The voice that bites

On The Drew Barrymore Show, Kelly Reilly revealed that she modeled Beth’s vocal grit on Kevin Costner’s deepened John Dutton register. She listened closely, studied his cadence, then dropped Beth’s voice into a smoky, lower tone. In her words, she simply borrowed it. The result gave Beth a grounded authority that cuts through any room.

Smoke, whiskey, and a sharpened edge

Reilly added that Beth’s habits push her delivery into a huskier register. The cigarettes and the booze are character tools that roughen the timbre. Beth may be educated and wealthy, but her voice carries scorn, sorrow, and power. It tells you who she is before the first insult lands.

Why she needed a blueprint

Kelly Reilly is British. To play a Montana heiress, she leaned on a dialogue coach and built Beth from the sound up. The accent is not pure Costner. It is filtered through Beth’s ferocity, her history, and Reilly’s precision. That blend created a voice fans can recognize in a single line.

From Austen to the American West

Reilly has jumped across accents for years. Early roles used her natural speech. Later came American tones, Southern rhythms, and Western grit. Beth demanded all of that craft. She is elegant and lethal. The voice had to carry both truths.

The takeaway

Kevin Costner set the vocal foundation for the Dutton world. Kelly Reilly took that foundation and forged Beth Dutton’s battle cry. It is imitation as inspiration. It is craft turned into character.