Minka Kelly: ‘There’ve Been Many Times I Thought Hollywood Was Done With Me’

The star of Netflix’s new romance drama Ransom Canyon opens up about finding love in her 40s, avoiding past relationship mistakes, and discovering a newfound confidence.

That’s not to take away from her other recent accomplishments, but given the emotional gravity of laying bare her tumultuous upbringing in Tell Me Everything, Kelly, 44, is more than ready to embrace a sense of calm and peace, along with much-needed escapism.

“I’d say Ransom Canyon is Yellowstone meets Friday Night Lights, but with less violence than Yellowstone,” she says over Zoom from her home in Los Angeles. “It’s its own thing in that it is sexy, it’s romantic, and it has a lot of relatable stories as far as the long-lost love. It’s got lust, it has deceit, it has everything you want when you want to tune in and escape and feel good. I think we are ready to just feel good and watch something beautiful that’s also sexy and relatable.”

The show centers on three ranching family dynasties locked in a contest for control of the land. At the center of it all is Staten Kirkland (Josh Duhamel), a stoic and very private rancher healing from heartbreaking loss. A bright spot is Kelly’s Quinn O’Grady, his longtime family friend and the owner of a local dance hall. She cares deeply for Staten, but their relationship is complex.

“I loved the script, and I loved the setting,” the Los Angeles native says. “You had me at horses and ranches because I just love horses. I always have. So the thought of doing a modern Western right next door in Albuquerque just all made sense. It was really a no-brainer.”

But going back to Albuquerque wasn’t without its hesitations. Kelly spent much of her adolescence in the Southwestern city, where her mom tried to make ends meet as she faced addiction and domestic violence. “I was afraid to go back because I hadn’t really been there since my childhood, which wasn’t the best,” the Friday Night Lights actor told Tudum. “Going back in this way just took away the boogeyman.”

It also helped take away her fear of thinking Hollywood was done with her. Having gone years without working, getting the opportunity to join Ransom Canyon in one of the lead roles was transformative.

“There’ve been many times when I’ve thought, Maybe I’m done—I had a good run, I had a great time, and maybe they’re done with me,” Kelly tells Glamour. “So yeah, this was a real dream, real dream job.”

But as Kelly later found, joining the show was only the tip of the iceberg in terms of how monumental the experience would be. From having women in the main leadership positions on the show to finding love in her 40s, Kelly is learning it’s actually possibly to let loose and have fun on the job. “Going a couple of years without work might do that to you,” she says. “You’re like, ‘Oh, I still get to do what I love. I still get to do this.’”

And now she’s revealing how she got there, what’s next, and why she’s excited not to be the damsel in distress.

Glamour: Quinn’s style is kind of my dream on Ransom Canyon; it’s sporty, feminine, and comfortable. Did you feel that way?

Minka Kelly: I loved it, and it maybe leaned a little too comfortable. Watching it back, I’m like, Wow, I really maybe could have worn a smaller sweater. [Laughs.] I just really leaned into what I thought a girl in this place would be wearing. And what I would be wearing. I just want to wear a bunch of summer dresses and boots and cozy sweaters.

I appreciate that the show keeps the wardrobe honest to the setting.

Right. I care so much about that, and that’s always the conversation with me and [costume designer] Olivia Miles and the writers, like, “Would she really be wearing this?” They’ve all done such a great job. Everyone is so specific and different from one another. And also, yeah, everyone would be wearing that.

The show is created by a woman, April Blair, and Amanda Marsalis directs. How did that inspire the storytelling and the overall environment? What was that like compared with other projects you’ve worked on?

Look, nothing against all the men that have been in charge on every show I’ve ever been on, but you really do feel the difference, from the sensitivities to the storyline, to the wardrobe, to all the little details. There is the feminine touch; there is the female perspective on these storylines. There’s the unexpected responses from Quinn and Staten. There are certain scenarios that they’re in where I’d be so excited and relieved that it didn’t end the way it typically would on television. And even my boyfriend…when we watched some of the episodes, he’d be like, “Oh, thank God. Yes, this is what happens when it’s a female writer with a female showrunner.” It’s fun because everyone feels cared for on the set. Everyone feels seen and heard, and it’s so collaborative. You feel the softer touch.

Can you explain some of the specifics without giving away spoilers?

