What do you really know about how the Dutton family came to be?
What guest stars are actually doing their real-life job on the show?
Ever think Gator might actually be doing the cooking off-screen?
"Yellowstone" fans have Taylor Sheridan to thank for bringing the series to life.
Sheridan is the one who first began setting the groundwork for
what would become "Yellowstone" way back in 2013. If his name is ringing a bell,
it's probably because he's one of Hollywood's biggest up-and-coming, behind-the-scenes talents.
After a short career as an actor that saw him taking on a small part on "Veronica Mars"
and a recurring role as Deputy Chief of Police David Hale on "Sons of Anarchy,"
Sheridan decided to move behind the camera. In fact, it was his weariness of acting that
turned him to screenwriting in the first place, thus motivating him to create "Yellowstone."
Sheridan is best known for his first two efforts as a screenwriter. 2015's "Sicario,"
a visceral tale of an FBI agent's descent into the world of Mexico's cartel wars,
was met with widespread acclaim. His follow-up, the modern western "Hell or High Water," nabbed
him an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. He also wrote and directed the
2017 film "Wind River" before successfully pitching his idea for "Yellowstone."
The impetus for "Yellowstone" came from a desire to tell a story about
gentrification in the American west. In an interview with Deadline, Sheridan explained,
"It is the most American of us, the West, and land developers sell that fantasy. And people
who can afford the fantasy are very, very wealthy people from LA to New York, Dallas
and Florida... In the process, those land values and inheritance taxes are killing a way of life."
One of the most significant factors that draws viewers to "Yellowstone" is its star:
Oscar award winner Kevin Costner. It's the multi-talented actor's first time starring on a TV
series—besides the limited miniseries "Hatfields & McCoys." Sheridan viewed Costner’s involvement
as an integral part of setting the show's tone and style. He told Variety in June 2018,
"Kevin's one of the biggest movie stars of the past 40 years, and well deserved. He's
an incredible storyteller as a director, as a writer, as an actor, and so when you have that
kind of tool in your toolbox, you can write him into some really conflicting situations."
“Having a conversation with you is like a martian talking to a fungo.”
As it turns out, there's a reason Costner has been slow to make the leap to TV.
He told IndieWire in 2019 that he's had difficulty feeling comfortable creating
a character without knowing what their full arc was. He described the process
as a more vulnerable way to go through life as an actor, even going so far as to say,
"It hasn't been an easy adjustment for me ... I don't like it too much."
Despite his misgivings about working in television, Costner has been effusive
in his praise for Sheridan. In an interview with Collider, the actor said of Sheridan's work ethic,
"He's had to pay a lot of dues, and a lot of things — he's cleaned out
a lot of horse stalls in Hollywood, so to speak."
As with any massive TV production, things haven't always gone smoothly behind the scenes
of “Yellowstone.” According to Deadline, the show hit its first roadblock before
its pilot had even aired, and only months after Paramount Network had greenlit the production.
For the first season of "Yellowstone," Paramount Network partnered with the Weinstein Company,
who agreed to produce the series. However, in October 2017, The New York Times and The New
Yorker published reports of the Weinstein Company co-founder Harvey Weinstein's history of sexual
harassment and abuse. Swift action was then taken to distance Weinstein from "Yellowstone."
They released a statement declaring that Weinstein's name would be removed from
the credits for both "Yellowstone" and another co-produced show for the network
titled "Waco." The president of Paramount Network, Kevin Kay,
also stood firm in their decision during a press tour. As reported by Deadline, the exec explained,
"There are hundreds of people who worked on both "Waco" and "Yellowstone"... and these
people shouldn't be penalized... That has nothing to do with them and we want a safe
workplace. Nobody wants to be associated with the things that went on there."
When pressed about Weinstein's involvement on "Yellowstone" and "Waco," Kay added,
"I want to say definitively that Harvey Weinstein has never been part of the creative process.
Until a new name of the company is announced,
Weinstein Co. will not be listed in the credits for either show."
The primary dramatic focus of "Yellowstone" is on the white Dutton family. However, their proximity
to the fictional Broken Rock Indian Reservation and ongoing feud with tribe chairman Thomas
Rainwater means that Native American characters are featured prominently on the show as well.
Controversy erupted over the casting of actress Kelsey Asbille in the role of
Monica Long Dutton — a Native American woman and the wife of one of the Dutton
sons. Asbille had previously claimed to be of Chinese and Cherokee descent; Schön! Magazine
described her in a July 2018 profile as part Cherokee and half Chinese, presumably because
that's what she said during the interview. A November 2018 profile of Asbille in W Magazine
also described her as being of Chinese, English, and Cherokee descent. She told the publication,
"It's been a blessing to get to explore native culture [on "Yellowstone"].
As a person of mixed race, as you get older it matters more to you who you are and where you
come from. So to be able to get in touch with that side of my heritage has been amazing."
However, according to native news source Pechanga.net,
Asbille’s assertions might not be as accurate as she would have us believe.
When her claims were presented to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians — the tribe Asbille
claimed her lineage descended from — they responded with a statement declaring,
"No documentation was found in our records to support any
claim that she descends from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians."
