The Dutton Ranch‘s Natalie Alyn Lind she knows her character, Oreana, has Yellowstone fans are divided.
“I love playing a character who is loved and hated,” said Lind, 26, to himself Us Weekly during a joint interview with Finn Little. “I love seeing the reactions of the fans.”
The actor enjoyed the mixed reactions, adding, “There’s something that makes me giggle every time someone really hates my character because I’m doing my job well. Because my character shouldn’t be a lovable character. He should have a conversation that’s been happening and that’s the best thing in my opinion.”
Although not everyone understood Orena’s intentions, Lind was excited about the challenge.
“That was the most fun part of playing him and that’s what I wanted to do when I was filming this show,” he said. “I think he’s a multi-layered character.”
Lind hopes to learn more about Oreana in the coming seasons. “The Duttons have been around for so many years that I hope that with more seasons to come, you will begin to know more about his origins,” he teased. “When we started this program, they sat us down and talked about where they came from.”
He continued: “There’s a lot more that hasn’t been seen or been told about Orena that I’m really glad people found out about. That might explain some of it—not all of it. The behavior is sometimes irredeemable but I think some parts of her will still look back, people will look back and say, ‘Oh, that’s why.'”
Yellowstone viewers met Orena through her romance with Carter (Little), who grew up on the Paramount Network show. While the franchise was growing with Dutton Ranch, Carter was back – but this time as a high school student preparing for adulthood.
Carter’s first relationship crashed and burned until now after Oreana backed out of their romance in the latest episode of the show.
Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser have moved from Yellowstone to their own show – but who else makes up the cast of Dutton Ranch? The Paramount Network show, which premiered in 2018, introduced viewers to the fictional Dutton family. Yellowstone ended in 2024, expanding its universe with Luke Grimes’ CBS. […]
“Oreana has been more experienced in the dating scene. This is Carter’s first love, she’s falling head over heels for the first time,” Little, 20, told us exclusively. “I’m not sure if that’s what Oreana expected but that’s what happened.”
Lind defended himself from his character.
“He’s the type where his childhood feels like it’s been taken away from him,” commented the actor. “He’s always been put in a box and told where he should go to college or what he should do. Being with Carter has brought him back to his youth and there’s something funny and magical about that.”
Lind continued: “She feels like a child when she’s around him but she also acts like a child. I think Carter’s character is more mature than Orena a lot of the time and has a better head. But she has an underlying strength. So it’s funny to see a technically mature character acting like a child with an 80-year-old actor—who is 80 years old—acting like an 80-year-old.”
