Taylor Sheridan’s Original John Dutton Choice For Yellowstone Revealed 8 Years Later
Yellowstone almost had another leading rancher.
Yellowstone takes all its viewers on a journey into a whole new world as the series shows Dutton Ranch, the largest ranch in America, as they cope with internal conflicts and the pressures of running a successful ranch, while also battling outside forces threatening its very existence. The series is a worldwide phenomenon and continues to bring in millions of views for Paramount+ as the universe continues to expand with spinoffs and more.
Former Paramount President Kevin Kay spoke with The Joint Venture Show and revealed some interesting details about arguably the network's most popular franchise, Yellowstone, and how initial discussions were pointing to an entirely different lead to take on the patriarchal role of John Dutton. John was eventually portrayed by Kevin Costner; however, co-creator of the series Taylor Sheridan had a different vision in mind:
Kevin Kay: Taylor wanted Jeff Bridges for the role. He had worked with Jeff on Hell or High Water, and he really liked him, and he thought he would be great. Listen, he's a great actor, but I'm thinking about the marketing, and I'm thinking about the poster, and I'm thinking about who is going to be on a horse with a cowboy hat, and I'm not seeing Jeff Bridges. Like I could see Jeff Bridges, but then suddenly I was like, "What about Costner? Can we get Costner?" We did get him.
According to Kay, casting Costner came with its own challenges as he shared, "It was painful because Kevin Costner doesn't like to do TV, apparently." According to the former president, Costner didn't want to work on TV due to an experience on Hatfields & McCoys, which didn't end too well for the actor. However, after reading the script, Costner appeared interested and signed on as the John Dutton many have come to love.
However, Bridges could've given an entirely different performance as John Dutton. Sheridan knew the actor after working with him on Hell or High Water in 2016, where Bridges starred as the character Marcus Hamilton in a script written by Sheridan.
However, Sheridan ended up casting Costner, which turned out to be a positive move until the final season, when the actor had major scheduling conflicts for season 5 and creative disagreements that led to the actor leaving the production earlier than planned. It's unclear what would've happened if Bridges took the role instead, but now Costner has almost become the face of what Yellowstone became.
Yellowstone and its spinoffs are available to stream on Paramount+.