As Dark Winds' Bernadette Manuelito, actor Jessica Matten battles bank robbers, murderers, and even a witch in the first season of the hit AMC neo-Western. But that's just the beginning. Bernadette often faces equally daunting challenges as both a Native woman in the 1970s and the Navajo tribal police's lone female officer.
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Needless to say, the character is incredibly layered, nuanced, and a frequent scene-stealer in a show chock-full of standout performances. Wide Open Country was lucky enough to sit down with Matten (prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike), who enthusiastically shared details on playing the complex character, working with co-star Kiowa Gordon (who plays Jim Chee), and what sort of trouble fans can expect Bernadette to get up to - and into - during Season 2. Read on for that and more deep-diving details on Dark Winds' sophomore season.
Wide Open Country: Bernadette's obviously a strong female character, but that phrase is used a lot and doesn't do justice to the full depth of your performance. How would you describe Bernadette?
Jessica Matten: Yeah, "strong female character" is definitely overused. And it's such a generalization because, personally, every single film and show I've watched starring a woman, has been a strong female character. Regardless of what they're doing, even if they're a housewife in the 1950s - that would be a strong female character, when you're stuck in the house raising all these kids. Geez.
But how I see her [Bernadette] is just someone living their truth. And I think it's as simple as that - a woman living their truth. And getting a sneak peek into someone from a different upbringing, a different culture, and in touch with who they are. I think it's very simple.
Michael Moriatis/AMC
Wide Open Country: And can fans expect to see other sides or dimensions to this nuanced character in Season 2?
Jessica Matten: Yeah, she's set up for the new season, again, in the trenches doing her job. But she's starting to really observe what it means to be a Native person in the 1970s. And through politics and through the really challenging issues of the time, there are lots of moments where we touch upon racism with Native people in the '70s.
And Deanna [Allison's] character, Emma [Leaphorn], has a storyline threaded with Bernadette's that I won't give away, but it's pretty powerful. It's this interesting crossover of storylines, where the main thing is racism and what does it mean to be a woman of color during that time. And how do you hold a position which is typically a man's job back then? So that same thread is there, but I think we hit a point where Bernadette is just coming to a milestone in her own life where she needs to make some serious adjustments and decisions based on all of this.
Wide Open Country: One of the great things about Bernadette is her respect for the traditions of her culture, even in the face of others thinking she's too superstitious. Will this side of the character be further explored in season 2?
Jessica Matten: Yeah, I've been spending quite a lot of time in New Mexico last year and this year, and, as a result, I've gotten to know the Navajo community a lot more and their traditions. And that's legit, they take that all very seriously. And it's cool that I'm learning the intricacies of their cultural beliefs and their practices.
And it's very different from my tribe's culture and teachings, which is also fascinating because, in my head, I always thought, "Oh yeah, all Natives, we all smudge with sage, we all smudge with sweetgrass." But no, the Navajo culture is so unique, and it's such a privilege to continuously dive into it because I'm just fascinated in how much there is to learn.
Wide Open Country: Season 1 also explored the darker side of the culture with Bernadette's encounters with the witch...
Jessica Matten: Yeah, and that is true in Navajo culture. They believe in witches, and it was cool that we got to honor that by telling a story about a witch.
Wide Open Country: Does the new season dig into that darker stuff as well?
Jessica Matten: No, we end up exploring different cultural things. There's a scene...I can't give it away...but it's in the new trailer where there's a little Navajo cultural moment. It's when Leaphorn and Bernadette are looking over the dead body and, in that moment, there's another new Navajo tradition. When we were filming it, I was like, "Oh, this is cool." It's very subtle though, so I'll just leave it at that.
Michael Moriatis/Stalwart Productions/AMC
Wide Open Country: Bernadette's relationships with both Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn had their share of ups and downs in the first season. Where are they at the start of season 2?
Jessica Matten: Bernadette's relationship with Chee is definitely not in the best place when we enter the new season. Her relationship with Leaphorn is, you know, they're like family - he's like the father, she's like the daughter. So I think, like any family situation in real life, there's going to be some bickering, but no matter what, you wake up the next day, you forget it, and you keep going on. It's kind of Leaphorn and Bernadette's dynamic.
And the cool thing with Season 2 is you get to see that more. It delves more into their actual personal lives, individually and together as well. It gives you more insight and makes you want to root for the characters a lot more. Season 2 is an opportunity where we get to really know these characters a lot more, too.
Wide Open Country: Bernadette and Chee have great chemistry, but what's the working relationship like with Kiowa off-camera?
Jessica Matten: Oh, that's a good one. We're like brother and sister in real life, but obviously, we're playing, like, potential lovers on the show. There was a moment in Season 2 where we were with the director, Chris Eyre, and we were just goofing off. We're very professional at our job, but it's kind of like a lovey-dovey moment between us, and Chris was like, "Stop it, you guys! Oh my God, you're like brother and sister." He's like, "That's not sexy."
But Kiowa and I, I think because we have such a friendship, that the chemistry is gonna be there. And you know, we're so fortunate, between Zahn [McClarnon], Kiowa and I, and everyone else - Deanna and the other cast, everyone is just really cool on the show to work with. When you're working 12-14-hour days, five times a week for four months, you hope and pray you're working with cool people. So yeah, I couldn't say more about...even the crew...some have become like almost like cousins. So it's a joy.
Michael Moriatis/Stalwart Productions/AMC
Wide Open Country: Do you ever recognize any of your own traits or qualities in Bernadette? Do you think you're alike in any way?
Jessica Matten: Yeah, I mean, we're both definitely in touch with or, I would say, we equally sit very comfortable in both our masculine and feminine sides. I'm also spiritual but also very pragmatic at the same time, very much like Bernadette.
But I would say the big difference is I'm nowhere as mean or have that stoic, mean Indian face. I'm definitely a lot more cheerful and just more welcoming in real life. But I mean, this is the joy of playing characters, right? If I can infuse a character with something that's a little more saucy, then I totally will.
Wide Open Country: Anything you're particularly proud of about the character?
Jessica Matten: Yeah, I think I'm actually proud of the person that Bernadette is, and I think the writers this season have just done a brilliant job fleshing her character out more. And again, you get to see all the different layers of her too... she's very human.
And I think sometimes, in Season 1, she comes off very tough. And my worry was that, "Okay, I don't want her to be this one-note character where she's just tough." So I like that in Season 2, we explore even more different sides of Bernadette. I just think that makes any character more appealing, more likable. So I hope that audiences continue to just get to know more about her and like her as opposed to thinking she sucks.
'Dark Winds' season 2 premieres on AMC on Sunday, July 30.