The relationship with Quinn and Staten, it’s will-they-won’t-they. It’s the push-pull. Will either one of them do it or not? I can certainly relate to that dynamic. I’ve definitely been in my share of the push-pull and will he, won’t he? And the confusion and the back and forth. You eventually get to a point where you’re like, “I’m done waiting for you to figure it out. I have to move on.” It’s really nice to see a storyline in that regard where the woman finally says, “I’ve been waiting for you to say this my whole life. And actually, you took too long.” That just excites me so much.

Definitely. Had you ever met Josh Duhamel before?

A long time ago. I guess we were on a plane together…he remembers this. I vaguely remember it. But it was so long ago, and I was so embarrassed because when we met for this project, I said, “I’m so excited to finally meet you.” And he was like, “We’ve been on a plane together before.” I was very embarrassed because Josh Duhamel is not someone you typically forget.

Now I want to know the story about this plane ride. Were you sitting next to each other?

I think we were just all on a flight for some work thing. It was like a small flight, and I remember the flight, but [that’s it]. I was really excited to work with him because he’s Josh Duhamel and he is so great, and I have a lot of friends in common with him who adore him. So everyone was so excited for me to work with him because they knew what a great environment it would be.

I’m glad you told that story, though, because I can’t imagine how often people say something like, “Oh, we met like seven years ago,” as if you’re supposed to remember. It usually takes me a few times to remember someone.

We need to have more grace for those moments. We meet a lot of people, so I am not offended by someone not remembering. But it’s the joke now between [me and Josh]. He has fun making fun of me about that.

I heard a rumor you learned to play piano for this role. Is that correct?

Yes, and that was such a dream come true. You always want to learn to play an instrument, but you’re able to blame life being too busy. But the beauty of this job is sometimes you are paid to learn a skill. I still need to learn how to read music, but I learned by memorizing. I would sit in my house with the keys or the song and just play it over and over and over until I memorized it.

Who taught you?

I had a tutor help me when I was in Albuquerque, and then when I was home, my boyfriend [Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds] really helped me. He’s the one who helped me with my hands and with the movement and how to memorize, because he kind of knows how my brain works…so he helps me make it make sense.

Albuquerque is a big part of your personal history. Was it cathartic going back after all these years?

I was very nervous to go back. I thought, Wow, what a full-circle moment. And also the timing of it. I made peace with it all when my book came out, and then it was like, Okay, girl, let’s go back. So I drove around and went to the places I grew up and where I lived. It was like, Wow—good job, me. It’s not as big as I remember. It’s not as scary as I remember. It was actually quite beautiful being able to see it through my adult eyes. And my gosh, the food was the best part. You don’t get new Mexican food anywhere else like that. But I was so scared of going back to Albuquerque that I [decided to] live in Santa Fe [for the duration of the shoot]. I never really got to explore Santa Fe when I was younger, and Santa Fe’s so beautiful. I loved it, but I kind of shot myself in the foot as it’s an hour drive to the studio every day. I don’t think I’ll be doing that if we go back for another season.

Wow. That’s the definition of exposure therapy right there, putting yourself in a situation with so many complex emotions.

I know. And driving those streets thinking, like, Man, if I would’ve known then that I’d be driving these streets now, in this way, for this reason, I never would’ve ever believed it. It’s both emotional and sweet.

When the show wrapped, you wrote on Instagram that you’d completed some of the best work you’ve ever been a part of. In what other ways was the project so rewarding?

Writing the book changed my life. It gave me a confidence I didn’t have before. And also, maybe being in your 40s…it all lent itself to me just being so comfortable in my skin and having a calmness and confidence about me that I’ve never had. So it felt so good to go into work with that. It gave me a confidence in my work and also in navigating being on set in a way that I’ve never had before.

I also love that I’m the older one on set. There’s the “kids” and then there’s me and Josh. I don’t know how much they would appreciate that, but I love watching them all be so excited. We’re all so grateful to be there. I’ve experienced years without work, so I’m just so thankful that not only do I get to work, but I get to work on something that I really love with people that I really love. And Amanda Marsalis and April Blair are some of my closest friends now. I’ve made friendships for life, and all the stars somehow aligned. I feel like I was made for Quinn or vice versa, because I can relate to her in so many ways on so many levels.

Tell me more about how you related to Quinn; what about her story resonated with you?

Mostly the relationship with Staten. It’s so familiar and relatable to me. I can identify with being a woman coming into your power and not being vulnerable to the “will he choose me or not” [conundrum]. I’m so excited to tell that story and for young girls to watch that storyline and not be the damsel in distress, but to be the woman in her own power.

