The idea that everything happens for a reason feels trite – until you consider Ash Santos’s path to the Yellowstone universe, which makes a compelling case for something close to serendipity.

While the flagship series may have come to an end, the story of the Dutton family is far from over. Santos now enters the franchise as Andrea Cruz in Marshals, the fourth Yellowstone spin-off – and the first set after the events of the original show’s finale. The series follows the youngest Dutton son, played by Luke Grimes, as he leaves ranch life behind to join an elite unit of U.S. Marshals in Montana.

The project also signals a shift for the franchise. For the first time in Yellowstone history, Taylor Sheridan is not the one steering the ship. Instead, showrunner Spencer Hudnut takes the helm, with Sheridan remaining on board as executive producer and entrusting him to guide the Dutton universe into its next chapter.

Among the marshals working alongside Kayce Dutton is Santos’s Andrea Cruz – a tough-as-brass federal marshal from the Bronx who could imagine few things less appealing than trudging through cowboy country. Yet if Andrea finds herself far from home, the role arrived for Santos at exactly the right moment.

In conversation with 1883 Magazine, she grows emotional reflecting on what it means for her children to see her step into Andrea’s boots. She speaks about discovering pieces of herself in the character, the physical and emotional demands of bringing a U.S. marshal to life, and why this Yellowstone spin-off might just mark a turning point in her career.

First things first, Marshals has just been introduced to the world. How does it feel to finally have it out there for everyone to discover?

It’s nerve-racking. I loved making the show and I love the world of Yellowstone. I’ve watched all the spin-offs and so to be a part of it feels very surreal and I just hope people love it as much as I do.

Since the show both builds on the Yellowstone universe and reinvents parts of it for new viewers, what does it feel like stepping onto a set that’s both established and completely new?

I’ve never had that experience before and there was an added level of pressure because of that. You know, the fan base that this show has is very large and they’re very opinionated. And so I think the added level of pressure was something I wasn’t used to. But Luke especially made us feel so comfortable. Having him at the helm of the show really helped us feel like, while yes, we’re doing a spin-off, we’re also not trying to be like anything that came before it. Once I realised that it kind of took all that pressure away.

With Taylor Sheridan serving as executive producer rather than running the show day to day, what was it like working with Spencer Hudnut?

It’s such a beautiful thing to witness, that level of trust. The world of Yellowstone is expanding, but it’s not necessarily strictly tied to the original and it feels very refreshing. And then there’s the added bonus that we already have a built-in fan base by association, so there’s already a sense of loyalty because people just love the world so much.

For Taylor to trust someone else with the world he has created and let someone else take this baby of his and create something else off the back of it, that is really special. And Spencer truly is the perfect person to take the helm, he’s just an incredible showrunner.

How would you describe Marshals to someone who’s never seen the original show?

David Glasser (YellowstoneProducer) said something at the premiere that really stuck with me. He calls it a ‘prestigedural’ role because it’s a prestige take on a procedural drama. We have elements on our show that, because we’re on CBS and we’re lucky enough to be a network show, every week there’s something propulsive that is driving the narrative, but then because we have the foundation of Yellowstone, we’ve got elements of a prestige drama as well. All of these characters have such interesting backstories and the little secrets that get revealed as we go throughout the season.

The show is obviously on a weekly release schedule so viewers will have to practise some patience, but how much of the overall storyline, and your character Andrea in particular, were you aware of ahead of production?

At the beginning, there were only two scripts written, but Spencer was sweet enough to meet with me before we started shooting because I am that annoying girl that really wants to know absolutely everything about my character. He was like ‘I won’t give you everything, but I’ll give you this…’ and then shared the arc for season one with me, then he went on to surprise me with her arc for the entire series overall, if we are lucky enough to keep going for that long. She truly is my favourite character I have played so far.

I too immediately fell in love with her. Well, actually, I think I was intimidated for the first 30 seconds, and then quickly fell in love with her. But for those who haven’t seen the show yet, can you describe Andrea in a few words please?

Oh, I am with you, I was intimidated by her when I went in to audition for her. Andrea is tough as brass. She doesn’t take anything from anybody. She’s not afraid to say what she thinks, or to ruffle feathers. Ultimately though, her strength is also her vulnerability, because while she has this physical prowess and she can handle herself, once you get to know her, you realise that her softness might be her biggest strength.

She does seem fiercely protective of herself, while she’s still feminine, flirtatious and bold in her choices. I hope this is not too much of a spoiler but very early on, when she is propositioned at a bar, she does shoot the guy down in rather… unexpected ways?

Yes, you know, when you do the job that she does, she’s seen the worst that men have to offer. So I think for her, she’s very much an adult woman who will do what she wants to do, and honestly, I have so much fun doing those scenes, especially because it’s something I’ve always wanted to say to men at a bar – and it’s not that it’s unwarranted. Honestly, I’m taking notes from her, she’s helping me in that sense. I’m learning that I don’t have to people-please. I can set boundaries and it’s going to be fine.

To be honest, I think that’s something many of us are still learning. To briefly come back to something you said a moment ago though, how did you approach portraying a character who intimidated you?

