Taylor Sheridan Told Jennifer Lawrence He Couldn’t Teach Her To Act

Taylor Sheridan had Jennifer Lawrence as an acting student, but the Yellowstone creator said there was nothing he could really teach her. She was already too good.

By Mark McKee | Updated

With the success of the Yellowstone franchise, it can be hard to imagine its creator being anything other than a successful TV creator. Still, long before that, Taylor Sheridan was an acting teacher with a very famous student, Jennifer Lawrence. According to Deadline, the creator of Yellowstone, its prequel, 1883, and the upcoming 1923, returned the money to the Hunger Games actress and told her there was nothing he could teach her. 

According to the pair at a recent panel in Los Angeles, Taylor Sheridan remembers one of the actors who appeared in one of his shows reminded him of Jennifer Lawrence. He told the audience that when Isabel May auditioned for her part in 1883, she reminded him of when Lawrence first appeared in his classes in LA. He returned the money to her mother and told her not to put her in any acting classes because she already had everything she needed, and there was nothing he could teach her. 

jennifer lawrence
Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique

It turns out the creator was right; Lawrence would go on to become one of the most sought-after actors in the industry over the last decade. Her breakout role in 2010 in Winter’s Bone led her to land one of the leading roles as Mystique in X-Men: First Class and the career-defining role of Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games. Not only did she anchor two of the biggest franchises of the last decade, but she also starred in multiple Academy Award-nominated movies in Silver Linings Playbook alongside Bradley Cooper and American Hustle alongside Christian Bale, Amy Adams, and Jeremy Renner. 

Taylor Sheridan
Taylor Sheridan

As for Taylor Sheridan, while he was supplementing his income by turning Jennifer Lawrence away from his acting class, he was a struggling actor by appearing in single episodes of virtually every TV series you can think of for a decade. Even though he eventually landed a recurring role on Sons of Anarchy, he is best known for being a writer and creator in the TV world. His most notable writing credits include the films Sicario and its sequel, Hell or High Water, and Wind River

Taylor Sheridan, unlike his former student, Jennifer Lawrence, is best known for his work on the small screen with his runaway hit, Yellowstone, starring Kevin Costner. After his series became a cultural phenomenon, Sheridan and Paramount decided to capitalize on the success by creating an origin story in 1883 starring Sam Elliot, Tim McGraw, and his wife, Faith Hill. The prequel is where he also met Isabel May, reminding him of his former student. 

Both Taylor Sheridan and Jennifer Lawrence have projects coming up. Sheridan is looking at a second Yellowstone spin-off starring Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren called 1923 and is seeing the release of another series starring Sylvester Stallone called Tulsa King. Lawrence is set to star in an A24 film called Causeway as a soldier suffering from a traumatic brain injury adjusting to life back home. 

While Taylor Sheridan may not have succeeded in acting the same way Jennifer Lawrence did, it is clear the former teacher has a clear eye for talent.