‘Yellowstone’ star reveals how Taylor Sheridan finally got him on ‘Lioness’: ‘If it could ever...’
Ian Bohen spent years waiting for the schedule to open up so he could join Taylor Sheridan’s ‘Lioness.’ The actor was already working on Sheridan’s ‘Yellowstone’ when the Paramount+ series debuted, but the two productions often filmed at the same time. Bohen told Sheridan that he wanted a role if the timing ever allowed it. After ‘Yellowstone’ ended, Bohen finally got the opportunity to join ‘Lioness’ Season 3 as Grady.
In an interview with People, Bohen said he had followed ‘Lioness’ from the beginning. He discussed joining the series at the New York City premiere for Season 3 on July 29. “I’ve wanted to work on it since it debuted, and I was on Yellowstone, and they often shot concurrently, so there wasn’t an opportunity,” he said. Bohen recalled telling Sheridan, “If it could ever work, I would love to do this.” According to the actor, Sheridan responded, “Yeah, I’ll think about that.”
Bohen played ranch wrangler Ryan on ‘Yellowstone,’ which wrapped its run in December 2024. Production on the third season of ‘Lioness’ began in October 2025, giving him the opening he had been waiting for. “I got a phone call saying, ‘Would you like to come?’ I think the [exact] words were, ‘Would you like to come play with us?’ And of course, those are the magic words,” Bohen recalled. He added, “Yellowstone concluded gloriously, and then I had the opportunity to come and be with these guys. Yeah, it’s great timing.”
In ‘Lioness,’ Bohen plays Grady, who is a by-the-book Delta Force operator and the primary K9 handler. He joins a cast led by Zoe Saldaña, with Nicole Kidman, Morgan Freeman, and Michael Kelly also starring.
In January, Bohen shared a behind-the-scenes image with Saldaña and De Oliveira in tactical gear. He wrote, “No need to look back I’ll check your Six, we’re running straight forward into 2026.” Bohen also said the existing cast made him feel part of the group as soon as he arrived. “I’m gonna say that I’ve never felt more welcomed by a cast, in all my career, than I have with these people,” he said.
“I had met them in passing here and there over the years as a, you know, ‘Hi, nice to see you.’ But when I finally got there, they treated me like I was brethren from the get-go. Just as warm as could be.” He continued, “So, I’ve never felt more at home as [I do now]. And that doesn’t happen a lot. In fact, oftentimes it can be the opposite. So this family is quite special to me.” New episodes of ‘Lioness’ Season 3 are released on Sundays on Paramount+.
