‘1883’ co-star Isabel May had no idea who Tim McGraw + Faith Hill were before the show

Tim McGraw and Faith Hill co-star as James and Margaret Dutton on the wildly popular Yellowstone prequel, 1883. On the show, Isabel May plays their oldest daughter Elsa, but in real life, the actress admits she didn’t even know who Tim and Faith were before she signed on to the series.

“I didn’t know that they were big,” Isabel reveals to Kelly Clarkson on an episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show, which Tim also joined via video chat.

But her musical blind spot paid off on set, as she was able to get to know the superstar couple not as famous country artists but as people.

“There was a blank slate. And my goodness, they are just the loveliest people I think I’ve ever met. I immediately fell in love with them,” Isabel continues. “It was so genuine.”

Specifically, she quickly learned that not only was Faith kind, but she was also hilarious. “She’s such a goofball!” Isabel says. “She makes animal noises, weird animal noises. She’s so gifted at it, too.”

The feeling is apparently mutual: Tim says that when he first met Isabel, he was impressed by how much she looked like she could be their actual daughter. As he got to know her, his admiration only grew.

“The more we got to know her, the sweeter she got, and the more we grew to love her and respected her,” he says. “She’s incredible. She just shines in the show.”