‘Ransom Canyon’ Stars Josh Duhamel and Minka Kelly Talk “Delicate Dance” Of Making Staten And Quinn’s Love Story “Unpredictable And Interesting”

Romance abounds in Netflix‘s Ransom Canyonbased on Jodi Thomas’ book of the same title and created by showrunner April Blair (All American, Jane By Design).

At the heart of the contemporary Western drama series, Josh Duhamel and Minka Kelly bring to life a back and forth love story between rancher Staten Kirkland and lavender farmer, dance hall owner and piano player extraordinare Quinn O’Grady. Through the season’s 10 episodes, Staten and Quinn orbit each other until they act on the feelings they have for each other, but the finale challenges their already up and down love story.

In the below interview, the pair unpacked how they approached the “will they/won’t they” dynamic, the timing of their characters getting together and how they interpreted the finale and ending of the season for their characters.

DEADLINE: When we meet Quinn and Staten, you get a sense they have history, and then they’re butting heads over this tractor belt. There’s a lot of will they, won’t they dynamic. What were your conversations like about establishing that vibe between them?

JOSH DUHAMEL: A lot actually.

For me, it’s about how you execute these kinds of things. Because it is a “will they won’t they,” and the audience knows. There’s certain things that are just true, but it’s how you go about getting there, I think, is the most interesting. And how do we make this the most unpredictable and interesting way to tell the story.

[Minka]’s so good in the show. And I love how real she played it. She she made it tough for Staten, and I love that because he deserved it. He’s a stubborn dude who doesn’t properly express things he wants to say or do, and I think that she’s not afraid to call him on it. They’ve known each other for so long.

MINKA KELLY: It’s this thing of, when you’re young and you’ve decided this is your love of your life, where you really have a love for someone, you think or feel like you can save them. I know a lot of women who have gone through their phase of feeling like “Hey, I can fix him. I can save him.” You sort of have to burn it to the ground until you finally accept and realize “I can’t save you, I can’t fix you, I can’t keep falling in love with potential. I just have to accept you for who you are right now.”

That’s the the journey she’s on with him is, is that discovery of like, “Oh, this is your journey to figure out. I can’t do this for you as much as I want to and as much as I feel like I can just shake it out of you and make you see.” And it was a fine line, a delicate dance of making sure that it wasn’t ever melodramatic or too saccharine, or, to what [Josh] was saying, just making sure it felt very real and honest. She is tough on [Staten]but she also has such a soft spot for him because she loves him.

DEADLINE: In the bar scene with the Hootie and the Blowfish song, was that always in the script, did you pick the song, Josh?

Duhamel: Well, my first reaction was, “Oh, my God, I have to sing karaoke,” but it was originally scripted for Shania Twain, who I’m a big fan of, but I was like, “I don’t know if he would belt out Shania in the bar, no matter how plastered he is.

KELLY: You wouldn’t be feelin’ like a woman?

Duhamel: So I talked to April. I said, “I love the scene, but can we maybe? How about Hootie the Blowfish? She’s like, “Sure. Can we get it approved?” They went and got it approved, and then I was on the hook to sing Hootie. Sometimes be careful what you wish for, but that was sort of the anthem of my college years. It was Hootie & the Blowfish, it was Pearl Jam, it was Counting Crows. So I knew the words inside and out. And I was just like , “Okay, here we go.” And that’s how, that’s how that kind of came to be, because I felt more comfortable seeing hoodie than I did [Shania].

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KELLY: Isn’t he an amazing junk? You know how hard that is to do?

Duhamel: Lots of practice.

DEADLINE: And you still have the nod to “I didn’t go full Shania, did I?”

Duhamel: I probably did that exact scene in college.

KELLY: You can tell.

Duhame :: I worked at Tilly’s. It was a country bar. And, yeah, I probably did that exact seat at one point.

KELLY: It did feel like just sense memory.

Duhamel: It did, right?

KELLY: Just dropped right back into it. The part where he’s balancing himself is my favorite.

Duhamlel: [Mock slurring] I’m fine officer.

KELLY: Good job, buddy. Good job.

DEADLINE: And that’s, I feel like, one of the many maybe turning points for Staten when he really starts to realize, but Quinn’s still like, “No, we gotta figure this out.”

