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Peter Berg is tackling an underexplored chapter in American history with the help of Julie O'Keefe in American Primeval. Having started his career as an actor, Berg has since transitioned to becoming a successful writer, director and producer, with some of his most notable titles including the Dwayne Johnson-led The Rundown, his Mark Wahlberg collaborations on Lone Survivor, Patriots Day, Mile 22 and Spenser Confidential, and both the Friday Night Lights movie and TV show. O'Keefe, on the other hand, is a new face on the entertainment scene, having just worked on Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon as the head Osage wardrobe consultant.
American Primeval not only marks Berg's latest reunion with Netflix, but also his first TV show since directing and executive producing the streamer's Painkiller miniseries. The Western miniseries is set in 1857 and chronicles the intersecting lives of various people in the Utah region, all looking for new lives for themselves. Some of the main focal characters include young Mormon Jacob Pratt and his new wife, Abish, who become part of the infamous Mountain Meadows Massacre; a mother named Sara and her son, Devin, as they venture to join her husband and his father; and Red Feather, a local Paiute warrior who is fighting to defend his home from invaders.
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Mrs. Davis' Betty Gilpin leads the ensemble American Primeval cast as Sara alongside frequent Berg collaborator Taylor Kitsch, Oppenheimer's Dane DeHaan as Jacob, The Agency's Saura Lightfoot-Leon as Abish, Derek Hinkey as Red Feather, The Suicide Squad's Jai Courtney, Kim Coates, Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning's Shea Whigham, and Preston Mota, among others. Berg is directing and executive producing the show alongside creator Mark L. Smith, best known for his work co-writing the Oscar-winning Western action drama The Revenant.
Ahead of the show's premiere, ScreenRant interviewed Peter Berg and Julie O'Keefe to discuss American Primeval, the unique way he and Smith first met and discussed the concept of the show, their efforts to bring the historical events at the heart of the show to life authentically, and the extensive research O'Keefe did for all Native cultural elements of the miniseries.
Berg Has Long Desired To Do A Project Set In The American Old West
He Also Had A Very Unique First Meeting With Smith To Discuss The Show
ScreenRant: It is so great to chat with you both for American Primeval. I watched it over the weekend, and it was just such a gripping and intense ride from start to finish, I really loved it. Pete, I'd love to start with you first. Obviously, a lot of this comes from the mind of Mark L. Smith as the creator and writer, but I'd love to hear about working with him to bring this different vision of the American Old West to screens.
Pete Berg: So, the origins of the script, I had the desire to do something set in this period of time, starting with a movie I saw called Jeremiah Johnson with Robert Redford when I was a little kid, which really kind of lit my fuse, and was probably one of the original pieces of film I saw that got me into this business. I knew quite a bit about Mark L. Smith, and knew that he shared that sensibility, so he came out to LA, and he came to my office, and he was waiting in a little seating room that we have.
I have a weird collection of stuff in my office, and I have an axe collection. I don't know why, but people send me axes, amongst other things. And I took this big, very rugged steel ice axe, and I brought it into the room where he was waiting. We'd never met before, and I just put the axe on his lap, and I said, "Can we do this as a show?" And he just held the axe, and he looked up at me, and he smiled, and he said, "I think we can".
And that was the origin, was an ice axe, and that led us to 1857, into the Mormon Mountain Meadows Massacre. And it put Julie in my life, thankfully. I learned a lot about what life was like for Native American tribes, which was very rough, for American military, which was rough, for the pioneers, it was rough, for the Mormons, it was very rough. We just sort of let it all kind of lay out after that.
O'Keefe Had A "True Commitment" To Ensuring The Show Was Culturally Inclusive
"It's very rare in Hollywood, until just recently, that we've really been engaged..."
Julie, I'd love to turn to you next, because I do love the way that the show finds a balance in depicting Native Americans, from not just being villains, but also still not quite heroes, either. I'd love to hear about working with Pete and working with Mark to really ensure that there is that balance being shown throughout this show.
Julie O'Keefe: Well, I think the interesting thing I just heard Pete say that it started with an ax. What he doesn't know is my family name is Strike Axe. [Chuckles] That's spelled exactly like you see it: Strike Axe. So, I really have a true commitment when I start reading a script of making sure that the proper nations are involved and that the top of their citizens are coming to help and putting teams together for the director to be able to tell his vision and build his story.
It's very rare in Hollywood, until just recently, that we've really been engaged in being able to tell our own stories and be a part of that. So, I went into the Southern Paiute, Shoshone and the Ute tribe, and really brought out linguist historians that could come on set and really look over plans for the set and the props. I dealt with hair and, at that time period, how you would attach a headdress to Red Feather, to a man's head, because we didn't have things to tie it with at the time, like we do now.
And then, the research level of it, too, I really engaged the Native American Museum at the Smithsonian, and had their researchers send me a portfolio of hundreds of photographs of their actual collection. And then, I was able to work with the costume designer, Virginia Johnson, and was really able to go to those heads, giving them the most accurate information. But, most importantly, being able to give Pete the most accurate and actionable information for him to continue to tell the story.
About American Primeval
This is America…1857. Up is down, pain is everywhere, innocence and tranquility are losing the battle to hatred and fear. Peace is the shrinking minority, and very few possess grace — even fewer know compassion. There is no safe haven in these brutal lands, and only one goal matters: survival. American Primeval is a fictionalized dramatization and examination of the violent collision of culture, religion, and community as men and women fight and die to keep or control this land.
From director/executive producer Pete Berg, writer/creator/executive producer Mark L. Smith, and executive producers Eric Newman and Alex Gayner, American Primeval stars Taylor Kitsch, Betty Gilpin, Dane DeHaan, Saura Lightfoot-Leon, Derek Hinkey, Joe Tippett, Jai Courtney, Preston Mota, Shawnee Pourier, and Shea Whigham. Julie O'Keefe is Indigenous Cultural Consultant and Project Advisor. Artisans include: Hovia Edwards-Yellowjohn (Shoshone Bannock-Navajo), Pete Yellowjohn (Shoshone Bannock), Georgette Running Eagle (Shoshone Bannock), Robert Perry (Shoshone Bannock), Kugee Supernaw (Quapaw and Osage) and Son Supernaw (Quapaw-Osage and Caddo), Joe Cheshawalla (Osage) Debbie Cheshawalla (Choctaw), Molly Murphy Adams (Oglala Lakota).
Check out our previous American Primeval interviews with:
- Betty Gilpin & Taylor Kitsch
- Dane DeHaan & Kim Coates
- Saura Lightfoot-Leon & Derek Hinkey
American Primeval is now streaming on Netflix.
Source: ScreenRant Plus
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American Primeval is a Netflix limited series that follows the lives of several men and women in the middle of the expansion of the American West. Social dynamics clash as men and women battle for a piece of the new world against rivals and each other.
Release Date January 9, 2025
Network Netflix
Cast Taylor Kitsch , Jai Courtney , Dane DeHaan , Betty Gilpin , Nick Hargrove , Kyle Bradley Davis , Derek Hinkey , Saura Lightfoot Leon , Preston Mota , Shawnee Pourier , Joe Tippett
Character(s) Isaac , Sara Rowell , Gant , Buffalo Run , Jacob Pratt , Abish Pratt , Red Feather , James Wolsey , Virgil Cutter , Two Moons , Jim Bridger
Creator(s) Peter Berg , Eric Newman , Mark L. Smith
Producers Eric Newman , Mark L. Smith
Seasons 1
Writers Peter Berg , Eric Newman , Mark L. Smith
Directors Peter Berg
English (US) ·