Christina Alexandra Voros on making ‘Dutton Ranch’ and ‘Frisco King’ in Fort Worth
“Dutton Ranch” director Christina Alexandra Voros has spent quite a bit of time in North Texas over the past few years.
The 48-year-old Massachusetts native has worked as a cinematographer and director since the late 2000s, racking up a number of film and television credits. In 2019, she was hired as cinematographer for three episodes in “Yellowstone” season 2.
That turned out to be the beginning of a fruitful collaboration between Sheridan and Voros, who ended up directing 12 episodes over the final three seasons of “Yellowstone.”
Since 2021, Voros has directed episodes of “1883,” “Lawmen: Bass Reeves,” “The Madison,” “Dutton Ranch” and the upcoming “Frisco King.”
Ahead of the Friday, May 15, series premiere of “Dutton Ranch,” Voros spoke with the Star-Telegram about directing the Texas-set show and how things are going on the Samuel L. Jackson-led “Frisco King.”
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Star-Telegram: I’m curious for “Dutton Ranch,” how you captured the look and feel of South Texas while shooting primarily in North Texas?
Christina Alexandra Voros: It’s something we were very aware of through the entire prep process. We were looking at an area down near Cotulla, Texas, kind of as a frame of reference. Our production designer did a lot of visual research trying to make sure that the kind of building, the kind of landscape that we were working with, was being authentic as possible, considering we weren’t shooting in that part of the state. I’m from New England, and then I moved to West Texas, and by West Texas, I mean real West Texas out near Van Horn.
I love shooting in Texas because there’s so many different ecosystems and each one is very specific. To an outsider, it might just look like hot prairie and the scalding sun, but it’s different, from the kind of cacti you see to the kind of buildings there are, to how far places are from railroad tracks. It’s something that we paid a lot of attention to in the production design and planning of the show.
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S-T: For you personally, how are you finding living and working in Texas over the last few years?
CAV: I never would have thought it possible. I am so happy that this is my life. My husband and I just bought a place in Fort Worth because we weren’t getting back to Van Horn often enough. We’re spending all our time here, it seems. It’s a real joy to shoot in Texas. To those who have not spent time there, Texas is one state with one name. To those of us who’ve spent time, and are lucky enough to live here, there’s so many different versions of Texas. There’s so many different landscapes of Texas, and cultures of Texas.
Being based out of Fort Worth on a lot of these Taylor [Sheridan] shows really gives you the opportunity. It’s a wonderful base camp to be able to jump off. Obviously, we try to keep as much of it close to Fort Worth as possible, but even going one hour north versus one hour south versus west versus east, you find all these different communities and these different landscapes. It lends itself to creating these fictional narratives really beautifully.
S-T: You’re right in the middle of shooting “Frisco King.” We’ve seen Samuel L. Jackson around town. How’s that going?
CAV: It’s going great. It is so much fun. Samuel L. Jackson is a legend, and a marvelous human being to show up at work with every day. The crew is a lot of the same crew that worked with us on “Dutton Ranch,” so it feels like a real family moved to the next show.
“Dutton Ranch” premieres May 15 on Paramount+ and the Paramount Network.
