Yellowstone
- Created By: Taylor Sheridan
- Launched On: June 20, 2018
- Owner: Paramount
- Tagline: The whole world’s a test, son
Yellowstone has assembled an amazing cast throughout its run for Paramount. Let by Kevin Costner, the show has been one of the true television hits over the last few years.
When it first started, Yellowstone seemed like a niche show that would appeal to a certain type of viewer and maybe few else. Though the cast of Yellowstone was stacked with some already big names, the type of show, taking place in the West about cattle ranching wouldn’t have seemed to have widespread buy-in among a large swath of television viewers. That would have been completely wrong. Yellowstone has grown by leaps and bounds with the Taylor Sheridan and Kevin Costner series putting up some major numbers as time goes on.
In fact, it seems to have only become more and more popular over the first five seasons. There are more seasons on the way, and we already have prequels and spin-offs in the can as well. Again, they’ve set themselves up with a major universe of stories.
Warning: There are some Yellowstone spoilers ahead. Going through the cast of Yellowstone means dipping into some of the storylines along the way.
CAST OF YELLOWSTONE – THE DUTTONS
John Dutton – Kevin Costner
In some ways, the cast of Yellowstone starts and stops with Kevin Costner as John Dutton. The patriarch of the Dutton clan has been one of the primary reasons this show has performed so well over the years. Costner’s take on the character is unique in that John Dutton isn’t exactly a great guy, and his moral compass is a bit skewed, but his intentions rarely seem to waver too far off course.
In that, he’s primarily motivated by keeping his land and family intact. This has led to questionable judgment or even downright illegal things in the past, but the viewer still finds themselves rooting for the dude. Of all the cast of Yellowstone, he is easily the most synonymous with the series as a whole.
Beth Dutton – Kelly Reilly
If anyone has had a breakout performance among the cast of Yellowstone it’s Kelly Reilly as Beth Dutton. In a series made up primarily of males, Reilly’s Beth stands out from the crowd in both her toughness, smarts, guile, and well, manliness.
The character has evolved some over the course of the show, but at heart, she’s a ruthless manipulator and deft businesswoman. And when it comes to one-liners, Beth is pretty tough to beat. Does she have substance abuse issues? Sure. Can she take just about anyone on? You bet.
Kayce Dutton – Lucas Grimes
Kayce is the youngest of the Dutton clan and Lucas Grimes has brought a certain stoicism to the show which stands in sharp contrast to some of the rest of the cast of Yellowstone. When the series first begins he’s living on the Broken Rock Indian Reservation with his wife Monica, a member of the tribe, and his son Tate.
But over the course of the series, he’s been continually pulled back into the Dutton family dealing and needed to make a number of moral sacrifices. He’s a layered character and for a time one of the easiest to root for in the series.
Jamie Dutton – Wes Bentley
Jamies is the second-oldest of the Dutton crew with a background that has a number of twists and turns over the course of the series. When we first meet him he is the family in-house counsel, and that’s about as in-house as it gets. But Jamie has significant struggles with his own view of himself within the family and a number of personal demons and heinous choices he’s made. Plus, it turns out he’s not even a true Dutton, having been adopted as a baby after his father killed his mother and went to prison for the crime. We’ll end up meeting this dude later.
Monica Long Dutton – Kelsey Asbille
Kayce’s wife and member of the Broken Rock tribe, Monica has a strong presence within the cast of Yellowstone because of how she’s butted heads with the rest of the Duttons and questioned Kayce’s true loyalties when it comes to family.
Tate Dutton – Brecken Merrill
Tate is the son of Kayce and Monica, a kid born on the reservation who eventually has made his way into a bigger part of the larger Dutton clan. Tate has faced a number of different issues over the course of the series, most notably being kidnapped as part of a larger struggle over the Yellowstone ranch. He and John have bonded over the years with Tate, at times, looking at his grandfather with great reverence.
CAST OF YELLOWSTONE – RANCH HANDS
Rip Wheeler – Cole Hauser
A de facto member of the Dutton clan, Rip is the family’s enforcer, the Dutton heavy if you will. Taken in by John Dutton when he was a teenager following a disturbing and deadly occurrence within his own family, Rip has done the family’s dirty work over the years. He’s also deeply in love with Beth (and vice versa) having been close to each other from a young age. They’ve had to keep their relationship a secret throughout the years, though that is coming to a head.