Duhamel: Yeah, it’s funny how the alcohol brings out the honesty, right? It’s like, “Dude, why couldn’t you tell me stuff when you’re, like, perfectly sober?”

KELLY: You need that liquid courage.

Duhamel: Of course, that’s what he would do. He just, he trips himself up and gets in his own way so much. But I love it.

KELLY: It’s so human.

DEADLINE: We have to talk about that tornado moment, that’s another scene where things are a little bit heightened, but I think they finally both realized their feelings? Why was that the timing for them to get together?

KELLY: You know, I think sometimes a crisis will really give you permission to live and feel and speak your truth. I think it was all the things. They’re in this really romantic safe room, candles are lit, the nostalgia of their high school dance song coming on, and the memory of him being like, “Man, it was you I wanted to dance with,” and then her learning that. They just let their guards down and let themselves just actually feel good together for once.

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Duhamel: I think that nothing says, let’s get it on like a cellar in the middle of a tornado. Nothing more romantic than that.

DEADLINE: Josh, there’s the final scene in Gracie’s — the line dance, and Staten is sitting there. Quinn tries to approach him, but by that point, he’s left and he’s left the bracelet. Is that him letting her go? How did you interpret that goodbye for him?

Duhamel: I think so. I think a couple of things probably happened. He knows that she’s moving on from him. He’s messed this thing up too many times, and [it’s]also his own stubborn way of not saying, “I’m sorry, I want to work on it, I love you,” or whatever, he could have done anything with that, but his pride and his ego and his stubbornness and his own inability to deal with the grief — I don’t think he ever really properly dealt with it. The easiest thing for him to do is walk away and go back into that dark hole. And that’s probably how he deals, how he dealt with it in that moment. I’m not recommending anybody out there do that, but yeah.

DEADLINE: Should the show get another season, what do you hope to see for your characters?

KELLY: Oh I was like, should it? Yes!

DEADLINE: Haha yes. Together part, what do you hope for Staten and Quinn?

KELLY: I hope for Stanton to get his stuff together. I hope for him to get healthy and to find a way to manage his grief in a more healthy way. I don’t know, I don’t really think I’m thinking too much about Stanton. I think she’s given up. She’s gone to New York, and she’s living her Philharmonic dreams.

Duhamel: And what do I think about it? Yes, he wants it. I think that anybody watching the show probably wants it, but it’s also so much fun with the complications that we have in this relationship. I don’t mind continuing to work that out. Att some point, yes, but not until — [Quinn] is ready. I mean, she’s clear. He needs to work through his shit first. He needs to figure it out before he’s worthy of that. And I think that he probably knows it, but would never admit it to her.

KELLY: I want to see her taking over. I want to see her thriving

Duhamel: Of course.

KELLY: With her businesses and her friendship with Ellie and not being very concerned with men.

Duhamel: You don’t wanna be pining over Staten all day?

KELLY: No, she’s given up on worrying about men.

Duhamel: Oh, come on!

DEADLINE: Okay last question. This show is a contemporary Western romance. What made you want to be part of this project, and how you feel like it adds to what’s already out there in this type of genre?

KELLY: I mean, I guess whatever is out there in this type of genre, they’re in the same sandbox as far as the landscape and the horses and the cowboy hats, but Ransom Canyon is really its own thing. It’s such a different thing than anything else that’s already out there. They do have a similar backdrop, but it really is its own thing. Don’t you think?

Duhamel: Totally. I think that April and this team of writers have done a really good job of getting to the truth of what these scenes are. And I think the actors and the cast in the show have that same desire.

KELLY: Quest for truth.

Duhamel: Everybody’s just trying to make this thing as real and relatable as we can. There’s something so relatable about a town like this. There are towns like this all over, not only the US, but all over the world. Any little town you go to has its own drama, its own stuff, and familiarity brings contempt, but it also … there’s so many memories in these towns.

KELLY: Yes, and Amanda Marsalis created such a beautiful, sexy, romantic tone that is just so pleasing to watch.

Duhamel: It does feel like a comfort food in a lot of ways. It is what it is. I’m not trying to do anything other than make a show that’s really interesting and easy to watch. We don’t need to be anything more than that.

KELLY: I think we want to feel good right now. We want to escape.

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