When I got to the screen test and they told me more about her, I was like, ‘I don’t know if I can do that. I don’t know if I’ve ever met a woman like this in my life that I can pull from’, and then I realised that I needed her. Andrea came to me at a time in my life when I really needed to know that I’m that strong and that I’m that capable, so I feel really lucky that I get to play this character.

What about this specific moment in your life made you value her so much? 

I have a nine-year-old daughter and I’m so excited to be able to sit down every Sunday with my daughter and my son and have them watch me play a character like this on television. It means a lot to me. I get to be muscular and I get to show how capable I am, and it’s so important to me, especially for my daughter, that she sees women like that on TV. So, yeah, Andrea is incredibly special to me.

Having role models on TV is so important and to get to be just that for a younger generation, and especially your own daughter – both on and off-screen – issue special. Was there someone like that for you growing up?

I grew up as a little girl watching female characters like this, like, you know, Sarah Connor, and Michelle Rodriguez, and Fast and Furious, and just like looking up to them so much. And so I feel so privileged that I get to play a character that I am just supremely proud of.

On a purely physical level, those roles aren’t far from someone like Andrea, but one more thing before we get to the stunts. Early on, it was mentioned that Andrea seems to view being a Marshal in Utah as temporary, not a long-term identity. How does that influence the way you play her? You’re there for the long haul as a character, but portraying someone who might be eager to move on from horses, cowboys, and everything that represents.

Yeah, she’s essentially been punished. She was working in DC as a marshal and, you know, we’ll later learn why she lost that job. She’s been sent to Yellowstone basically as a punishment because they knew it’s the last place on earth she wanted to be. That was fun for me, that added element, because as the season goes on, you’ll see that she realises she’s more similar to Casey than different. She slowly comes to terms with the fact that she might actually love the place and it really grows on her, but I loved that initial fish-out-of-water feeling. 

So you can relate to her sentiment?

Mhm, absolutely, it’s similar to my life. I grew up in New York, but I grew up Mormon. At the same time I’m from the Bronx, like Andrea, but moved out to Utah for college and dropped out, I very much felt like a fish out of water too. And now it’s a place that I’ve come to love. There’s more similarities though, because my father was a cop like Andrea’s father. So somehow, none of it felt like a coincidence but more like coming home to something that I never realised was out there for me.

Did that kind of change your approach and your understanding of Andrea’s world?

Yeah, my father was a special victims unit detective and famously arrested Harvey Weinstein.

Small little detail.

Yes, as one does. My father was incredibly good at interrogations and that, oddly enough, is also Andrea’s most valued skill set for the team. So yes, I don’t think Spencer knew it at the time, but it really feels like he wrote that role for me. There was so much that I could pull from my own life.

So you also know what it sounds like to be interrogated, huh?

Oh yes (laughs). My dad was very strict when I was growing up and I grew up being interrogated. So when I’m doing those interrogation scenes, they’re so fun for me because I’m basically just pulling from my own childhood.

You just mentioned family and that is a big part of the show as well, in both small and big ways. One moment I especially loved was one of the Marshals, Belle (played by Arielle Kebbel), having her family visit her during the workday and the very important discourse that came with it.

It’s something that I think women struggle with more when we’re working mothers. Fathers are expected to work but when mothers do it, it instantly becomes so much more difficult.

I love that storyline with Belle that Spencer has created, because it speaks to women across every industry. We all have these passions and we have these dreams, but then we also have children we love and we are trying to balance the two. 

Did the same apply to you while filming the show, or were your children on set with you?

This show was the first time that they were able to come to set, because I didn’t have to get on a plane and leave them to go to work. There were a lot of Fridays when they were done with school that they would drive up to Park City. It’s only about 30 minutes from where they live with their dad. I’m divorced and we have 50-50 custody, so their dad or my mum would bring them to set. And then our first AD, Taylor Phillips, was sweet enough that he would have them yelling ‘action’ and ‘cut’.

God, that’s so sweet, they must have loved that. Was there a highlight for them?

Oh yes, they loved it, especially my son. It was their dream playground. They were on set one day when we had a car crash scene and they actually held production for about 10 minutes while my kids were coming up with my mum so they could watch it.

That was a great way to start talking about the stunts and physicality of it all. For me, just the fact that you’re on horses feels like enough of a stunt – there’s really no need for anything beyond that. Did you have to learn how to ride, or was that already part of your skill set?

I weirdly enough put myself in English horseback riding lessons at the age of 26. Again, I feel like I have subconsciously been prepping for a role for years. I’d never ridden Western before though, so I had to learn how to ride Western but I picked that up in a day. I’m not as well versed as Arielle though, who has been riding since she was five and was doing her own horse stunts on set.

You did do most of your own stunt work though, right?

Yes, I ended up doing most of my own, although I had the most amazing stunt double. She would come to set and then be like: ‘I’m gonna come and sit on this chair today, aren’t I?’

How much does that physicality – the stunts, the horses, even the outfits and the physical demands of the world – help you shape the mindset of the role?