Jimmy Hurdstrom – Jefferson White
Jimmy’s path to the ranch is a bit different than some of the other characters in that he was recruited in the first season to join because of his legal issues and propensity to get in trouble. Of the entire cast of Yellowstone, Jimmy is probably the easiest to root for because of just how inept he is, at least early on, in all ways of cowboy-ing. But he improves over the course of the series, though there are setbacks along the way.
Lloyd Pierce – Forrie J. Smith
A Lloyd, the lifer on the Dutton Ranch who’s been helping to keep the ranch hands in the bunk house in line for years. Lloyd is something of the sage of this group, having basically done and seen it all up until this point. And though there’s a darker side to this character for sure, it’s pretty easy to be endeared to the character as a whole, especially with how he’s treated Jimmy. Lloyd has run into some issues of late though on the ranch which could threaten his time there.
Other members of this group include Ryan Bingham as Walker, the guitar-playing and introspective ex-con who has major problems with what’s happening on the ranch and with Rip in particular. There’s also Denim Richards as Colby Mayfield and Ian Bohen as Ryan, both of whom have been around since the beginning of the series. A later addition was Jennifer Landon as Teeter, the rough and tumble (and very hard to understand) hand who’s gotten into her fair bit of scraps and shown loyalty to the whole group.
THE YELLOWSTONE ENEMIES
Danny Huston – Dan Jenkins
In the cast of Yellowstone, Dan Jenkins was among the first antagonists for the series, a real estate developer who had the audacity to consider building a resort up against the Dutton land. Oh, the horror. As we would go on to learn in this series, this is almost always a mistake. Jenkins eventually tried to team up with the Duttons, though even that had its downside.
Gil Birmingham – Chief Thomas Rainwater
Another early addition to the antagonist list for the cast of Yellowstone, Chief Thomas Rainwater leads the Broken Rock Reservation and, by proxy, the casino that is the primary source of income for the group and their land at this point. He’s cunning, manipulative, and understands the economics as well as anyone. But again, going up against the Duttons isn’t an easy task.
Will Patton – Garrett Randall
In something of a twist in later seasons, it was revealed that Jamie wasn’t actually part of the Dutton family and his father was convicted of murdering Jamie’s mother when the latter was younger. Jamie realizes that he was adopted by the Duttons and seeks out his father. This ends up being something of a mistake because Garrett Randall isn’t exactly a great dude. And when he’s reinserted into the Dutton’s life, it ends up going south pretty quickly.
Josh Holloway – Roarke Morris
Because there’s always someone coming after the Dutton land, not a season can go by without a group or faction making their play for the good. Such was the case with Roarke Morris who we meet when he’s flyfishing until we find out he’s major money that’s making a play to bring, among other things, an airport to the region. But these things can’t ever just happen easily and he faces a major fight when going against the Duttons.
Neal McDonough and Terry Serpico – The Beck Brothers
Two of the most evil dudes that came along in this show, the Beck brothers had a history of intimidation and violence while also carrying significant business and political influence with them. They are the kind to use any means necessary to get what they want. And they almost do when it comes to the Duttons. Their rivalry includes murder, kidnapping, and one of the most brutal scenes in the history of the show.
Cast Of Yellowstone – Love Interests
Wendy Moniz – Governor Lynelle Perry
You can’t own the largest ranch in Montana without having access to the right government folks. And that’s exactly the chase with John Dutton and Lynelle Perry who have had their moments when it comes to their political spheres. But they’ve stayed close by also having gotten in the sack more than a few times as well. This has rubbed different folks, like Beth, the wrong way in the past.
Piper Perabo – Summer Higgins
Summer Higgins came along in Season 4 as another love interest for John, though this one was a little more unexpected than sleeping with the Governor. That’s because Summer Higgins is an animal rights activist that was outright protesting the cattle industry. Oh, and surprise, Beth doesn’t like this relationship either.
Katherine Cunningham – Christina
Christina is first introduced when it looks like Jamie is going to make a run for attorney general, matched with him because it seems like she’d have requisite campaign skills while also possibly be a match for him in a relationship. This ends up being correct though the two have a falling out over him wanting to return to his family. But that isn’t before we find out that he got her pregnant and they have a baby together.
To know the Yellowstone world, you need to know about all of the places and terms that are used in the series. Here we answer some of the big Yellowstone questions.
