‘1883’ Star Gratiela Brancusi Opens Up About Challenges of Filming Intimate Scene

1883 is a show that features plenty of action and violence, but it's also got its fair share of romance and spice. One such scene was an intimate moment between Noemi (Gratiela Brancusi) and Thomas (LaMonica Garrett), and in a new interview, Brancusi says the scene was even more difficult to shoot than it might appear.

1883 is a prequel to Yellowstone that follows Jams and Margaret Dutton (Tim McGraw and Faith Hill) and their family as they undertake a dangerous wagon train journey West in hopes of finding a better life. Their characters are the great-great-grandparents of Dutton family patriarch John Dutton (Kevin Costner) on Yellowstone, and they will eventually establish the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch that serves as the setting for the massive hit show on Paramount Network.

Thomas is a Pinkerton agent who is traveling to help guide and protect the immigrants who comprise most of the wagon train, and Noemi is a Roma immigrant who fled slavery and persecution in Romania to seek out a better life in America's untamed West. The characters engaged in an intimate romantic scene in Episode 6 of 1883 that showed Brancusi unclothed from behind, and she tells Taste of Country that weather conditions made shooting the outdoor scene even more challenging.

"It was such a windy night," she says with a laugh. "When we got there, it was so warm, and I was like, 'Oh my god, Mother Earth is being kind to me today.' And 40 minutes later, it was all gone, and I was sorry I spoke too early."

Though she felt nervous, Brancusi adds that "everyone was so protective of me that night ... it was really the scene that I felt the most comfortable in, which is so strange. Because the idea of being naked in front of people is the thing that one is the most afraid of — and me, too. But because of how everyone was there to take care of me and protect me, it was such a generous experience."

The wind came close to ruining a take that was already well underway, however.

"In the middle of a take, we heard this sound — I can't remember who it was, but they were trying to hold this tent down because of the wind," Brancusi recalls with another laugh. "And we heard someone go, 'Oh my god!'"

She wasn't going to let that mishap stop filming.

"Because I had already dropped the dress, I just kept going," she shares. "I was like, 'I am not sacrificing this ... we made it this far, we are doing this take.'"

The scene turned out better than she had ever imagined.

"It was a really beautiful experience," she says. "I was scared of it, to be honest. But it turned out to be maybe my favorite scene."

Brancusi laughingly declined to elaborate when asked where Noemi's character arc with Thomas might lead, teasing, "You're going to have to watch."

New episodes of 1883 stream every Sunday via Paramount+.

Stay tuned to Taste of Country as we provide ongoing coverage of both Yellowstone and 1883, including episode analysis, news on the shows, cast interviews and more. As part of our comprehensive coverage, check out the Dutton Rules podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

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