Why Sebastian Roche from 1923 Sought ‘Forgiveness’ from Indigenous Women

Sebastian Roché is well-known for portraying antagonists, yet a particularly intense scene in 1923 prompted him to reevaluate his method.

In a conversation with Us Weekly, the 60-year-old actor shared insights on getting ready to film the moment where his character, Father Renaud, kills Leenah Robinson’s Baapuxti — a student at the North Dakota Boarding School for Native Americans — in the first season. “There was a whole room full of Indigenous [and] Native American young women,” Roché reminisced. “Before we shot the scene, I felt it was important to address the situation and discuss what we were about to portray, as we’re reenacting a part of history that genuinely occurred.”

“I wanted to set the tone by seeking forgiveness prior to filming the scene,” the alum of The Vampire Diaries continued. “This really assisted not only in easing the tension for everyone involved, but for me as well, as I became extremely emotional during those scenes.”

“The intensity was so real that I felt incredibly emotional and anxious,” Roché detailed, adding that thereafter, “I was genuinely physically drained.”

In 1923, Roché’s portrayal of Father Renaud depicts him as the tyrannical headmaster at the North Dakota Boarding School for Native Americans, where Baapuxti and her cousin Teonna Rainwater (Aminah Nieves) are attendees. During the first season, Teonna kills two abusive nuns before escaping into the night. When Father Renaud finds the dead women, he questions Baapuxti for information. After she declines to disclose Teonna’s whereabouts, Father Renaud takes her life. Season 2 resumes right where the first season concluded, with Father Renaud and U.S. Marshals in pursuit of Teonna.

Roché described the filming of season 2 as “physically demanding as well as emotionally challenging,” relaying that his character undergoes “a transformation” in the return of the Yellowstone prequel. “He’s teamed up with a marshal who might be even more ruthless than he is, prompting him to confront an alter ego, a kind of doppelgänger of himself, leading him to question aspects of his own identity.”

For Roché — who has portrayed various roles including The Vampire Diaries’ Mikael Mikaelson and General Hospital’s Jerry Jacks — it’s vital that he does not perceive his roles as merely “evil” or “bad” when bringing them to life onscreen. Instead, he prefers to undergo a “psychological evaluation” of the character.

“Anthony Hopkins always advised me to read the script — he reviews it 80 times — and in due course, the script will reveal its secrets to you,” he shared with Us. “I discovered that while Father Renaud is a fearsome character, I needed to understand the source of his ruthlessness.”

“He demands an immense amount of energy and concentration, making him quite a taxing character to embody, but in the best possible sense, due to his depth,” Roché remarked. “While he might seem one-dimensional to you, to me, he’s incredibly complex.”

Roché is eager for audiences to see his character’s evolution unfold in season 2. “You’re going to explore many different facets of Father Renaud,” he mentioned, “which I find genuinely exciting and intriguing.”

Season 2 of 1923 is slated to premiere on Sunday, February 23, on Paramount+.