Ash Santos‘ role on Yellowstone‘s Marshals spinoff feels like a full circle moment after she lost a part in Taylor Sheridan‘s new movie.
“I actually had tested for a new film [F.A.S.T.] with Brandon Sklenar. I had auditioned to play his wife and that was only a few weeks before this came around,” Santos, who plays Andrea Cruz on CBS’ newest show, exclusively told Us Weekly. “The day that I found out I didn’t get that was literally the exact moment I was taping this audition.”
Santos recalled her initial reaction to the news, saying, “I just start crying. I was a mess. I was sobbing. But I was with one of my best friends and we took a walk. I cried all my makeup off, I’m swollen but I collect myself.”
After filming her Marshals tape, Santos got a callback to test in Dallas — only for her flight to get canceled the night before.
“By the time I showed up to the test for Marshals, the other girls had already gone in and they’re just sitting in the waiting room. I have my luggage and I’m fresh out of the airport and I forget all my lines,” she continued. “I’m like, ‘Oh my God, we need a break.’ And then we collected ourselves. We did it. Shortly after, I found out that the part was mine.”
Santos noted how important that moment felt after being a fan of Sheridan’s work.
“Finally getting to be a series regular on one of his projects, it felt like that quintessential ‘I’ve made it’ moment. This is something that I could have only dreamed of a few years ago,” she gushed. “And now it’s mine. I did that.”
Santos continued: “Then working on set, people love Taylor and his work so much that they show up so dedicated. You see that from the cast through to the entire crew. He’s so beloved. So it really feels like it’s a huge honor.”
Marshals, which premieres on Sunday, March 1, follows Kayce (Luke Grimes) as he leaves “ranching life behind to join an elite unit” of the U.S. Marshals while “combining his skills as a cowboy and Navy SEAL to bring range justice to Montana, where he and his teammates must balance family, duty and the high psychological cost that comes with serving as the last line of defense in the region’s war on violence.”
In addition to Santos and Grimes, the show stars Arielle Kebbel, Tatanka Means, Brett Cullen and Logan Marshall Green. Marshals is the newest spinoff of Yellowstone — which aired from 2018 to 2024 — and starred Grimes.
“I wasn’t prepared for how much of a mushy gushy bear Luke is. He is the sweetest thing in the world. Every day that he would show up on set, he was showing you pictures of his baby,” Santos recalled. “I think having him as No. 1 on the call sheet, it sets the best tone. He is the sweetest and it doesn’t matter what he’s going through.”
Santos was grateful to follow Grimes’ lead, sharing, “He shows up in the best mood and he treats everybody with so much kindness and respect. I also wasn’t ready for how funny he. We’ve been really fortunate that we have him.”
While viewers are familiar with Kayce from his time on Yellowstone, Santos’ character Andrea is a fresh face in the TV franchise.
“She is tough, no holds barred and she refuses to ever bite her tongue. She doesn’t care if she offends people. She doesn’t care if she takes up too much space. She doesn’t want to be in Yellowstone,” Santos teased. “She got sent here as a punishment. So between the bugs and the horses and the heat … the girl is too much.”
The actress hinted at an onscreen evolution as the show continues.
“You see her really start to change as the season goes on. By the season finale, it’s like a complete opposite to what you meet, which I think is really beautiful,” she noted. “Just [showrunner] Spencer’s [Hudnut] writing and our writers’ room — the way that they created these characters are these full-fleshed out human beings that you get to know and then you fall in love with.”
Marshals premieres on CBS March 1 and will air Sundays at 8 p.m. ET.
