Watch: Yellowstone Creator Taylor Sheridan Addresses Kevin Costner’s Exit Amid Feud Rumors
Ed Harris didn’t sign up to be a supporting man on the ranch.
Two months after season one of Dutton Ranch—a Yellowstone spinoffstarring Kelly Reilly as Beth Dutton and Cole Hauser as Rip Wheeler—premiered, The Truman Show alum admitted he felt “misled” in accepting the part of vet Everett McKinney.
“Prior to signing on for it, I was talked to quite a bit about what the season was and what my character was going to do,” Harris told Variety in an interview July 20. “And that I was one of the four main characters, and that wasn’t really the case.”
Indeed, while he appears in all nine episodes of the first season—also starringAnnette Bening, Finn Little and Juan Pablo Raba—Everett is more of a minor part in the series.
In fact, the 75-year-old recalled the one scene where he felt he made an impact ended up getting cut.
“So there’s this scene in there, I’m talking to [Beth Dutton] at the bar, and [Rip Wheeler] comes in and says, ‘OK, Everett, come on, it’s your turn,’” Harris recalled. “I walk up to the mic, and they cut it. They cut the song out. I’m going, ‘F–k you, people.’”
And while Harris said the show’s producers—which include Taylor Sheridan, Reilly and Hauser—felt the scene was too upbeat for the episode, he admitted, it felt like “enough reason to say I’m voiding my contract.”
Nevertheless, the Westworld star wasn’t going to accept his character going out with a flicker, noting he told the show’s producers he was feeling “underused and inconsequential.”
“They kind of went, ‘Oh,’” Harris shared. “I’m being told my character will have a bit more to do [in season two].”
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
But when it came to shooting the first season, the Apollo 13 star admitted, “I was just a little frustrated, to tell you the truth.”
E! News reached out to Dutton Ranch’s producer Sheridan as well as Paramount and 101 Studios.
Meanwhile, Harris’ comments come shortly after Sheridan addressed Kevin Costner’s seemingly abrupt Yellowstone season five exit, shutting down longstanding rumors of a rift between the producer and the star.
“Kevin was only supposed to be in the first three seasons,” Sheridan explained in an appearance on The Bill Simmons Podcast last month. “That was in his contract. In my mind, that’s when his youngest son takes over and we have to watch them lose their ranch or not lose their ranch or whatever the case was going to be.”
And while the network wanted to hold onto Costner as the series’ lead, Sheridan—who previously admitted he was “disappointed” by the Oscar winner’s departure—was more than understanding of The Bodyguard alum’s desire to move on.
“Kevin hit a point where he was like, ‘I’ve got to do my own thing,’” Sheridan continued. “And I was like, I’ve got to do my own thing too. But we had originally conceived it together that it was three seasons and then the baton is handed and I think that would’ve been better for the show.”
As he put it, “We had to tread water for a bit there and I think that was pretty evident.”
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