It helps tremendously, and we were lucky enough to start off with mainly physical stunt-heavy days. So that fully helped me get into character and to fully understand the mindset required to be part of this world.

I can imagine, it’s such an interesting world of its own. Did you have any understanding of the world of Marshals before you booked the role?

No, I really did not have a reference point for it at all. There’s this book I read that was written about the first marshals that were established in Alaska in the 1800s. I read that to help prep, and then we had a retired marshal adviser who would come on set. He had also done a reality show for A&E Networks about marshals, and he had us watch it to understand the world further.

That, plus the firearms training we went through with a retired ex–Navy SEAL who was also our fight coordinator, really helped.

The show balances action-packed Marshals moments with human interactions that set it up beautifully, butearly on, I paused at a scene with your character Andrea and Arielle Kebbel’s Belle – set up at opposite ends – because I worried they’d be pitted against each other, which we’ve unfortunately seen a lot on TV…

Oh, I know exactly what you mean. Honestly, I was a little worried as well to begin with because that’s a narrative I wouldn’t want to feed into. But that being said, to me the most beautiful part of my arc for this season is the friendship that those two characters developed. It became almost like a sisterhood, the way that we look out for each other. We have this beautiful moment in the last episode where everything comes full circle, which I deeply, deeply appreciated. 

You’ve mentioned that Andrea feels like a character written for you, but you were previously on a show called Pulse, and I think I remember reading that it was your character on that show, Nia, who felt most like yourself. How do those two experiences compare?

Yeah, that character was the first time I played someone who was Dominican like me and I got to play a woman who was very independent. I loved that character, but I feel like Andrea takes it ten steps further. Nia kind of wet my feet, and then Andrea really threw me in the deep end – in the best way.

That’s such a lovely way of looking at it, thinking of your characters as an evolution of each other, but also of yourself. Is there a type of character you feel is missing from that journey that you’d love to explore at some point?

God, there’s so much I want to. I grew up watching a lot of Joe Wright movies and weirdly enough, my biggest dream ever since I was a little girl would be to do an English period drama. It might sound crazy because, you know, girls like me don’t typically get to do films like that, but I love Pride and Prejudice and Atonement. I’ve watched them over and over and over again.

Also, now that I know how physically capable I am, I would love to do an action film. I would love the opportunity, because I feel like it’s something I found I’m very good at – and I would very much enjoy.

Was there an exact moment when you realised that you were physically capable of it?

It was my first training session with our fight coordinator. He’s an ex–Navy SEAL and when we finished the session, he said, “You are so natural with it, I don’t really have any notes.” It felt smooth while we were doing it, but you don’t really know until someone tells you. When he said that, I was like, oh, I must be good at this. It was such a validating feeling.

And a bit of validation always helps. But now that you mentioned what you were particularly good at, what was the biggest challenge while filming?

I was not ready for the amount of days in the office and the dialogue-heavy scenes. We were doing seven scenes a day, sometimes more, and I wasn’t ready for the workload required. It was a level I hadn’t experienced before, and there was a learning curve for me.

Plus, we have to get a lot across to the audience, and sometimes you’re saying things you might not fully understand at first. You have to take the time to really grasp it so you can make the exposition feel natural. That was the challenge.

Was there something specific that helped you balance the workload and the intensity?

Yes, every day on set was filled with laughter and the most beautiful energy. This cast is just lovely, there were no egos or anything like that involved. We would go from deep conversations to lighter moments, like talking about Real Housewives of Salt Lake City and what was going on with Jen Shah. It was that kind of environment.

Now that you’ve brought up reality TV I feel inclined to do so too because many people do associate Utah mostly with that at the moment…

Absolutely, I love the idea of people seeing a different side of Utah that isn’t tied to reality TV. The state is full of beauty, and Marshals brought a lot of jobs to the area, hiring locally for many positions. It also means a tremendous amount to the people here. Even for that reason alone, I hope we get to continue the show for years to come.

Speaking of the people in Utah, and your family in particular, did you get a lot of big reactions when you told them you’d been cast?

God, my parents are massive fans, so they actually asked to come out to set. My dad even got to meet Luke, and honestly, nothing in my life will ever make my father as happy as he was in that moment.

I love that you say this while you gave him two grandkids…

Oh yeah, this was even more exciting for him (laughs). Plus, we live in Utah, and my boyfriend is a huge fan of Taylor Sheridan’s work. He’s watched everything since Sicario. We’ve been together for a while, and he was with me through the whole process.

Speaking of process, how did you end up as part of this world?

I had actually tested for another Taylor Sheridan film, and the day I found out I didn’t get it was the same day I was taping the audition for Marshals. My boyfriend said to me, “I think you didn’t get that so you could get this show – and it films in Utah. Nothing films in Utah.”

That really stuck with me.

Marshals is to now on CBS and Paramount+

Interview Jule Scott

Photographer Tiziano Lugli

Styling Megan Zina

Make Up Denika Bedrossian

Hair Bradley Leake

Top image credits

Sweater Cultnaked Denim Mother Denim Necklace Sterling Forever Earrings & Ring Melinda Maria