Legendary actor Ed Harris says he’s almost retired from the sport Yellowstone spin off Dutton Ranch after feeling “misled” about his role.
The 75-year-old actor was announced as the lead character in the Taylor Sheridan series, playing Everit McKinney, an ally of Kelly Reilly and Beth Dutton and Cole Houser’s Rip Wheeler, but said he felt “misled” in the first season.
Kelly Reilly and Ed Harris as Beth Dutton and Everett McKinney at the Dutton Ranch. Paramount+
“Halfway through the first season, I was ready to say, ‘Get me out of here,’ to tell you the truth,” the veteran star said. Diversity.
“I didn’t feel like I was being taken advantage of. I felt very misled. Before I signed on for this movie, I was talked to quite a bit about what the season was going to be and what my character was going to do and the fact that I was one of the four main characters. But that wasn’t really the case.”
Harris said he raised concerns but did not directly name the show’s creator, Sheridan.
“I said, ‘I feel underutilized and unimportant,’ and they said, ‘Oh,’” he said.
Despite his doubts, Harris signed on for two seasons and said he was told his character would have something to do when the series returned.
“It was just a little frustrating. When I watched the season, it was okay, it was pretty good. It seemed like I was relatively important to the story, but it didn’t feel that way,” he said.
There was one cutscene in particular that made him want to take a walk.
“What really pissed me off, honestly, was the first episode, or the second, they told me before I even signed the contract that you could sing in a bar… and they cut it! They said it was too cool for the episode’s dark ending… I was like, “Damn it, people!” For me, that’s reason enough to say, “I’m canceling my contract.”
Harris’ comments come shortly after Sheridan responded to similar criticism from critics over his use of Demi Moore in his other series. Landman.
As Landman’s story progressed, Demi Moore’s role expanded from a small, heavily criticized cameo to a major player. Getty
Sheridan told Bill Simmons Podcast he knew that critics would hound him for “underutilizing” the star. These critics included Hollywood executives who, Sheridan claimed, “knew nothing,” even when it came to his hit series. Yellowstone.
He also spoke about Kevin Costner’s sudden departure from YellowstoneSeason five, focusing on long-running rumors of a feud between the two.
He confirmed that the Oscar winner, who plays patriarch John Dutton on the show, was only supposed to appear in the first three seasons before his son Casey Dutton took over.
The “Yellowstone” creator argued that Hollywood executives “know nothing” about storytelling, and he defended some of his creative decisions. Bill Simmons Podcast/Spotify
Sheridan said the network was “so afraid that Kevin wouldn’t be in it, even though Kevin was willing” because “the show was so monstrous.”
“But creatively it might go against the opposition. We had to tread water a little bit here, I think that was pretty obvious,” he added.