Taylor Kitsch on American Primeval, Friday Night Lights, & Why Saying Less Is More

You probably first met Taylor Kitsch as Tim Riggins, the charming but tragic football player on Friday Night Lights, director Peter Berg’s TV adaptation of his film of the same name. With his “Texas forever” mantra, long brown hair, and beer-soaked and troubled backstory, Riggins helped cement Kitsch’s place among the top small-screen heartthrobs of all time. That quiet intensity that defined his breakout was deepened with his role as the cult leader David Koresh in Waco, but in American Primeval, Kitsch plays perhaps his most intense character yet. The show, also directed by Berg, is set in 1857 Utah during a period of conflict between pioneer settlers, Native Americans, and members of the Mormon Church. Kitsch stars as Isaac, a hardened mountain man raised by the Shoshone people, who is grieving the loss of his wife and son. To prepare for the role, Kitsch spent time on a real-life Shoshone reservation. “One of the elders said, ‘Back then we spoke with purpose, so words meant a lot more,’” Kitsch tells W’s Editor at Large, Lynn Hirschberg. “I took that to heart. Less is more. I think I've made a career out of it.”

You had to master a lot of skills to play Isaac in American Primeval. How did you prepare?

Yes, the show is based around true events. I had to learn Shoshone, an Indigenous language, and we had cowboy camp for two, three weeks. It was “Beginners, day one: This is a horse.” That’s where I started. I went from doing the circles in the barn to the open field, to graduating to the mountains up in Santa Fe. I went through multiple horses. Banana Bread was my favorite.

Could you play football before you were cast as Tim Riggins in Friday Night Lights?

I could throw a ball, but I couldn’t tackle correctly, which was not helpful.

Did you ever lie about having a skill to get a part?

I think [I did for] Snakes on a Plane. I didn't have to surf, but I told them I could surf.

Did you always want to be an actor?

I was your stereotypical Canadian kid. Loved the outdoors, loved sports. I got into drama class probably in grade 10. I was a class clown. We did a Christmas play, and I had to be Santa, with the pillow and all that. I loved it.

Do you get starstruck?

Maybe when I was younger. I'm old now. The hockey player Steve Yzerman, he walked by me and I panicked. But now we chat here and there. He’s an amazing guy.

Who did you have a crush on when you were growing up?

Halle Berry, still. She's just stunning.

What's your favorite thing you've done on your birthday?

I always try and just get uncomfortable and do something. For the past 10 years, my birthday has been on a different continent. I love motorcycles, so we’ll plan a crazy trip. We just went through Patagonia, and the year before that was Norway.

What is your pet peeve?

Laziness. Hate it. I'm all for taking a breath, if it's earned, but laziness drives me crazy. Entitlement is big too.

What movie or TV show makes you cry?

I’m from a tiny town in British Columbia called Kelowna, and there’s a documentary, Sugarcane, about the Native Americans who were suppressed and put into schools in Kamloops. That one broke me.

Your characters are uniformly fearless. Do you have any fears?

I hate snakes. My ex-girlfriend will send me snake videos. I haven't heard from her for six months, and I'll get some fucked-up video, and I can't get through it.

Do you have a go-to karaoke song?

I'd have to say “Thunderstruck,” maybe some Garth Brooks, “Friends in Low Places.” I sing in my truck all the time. There's a John Mayer song that I was singing that's kind of left field. And “Sundown,” by [Gordon] Lightfoot. Fucking good tune. Learning that on guitar now.

Do you have a favorite reality show?

Love on the Spectrum by far. Love it. We’re all so jaded, or at least I am, with love and relationships. You have to be so conscious to be open now, or at least I do, and give things an actual chance. On that show, they are all just so in the moment. We can learn a lot from that.

Grooming by Laila Hayani at Forward Artists.

Produced by AP Studio, Inc.; executive producer: Alexis Piqueras; producer: Anneliese Kristedja; production manager: Hayley Stephon; production coordinator: Kaitlyn Fitzpatrick; lighting technician: Eduardo SilvA; lab: picturehouse+thesmalldarkroom; retouching: picturehouse+thesmalldarkroom; fashion assistants: Tyler VanVranken, Amir La Sure, Celeste Roh, Lila Hathaway, Natalie Mell; production assistants: Linette Estrella, Ariana Kristedja, Sammi Kulger, Ryan Carter, Cameron Bevans, Chase Walker, Rory Walsh; hair assistants: Courtney Peak, Austin Weber, Simone Domizi; makeup assistants: Mika Iwata, Anna Kurihara, Nana Hiramatsu; manicure assistant: ​​Rieko Smith; set assistants: Kevin Kessler, Cedar Kirwin, Paul Levine; tailor: Lindsay Amir Wright; tailor’s assistant: Natalie Wright.