And just as with Nobody Wants This or Sweet Magnolias or Virgin River, it’s nice to see a woman in her 40s looking for love and dealing with the ups and downs of that.

Exactly. Thank you for bringing that up. That is a big part of what made me so excited about Ransom Canyon, too, because I was also at a point before this where I was like, “Am I too old now? Do you really need to be in your 20s to be interesting and to tell stories?” And when they were like, “No, we just want you as you,” I was very heartened by that. That’s also what you get when you have women at the top going, “We want stories that we can relate to.” Sometimes it does take you till your 40s to figure it out and to find your power and to have confidence and to be able to say no to the boy that you’ve always wanted…because you know it’s just going to be more of the same.

A lot of the wisdom that comes with your 40s, you can’t tell in your 20s. I’m so excited for young girls to have women in their 40s telling these stories and going, “Learn from this.” I love my rom-coms. But I even heard a young girl say the other day, “Well, it’s not like in the movies.” And you’re like, “No, no. Life isn’t like in the movies. We’ve been lied to for a very long time.” It takes a while to figure ourselves out.

I know so many women, myself included, who are entering our 40s, single, without kids, and want to see that normalized on TV.

Yes, like there’s something wrong with me for not having the marriage and the kids and everything by now.

Earlier you mentioned there had been years without work. How did you keep yourself motivated during that time? Obviously you were writing a book, which is a huge undertaking, but in this business, you never know when the next project is going to come. And even when it does come, you don’t know what kind of experience it’s going to be. How did you keep your spirits up?

I wrote a book because it just made sense, but also, it was the right time. I wasn’t working and looked at it like, This will be my job. But I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been like, Maybe it’s time to go back to being a scrub nurse. That was my backup job, and that was my thing, and maybe it’s time to call on that. There’ve been many times where I’ve thought, Okay, now’s the time. Maybe they’re done with me. Maybe I’m done. I had a good run, I had a great time, and maybe they’re done with me. So yeah, this was a real dream, real dream job.

My inclination is to say, “Don’t ever think this business is done with you,” but the truth is, there’s so much out of your control in this business. Nothing is guaranteed, and that’s what’s so sad and frustrating.

It’s true, and that’s why a lot of us create our own work. That was how I stayed sane…I was like, I’m just going to write my own thing. And that was what I did. First it was a screenplay. I never thought I’d have the audacity to write a book. But it’s important to create your own work, generate your own material, write what you want. There was a lot of growth and joy and self-worth that came from doing that, that maybe it’s not totally a coincidence that that’s when the work came.

I love hearing that, and I wish more people were as open as you are.

Thank you. Listening to Jane Fonda share her story was so helpful. I was like, Oh my gosh, it’s okay to share that stuff. It’s okay to share how messy it is navigating life and relationships and all of this messy stuff that you think is unique, and it’s not. It really empowered me to feel like, Maybe someone will feel this way if they read my book? We pay it forward.

And now you have “New York Times bestseller” attached to your name forever, which is the coolest thing.

It is the coolest thing ever.

Switching gears, you’ll be in a holiday rom-com for Netflix later this year called Champagne Problems. Tell me about that.

That was a dream come true too. I had always wanted to do a rom-com, and a holiday one too. And then it’s in Paris. I mean, my goodness. My character works for an advertising company in Chicago and gets put on assignment to go secure a campaign in Paris and ends up falling in love with a Frenchman along the way.

As one does.

Yes. [Laughs.] And all of the hurdles that come along with having to work and falling in love. It was really such a fun work environment. I had to be reminded every day, “It’s okay to let loose and be silly. It’s okay to have fun, Mink.” It was really such a fun and refreshing way to work and to be surrounded by people making you laugh all day and to pretend you’re falling in love in Paris. That was really, really special.

You’ve earned it, but I understand the feeling. I put so much pressure on myself in this job, I often forget that having fun is not just allowed, it’s important.

I just feel so lucky. I think going a couple of years without work might do that to you. You’re like, Oh, I still get to do what I love; I still get to do this. I’m so thankful, and it’s my number one duty to make sure that everyone on set feels that joy. I want everyone to feel good and know how lucky we are that we get to do this, because there are so many actors not working right now, and I’m so sensitive to that because I was that. I have friends that haven’t worked in a couple of years, and so I feel very, very lucky every day. So I’m so ready for Ransom Canyon to be out. It’s been a long time coming.