Minka Kelly: ‘There’ve Been Many Times I Thought Hollywood Was Done With Me’
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Minka Kelly has been waiting for this moment. Yes, she’s had a busy few years, between the release of her critically acclaimed, New York Times best-selling memoir, Tell Me Everything, and a high-profile stint as the affluent, mysterious Samantha on HBO’s Euphoria, but it’s Netflix’s new romantic drama, Ransom Canyon (streaming now), that has her most excited.
That’s not to take away from her other recent accomplishments, but given the emotional gravity of laying bare her tumultuous upbringing in Tell Me Everything, Kelly, 44, is more than ready to embrace a sense of calm and peace, along with much-needed escapism.
“I’d say Ransom Canyon is Yellowstone meets Friday Night Lights, but with less violence than Yellowstone,” she says over Zoom from her home in Los Angeles. “It’s its own thing in that it is sexy, it’s romantic, and it has a lot of relatable stories as far as the long-lost love. It’s got lust, it has deceit, it has everything you want when you want to tune in and escape and feel good. I think we are ready to just feel good and watch something beautiful that’s also sexy and relatable.”
The show centers on three ranching family dynasties locked in a contest for control of the land. At the center of it all is Staten Kirkland (Josh Duhamel), a stoic and very private rancher healing from heartbreaking loss. A bright spot is Kelly’s Quinn O’Grady, his longtime family friend and the owner of a local dance hall. She cares deeply for Staten, but their relationship is complex.
“I loved the script, and I loved the setting,” the Los Angeles native says. “You had me at horses and ranches because I just love horses. I always have. So the thought of doing a modern Western right next door in Albuquerque just all made sense. It was really a no-brainer.”
But going back to Albuquerque wasn’t without its hesitations. Kelly spent much of her adolescence in the Southwestern city, where her mom tried to make ends meet as she faced addiction and domestic violence. “I was afraid to go back because I hadn’t really been there since my childhood, which wasn’t the best,” the Friday Night Lights actor told Tudum. “Going back in this way just took away the boogeyman.”
It also helped take away her fear of thinking Hollywood was done with her. Having gone years without working, getting the opportunity to join Ransom Canyon in one of the lead roles was transformative.
“There’ve been many times when I’ve thought, Maybe I’m done—I had a good run, I had a great time, and maybe they’re done with me,” Kelly tells Glamour. “So yeah, this was a real dream, real dream job.”
But as Kelly later found, joining the show was only the tip of the iceberg in terms of how monumental the experience would be. From having women in the main leadership positions on the show to finding love in her 40s, Kelly is learning it’s actually possibly to let loose and have fun on the job. “Going a couple of years without work might do that to you,” she says. “You’re like, ‘Oh, I still get to do what I love. I still get to do this.’”
Glamour: Quinn’s style is kind of my dream on Ransom Canyon; it’s sporty, feminine, and comfortable. Did you feel that way?
Minka Kelly: I loved it, and it maybe leaned a little too comfortable. Watching it back, I’m like, Wow, I really maybe could have worn a smaller sweater. [Laughs.] I just really leaned into what I thought a girl in this place would be wearing. And what I would be wearing. I just want to wear a bunch of summer dresses and boots and cozy sweaters.
I appreciate that the show keeps the wardrobe honest to the setting.
Right. I care so much about that, and that’s always the conversation with me and [costume designer] Olivia Miles and the writers, like, “Would she really be wearing this?” They’ve all done such a great job. Everyone is so specific and different from one another. And also, yeah, everyone would be wearing that.
The show is created by a woman, April Blair, and Amanda Marsalis directs. How did that inspire the storytelling and the overall environment? What was that like compared with other projects you’ve worked on?
Look, nothing against all the men that have been in charge on every show I’ve ever been on, but you really do feel the difference, from the sensitivities to the storyline, to the wardrobe, to all the little details. There is the feminine touch; there is the female perspective on these storylines. There’s the unexpected responses from Quinn and Staten. There are certain scenarios that they’re in where I’d be so excited and relieved that it didn’t end the way it typically would on television. And even my boyfriend…when we watched some of the episodes, he’d be like, “Oh, thank God. Yes, this is what happens when it’s a female writer with a female showrunner.” It’s fun because everyone feels cared for on the set. Everyone feels seen and heard, and it’s so collaborative. You feel the softer touch.
