Taylor Sheridan reveals the biggest lesson he learned from his 'Sons of Anarchy' role: "I don’t do..."
'Yellowstone' creator Taylor Sheridan has learned a few life lessons over the years! Before climbing the ladder of success in Hollywood as a director and screenwriter, Sheridan also tried his hand at acting. Sheridan made his acting debut with a small role in the 1995 television series 'Walker, Texas Ranger'. Soon after, he was cast to play the role of Irish gangster Danny Boyd, in the teen crime drama series 'Veronica Mars.' Later on, he essayed the character of Deputy Chief David Hale in the gripping FX crime show 'Sons of Anarchy.' Back in the day, Sheridan starred in 21 episodes of 'Sons of Anarchy' and decided to leave the show after Season 3. In a 2021 interview with Deadline, Sheridan talked about his exit from the show and said, "At that time, they were offering me what I thought was a very unfair wage." Later on, his character was killed in a car crash.
During his recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Sheridan revealed that his departure from 'Sons of Anarchy' helped him with his show 'Yellowstone'. When asked if he would kill John Dutton's (played by Kevin Costner) character in the show. Then, Sheridan recalled his time on 'Sons of Anarchy' and said, "I was killed in a f**k-you car crash! I don’t do f**k-you car crashes. Whether [Dutton’s fate] inflates [Costner’s] ego or insults is collateral damage that I don’t factor in with regard to storytelling."
In part 2 of 'Yellowstone' Season 5, Costner's character John apparently died from a fatal gunshot wound from what seemed like a suicide. For the unversed, Kevin Costner confirmed his departure from 'Yellowstone' in June 2024 on Instagram. "An update for you guys. I’ll see you at the movies," he captioned the video. In the clip, Costner gushed over the neo-Western drama and shared what it meant for him. "It was something that really changed me. I loved it and I know you loved it. And I just wanted to let you know that I won't be returning. I love the relationship that we've been able to develop, and I'll see you at the movies," he said in the video.
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Sheridan also talked about Costner's exit in the same interview. “My last conversation with Kevin was that he had this passion project, he wanted to direct. He and the network were arguing about when he could be done with Yellowstone. I said, ‘We can certainly work a schedule toward [his preferred exit date],’ which we did," he told the media outlet, at that time. Costner also mentioned that he was 'disappointed' by his departure from the show.
Speaking of Costner, Sheridan said, “My opinion of Kevin as an actor hasn’t altered. His creation of John Dutton is symbolic and powerful … and I’ve never had an issue with Kevin that he and I couldn’t work out on the phone. But once lawyers get involved, then people don’t get to talk to each other and start saying things that aren’t true and attempt to shift blame based on how the press or public seem to be reacting. He took a lot of this on the chin and I don’t know that anyone deserves it. His movie seems to be a great priority to him and he wants to shift focus. I sure hope [the movie is] worth it — and that it’s a good one. I’m disappointed. It truncates the closure of his character. It doesn’t alter it, but it truncates it.” However, now fans know the fate of Costner's character John as he died from a gunshot wound. 'Yellowstone' is available for streaming on Peacock.