Natalie Alyn Lind can’t remember what day it is. Currently caught up in a whirlwind of promotion for Dutton Ranch — the Yellowstone sequel in which she stars as the fiery Oreana — Lind has been travelling across the United States to build up hype for the show.

Not that Dutton Ranch needs it. The modern Western is one of the most anticipated new series of the year, continuing the story of Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) and Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser), who relocate to the Texan border town of Rio Paloma, where they clash with ranch rival Beulah Jackson (Annette Benning).

When we speak, Lind is finally at home in Los Angeles, relaxing with her three dogs, excited to see what the response to Dutton Ranch will be. “It’s been really fun to have so many people be so passionate about the show because they were fans of Yellowstone,” says Lind. “That energy has been keeping us all going as we go from premieres to press days and getting on flights.”

Lind remembers being told to watch Yellowstone by a friend halfway through its first season back in 2018. She instantly became hooked. In particular, she loved the dynamic between Beth and Rip. When she learned that a spin-off was in the works, she dreamed of getting involved and was, unsurprisingly, ecstatic when she got an audition. After impressing the creative team, which included Yellowstone co-creator Taylor Sheridan and Dutton Ranch showrunner Chad Feehan, Lind was flown to Fort Worth, Texas, for further screen tests.

“It was me and a bunch of other girls who were there for two days. I was obviously super nervous,” recalls Lind. During her brief excursion to central Texas, Lind found herself falling in love with the state, which only made her want the role even more. “There’s just so much more anxiety when you’re so in love with the role and the location.” Lind didn’t have to wait long to hear how she’d done in the audition. “By the time I’d landed back in Los Angeles, I’d heard that I’d booked the role.”

Lind describes Oreana — who emerges as a potential love interest for Beth and Rip’s son Carter (Finn Little) — as a free spirit who wears her heart on her sleeve. “She’s not afraid to say what she’s thinking. She knows what she wants. She drives a vintage Bronco. She shoots guns. She’s a badass. And playing a badass is so fun.”

The 25-year-old actress doesn’t want to say she’s too similar to her Dutton Ranch character, quickly insisting that Oreana handles certain situations very differently, but she does admit she’s learned a lot from the role. “Rather than putting myself into the character, I actually feel like it’s been the opposite. I feel like I’m taking elements from my character and putting it into my real life.”

It’s little surprise to Lind that she had so much fun portraying Oreana. Both Beth as a character, and Reilly’s performance as the whip-smart, abrasive, and ever-so volatile corporate financier, had Lind hooked for years. “She is the epitome of what a badass woman is. Being able to step back and watch the way she works, I learned so much.” Lind heaps praise on Sheridan’s writing of “strong, powerful, female characters,” but she also saves some credit for the screenwriter’s wife, Nicole. After getting to know her over the course of making Dutton Ranch, Lind says Nicole is present in every single character her husband scribes.

Before Lind could truly sink her teeth into the character of Oreana, she and the rest of the cast had to undergo the notorious cowboy camp that every member of Sheridan’s Western shows has to endure. Just two days after learning she’d been cast, Lind was back on a plane to Texas to start preparation for the series. “I didn’t have time to process what was going on. Suddenly I was on horseback in the middle of Texas thinking, ‘This is my life now.’ It was incredible.”

As a huge animal lover, Lind had some previous experience on horseback, but she was truly put through her paces to ensure Dutton Ranch looked as authentic as possible. Lind laughs as she recalls trying to perfect her roping skills over the course of the one-week-long cowboy camp — explaining that it’s all in the movement of the wrist.

Thankfully, the atmosphere during the camp was entirely encouraging. As the only woman there, Lind says the rest of her co-stars soon became like big brothers who would repeatedly celebrate her achievements. “It actually felt like I already had a family there supporting me. I was so grateful. I hope we get to do the cowboy camp every season.”

The very next week, Lind was on set filming. Over the next six months, whenever she had downtime or needed to step away for a moment of calm and reflection, Lind took refuge with the horses and trainers. “I ended up falling in love with the cowboy lifestyle. I got my own horse, so just getting to go around the arena was so peaceful. It was such a stable presence in the entire process.”

Having been on screen for the last two decades, Lind knows exactly what’s required to survive and thrive during production. The daughter of producer John Lind and actress Barbara Alyn Woods, Lind grew up on sets and made her acting debut in One Tree Hill, the show her mother starred in for 106 episodes, at the age of six. Even though Barbara warned each of her three daughters about the perils of becoming an actor, Lind and her younger sisters Emily and Alyvia have all followed her into the profession.

“We all just wanted it so badly. We’re so passionate about acting. That was something that was drilled into us, ‘You have to love what you do in this career’. Neither my mum nor dad forced us into anything that we didn’t want to do. We actually forced them. I think that’s why we’ve been able to have the careers that we’ve had, because we still feel such a passion for it.”

But while Lind has loved dabbling in a variety of genres — from popping up throughout sitcom The Goldbergs, to playing Bruce Wayne’s love interest in Gotham, a mutant in The Gifted, and being kidnapped in crime thriller Big Sky — there’s one genre she has always been obsessed with: horror.

“I’ve always wanted to be a scream queen,” declares Lind, who says she’s been obsessed with the idea ever since she saw Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween at an irresponsibly young age. “She is the most iconic woman of all time. Especially in that movie. That’s an actress in a movie that I always wanted to be.”

Lind fulfilled her horror dream as the lead in Paramount+’s Pet Sematary: Bloodlines. But her love of horror runs so deep that she has also just finished producing the horror-comedy Halloween Store, which revolves around a group of people trapped inside a costume shop with a mysterious killer.

Moving forward, Lind wants to be as involved behind the camera as she is in front of it; she is in the process of producing two more films and has ambitions to direct — something Dutton Ranch has proved invaluable for. “I want the work to feel grounded, even in exceptional circumstances. I hate when characters feel too perfect and aren’t developed. That’s what I learned on Dutton Ranch.”

Lind pauses and then beams as she provides this career update; almost as if she’s just realised that she’s currently doing exactly what she always wanted to with her life. “I am on the path that I've always dreamed of,” she says. “I feel so lucky and grateful for that.”

Dutton Ranch is streaming now on Paramount+.

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