Actors Taylor Kitsch and Betty Gilpin are no strangers to longer-form limited series, bringing in-depth, dimensional character work to acclaimed limited series as the horrifying cult leader David Koresh in Waco and the A.I. battling nun, Sister Simone, in Mrs. Davis. Now, they bring their respective passionate approach to the frozen frontier in Netflix’s new Western epic, American Primeval, opposite one another as Isaac and Sara Rowell.

Directed by Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights) and written by Mark L. Smith (The Revenant), American Primeval follows the gritty, expansive, and bloody birth of the American West. Cults, religion, Natives, and pioneers collide violently as a wide cast of characters fight for control of the new world. The series also co-stars Dane DeHaan (Oppenheimer), Derek Hinkey (Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter One), Saura Lightfoot-Leon (The Agency), and Kim Coates (Sons of Anarchy) as Brigham Young.

Collider’s own Steve Weintraub had the absolute pleasure of chatting with Gilpin and Kitsch to talk about all things American Primeval. Together, they discussed working in freezing temperatures at extremely high altitudes, the admiration and curiosity each has for one another’s innate acting skills, and Berg’s off-the-hip, wildly intense style of direction.