The 1883 breakout star did not hold back.
Isabel May played in 1883 a 19th-century woman who had to become tough as the journey demanded. On the way, though, she also had to convey Elsa’s numerous loves. In fact, this was the show where she had her first intimate scene.
1883 scene was a first for both Isabel May and Eric Nelson
Elsa and cowboy Ennis (Eric Nelson) fell in love during the Duttons’ arduous voyage to the northwest. Their encounter was so intense that she was later informed that the entire camp could hear her. Unfortunately, the assailants later shot and killed Ennis.
“Her sex scene, because it was my first one, I remember I was kind of going, ‘Well, I wonder what this entails?’” May said on Awards Chatter. “Eric, who plays Ennis, was a little nervous about it. It was his first time ever doing a sex scene as well.”
May went on to tell how 1883 creator Taylor Sheridan helped them out:
“We just kind of walked through it moment by moment with Taylor [Sheridan]. Taylor actually handled it really well. He just walked us through it. ‘Let’s just rip the band-aid off. This is what we gotta do.’”
Isabel May ‘loved’ 1883 intimate scene
May admitted that filming her 1883 sex scene was still difficult. However, with Sheridan and Nelson as her partners, everything went as smoothly as could be expected.
“And then when we were doing it, we were trying not to laugh the whole time,” May said. “It was kind of really funny. That was probably one of the easier scenes that I’ve done. I loved it.”
May has also revealed how she auditioned for the role of Iris in Sheridan’s drama The Mayor of Kingstown. Emma Laird eventually played Iris, but Sheridan was so taken by May that he devised the role of Emma Dutton for her, which she played brilliantly.