Outside of the casting controversy, several Native American people involved in the show's
production have spoken highly of their experiences. Veteran actor Gil Birmingham
told Indian Country Today that he was thrilled to be on the show, saying,
“One of the highlights is to have a prominent Native American character
in a contemporary piece that's empowered and not playing a victimization portrayal."
He also praised Sheridan's handling of native issues, but clarified by adding,
"It would be nice if we could get some more Native writers included,
but getting work for as many people as we can is a good start."
“Our first fight is against being ignored.”
AJ Not Afraid, chairman of the Crow Nation, whose reservation stands in for the fictional
Broken Rock Reservation, also praised the portrayal of contemporary Native Americans
in "Yellowstone." He told Variety that when it came to the representation of
Native American characters, "Yellowstone" is a lot more realistic than other shows.
In 2018, animal rights advocacy group PETA claimed that a whistleblower who worked on
the set of "Yellowstone" informed them that the show used actual dead bovines in a scene
that depicted mutilated cow carcasses. They characterized this as both wasteful
and having the potential to expose the cast and crew to disease. Furthermore,
the whistleblower noted that the carcasses were left out in the sun for a long period of
time during filming and produced a stench that was difficult for the crew to later wash away.
Paramount Network denied this claim shortly after it became public. The
company's SVP of communications, Kurt Patat, said in a statement,
"Paramount Network takes animal safety very seriously and with
utmost professionalism [...] The production has taken necessary precautions to provide for animal
safety and their well-being on set. All animals are monitored on set by professional handlers. We
have been in touch with PETA which presented us with inaccurate claims that we were able
to correct including no cows were killed or mutilated for the scene in question."
Thankfully, this is the only claim of animal cruelty that "Yellowstone" has faced.
Just because "Yellowstone" centers on family and political conflict doesn't mean
that filming hasn’t gotten intense. Speaking with Parade Magazine, actress Kelly Reilly,
who plays the smart and scary Beth Dutton, described a particularly harrowing day on set.
She explained that she had to film a scene where her character runs toward a pack of wolves during
a very unorthodox date. The scene involved Beth yelling at said pack of wolves as they attempted
to feed, which only intensified her worries about everything going south. Reilly said,
"They were real wolves, they were tamed, but they were still real
wolves. They had like invisible fishing line on them with two people lying in the grass,
so if they had charged me... I kept saying to them, 'You really think that
that's going to stop them?' And they were like, 'Well, we can't do anything else.'"
In another incident, Reilly described how she almost fell victim to a bad
Google Maps recommendation during a break from filming. While attempting a day trip,
the British actress took a shortcut and found herself on a precarious Montana
mountain road in the middle of December in an ill-equipped car. She told Parade that
her first reaction when returning to level ground was of shock and gratitude, saying,
"I can't believe I survived."
Following the finale of "Yellowstone" Season 3, an interviewer for Deadline
asked Taylor Sheridan how members of his cast took to horseback riding. After all,
Sheridan himself appears skillful on horseback during his cameo appearances on the show. He
revealed that Beth Dutton actor Kelly Reilly is the most experienced rider,
though viewers might not know this given that, of the main players,
her character spends the least amount of time on a horse. Jimmy Hurdstrom actor Jefferson White,
meanwhile, had to learn how to ride a horse more or less from scratch. Sheridan said,
"We had him out there two or three days in a row... horseback riding is all about trust
between horse and rider. It takes a lot of trust for someone who has never been on a
horse to get on one. And the horse can feel that fear so it was pretty dicey for a bit.
To his credit, the second day I had him out there, just riding,
never complaining. And when he got off, he said, I'll fix this, I promise."
“Don’t worry, Jimmy, it will all be over soon.”
Some of the ranchers featured on "Yellowstone," meanwhile, are professionals in their real lives.
A video shared by Paramount Network to its YouTube channel details how real-life cowboy Jake Ream
started working behind-the-scenes of "Yellowstone" before he was offered an on-camera role. His
character, who was simply named Jake, allowed him to finally show off his wrangling skills on TV.
Dedicated viewers of "Yellowstone" know that the Dutton family employs a cook named Gator.
Perhaps most famously, Gator makes Beth a smoothie consisting of three scoops of ice cream and three
shots of vodka, per her specifications. As it turns out, Gator is portrayed by a man
actually nicknamed Gator, with the birth name Gabriel Guilbeau. In addition to bringing his
real-life nickname to the character, Gullibeau is likewise an experienced chef who is responsible
for many of the meals served to the "Yellowstone" cast and crew. In a profile of the man Paramount
Network shared to its YouTube channel, Jimmy Hurdstrom actor Jefferson White claimed,
“Anybody on the crew, anybody in the cast,
can't talk about this show for five minutes without mentioning Gator."
Actor Ian Bohen described Guilbeau's presence on-set as essentially a
restaurant open from crew call to wrap where you can have whatever you want.
Though Guilbeau was born near Santa Barbara, California, he grew up in Louisiana,
which influenced his style of cooking. On his personal Instagram account,
Guilbeau often shows off some of the meals he cooks during the filming of "Yellowstone," like,
for example, a pair of whole pigs he served to its cast and crew. He also
recently headed craft services for the FX on Hulu comedy "Reservation Dogs."
He posted a few different meals he cooked up for them during the making of that series too.
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