confident about now that you couldn’t do before?
I am super confident about my horseback-riding skills. Cowboy camp was everything. It was so much fun like, so much fun. I still ride. Like, I have a coach. I am jumping into a rodeo.
TVLINE | What?!
I’m riding cutting horses. I had my first barrel-race lesson. Jennie Reeves and this whole experience has given me a whole like, plethora of skills that both service me as the actor in the role, but definitely me, Lauren, as a person who is now newly indoctrinated into cowboy/cowgirl culture thanks to the wranglers on our show. [Laughs] Yeah, I feel good. I feel good about my lasso, I feel good about my roping. Not quite good about roping live cattle, but I’m in. Can’t you tell? I’m in.
TVLINE | Your face lit up when you started talking about riding. Did you ride at all before landing this show?
Not at all.
TVLINE | OK. And then, when you compete, are you going to say to anyone, “This actually is my first rodeo?”
I will now! I will now. Thank you, Kim.
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