What The Cast Of Yellowstone Looks Like In Real Life

"Yellowstone's" Dutton family has been roping and riding and fighting each other for decades in Montana. But fiction is fiction and reality is reality, and the actors who play the deadly and irascible John Dutton (Kevin Costner), hellcat Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly), and earnest Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) are, naturally, nothing like their characters — or are they?

If you take a closer look, you'll find many an adventurer in the "Yellowstone" cast. This high-achieving group has a lot of smart folks in it — and it also has a whole lot of people who know how to make the most of the acting opportunity that's been handed to them. They may or may not be naturals on horseback, but they definitely understand how to lasso up something sweet when they see it.

Whether it's Costner betting it all on a massive big-screen Western project or Grimes and Reilly happily throwing themselves into fresh "Yellowstone" spin-offs, here's what the cast looks like in real life, what they were up to before the show debuted, and what they've done after the series rode into their lives.

Kevin Costner really needs no introduction at this point. The "Yellowstone" lead first made an impression as Alex, the dead friend a group of college classmates gather to mourn in "The Big Chill." Soon afterward, he began to appear in Westerns, which is where he would cement his name as an actor. He became a superstar in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and Oscars for "Dances with Wolves" soon followed — but bombs like "Waterworld" and "The Postman" led to less-than-ideal box office results. For every adventure like "Mr. Brooks" or a win like "Open Range," there was a "Swing Vote" on his resume.

Costner never really left the Hollywood game, but he regained theatergoers' attention playing Clark Kent's (Henry Cavill) self-sacrificing-to-the-point-of-being-ludicrous Pa Kent in 2013's "Man of Steel." While he led "Yellowstone" as the uncompromising John Dutton for four seasons, the situation between Costner and series creator Taylor Sheridan degenerated into a legal battle, which ultimately led to John Dutton being killed off in an unceremonious way. Post-"Yellowstone," Costner has concentrated on the release of the project that turned him away from the show in the first place — the last two chapters of his epic "Horizon: An American Saga" film series.

Kelly Reilly has built a fascinating, well-rounded career in Hollywood. You wouldn't be able to tell from her accurate midwestern portrayal of "Yellowstone's" hellraising only daughter, Beth Dutton, but she's actually British and got her start acting in series and serial dramas broadcast on the other side of the pond. Her credits there include "Ruth Rendell Mysteries," "Bramwell," "Poldark," and "Poirot." 

Reilly's big American break came in the 2005 version of "Pride and Prejudice," where she played Charles Bingley's (Simon Woods) sister, Caroline, who stirs up a heap of trouble for Elizabeth Bennet (Keira Knightley). She subsequently appeared in "Eden Lake" and "Me and Orson Welles," and appeared in Robert Downey Jr.'s "Sherlock Holmes" films as Mary Morstan. But for all the success that Beth has brought her, Reilly hated one thing about the "Yellowstone" character: her smoking. "I don't smoke, so all those cigarettes are the herbal cigarettes," she confessed to Entertainment Tonight, adding that she'd tried to talk Taylor Sheridan into writing a Beth-quits-cigarettes arc.

Long before he played responsible, family-oriented Kayce Dutton, Luke Grimes started his career as your average teen actor. His breakthrough appearance was in "All the Boys Love Mandy Lane" before becoming a regular on "Brothers & Sisters" as Ryan Lafferty as well as appearing in "Taken 2." Grimes' next big role was in "True Blood" as James Kent, though he departed the series six episodes into his contract due to what he claims were creative differences with the writing.

Grimes popped up as Marc Lee in "American Sniper" before playing Elliot Grey in the "Fifty Shades of Grey" trilogy and then as Teddy Q in 2016's "Magnificent 7" reboot. Since "Yellowstone" concluded, Grimes has appeared in the romantic drama "Happiness for Beginners." He's next set to reprise his role as Kayce in an upcoming "Yellowstone"-related procedural spin-off that's set to air on CBS.

While it's clear he's excited about playing Kayce again, he has admitted that some things about the character annoy him. "Deep down he's a really good, pure soul," he told Men's Health Magazine. "But the indecisiveness is incredibly frustrating for him and the people around him."

Wes Bentley was a journeyman actor with a wide variety of experience under his belt when he signed on to "Yellowstone." Like his costar Luke Grimes, Bentley, too, started out playing teens, gaining national acclaim in "American Beauty" as Ricky Fitts, a sensitive and talented filmmaker. Roles in "Ghost Rider" and "Jonah Hex" slowed his professional momentum down before he landed the part of Seneca Crane in "The Hunger Games." He subsequently showed up in "Interstellar" and three editions of "American Horror Story" — "American Horror Story: Freak Show," "American Horror Story: Roanoke," and, most famously, as John Lowe in "American Horror Story: Hotel."

Bentley also played Jack in "Pete's Dragon" and Erik in "Mission Impossible: Fallout." As of this writing, he appears to be taking a post-"Yellowstone" break — and it's no wonder, because, as he admitted to Fox News, playing Jamie definitely weighed on him emotionally. "Jamie is a character I really don't identify well with at all and have a hard time living with," he said. "He's got a lot of baggage, a lot of heavy things to carry the load with. So it's been a real challenge in my real life."

Cole Hauser is one of two "Yellowstone" regulars who happen to be Hollywood royalty. The son of actor Wings Hauser, Cole didn't learn the "Young and the Restless" star was his father until he was roughly ten. The two became close after Cole grew up, with Wings putting his son up in his house while he established a foothold in the acting game.

The younger Hauser soon built an impressive resume of his own, establishing himself in his early twenties through a number of youthful parts in projects including "School Ties," "Dazed and Confused," and "Good Will Hunting." He also racked up his first role as a series regular, playing Randy Willitz in Fox's "High Incident." He then balanced parts in a number of military pieces like "Hart's War" with work in prestige dramas like "White Oleander" and science fiction fare like "Pitch Black." He was a regular on "The Lizzie Borden Chronicles" and headed up the long-lived drama "Rogue" before joining "Yellowstone" as Rip.

When it came to Rip, Hauser said that he and Taylor Sheridan share a mission statement for his character. "What I've always wanted in Rip is the same as what Taylor's wanted," he told Cowboys and Indians Magazine, "which is a multifaceted, extremely interesting, deep-thinking, heartfelt, strong American man." Hauser's next career step will take that American man somewhere new; he and Kelly Reilly will reconvene for a Beth and Rip-centered spin-off in 2026.

Kelsey Asbille — who took on the role of "Yellowstone's" long-suffering Monica Dutton – established herself early in the acting game with her first prominent role as Gigi in "One Tree Hill." She then joined "Pair of Kings," in which she played Mikayla Makoola, the love interest of King Brady (Mitchel Musso). She opted for less squeaky-clean roles after the Disney XD sitcom wrapped, showing up in "Teen Wolf" as Tracy Stewart and in the romantic TV movie "Brimming with Love."

Officially playing adults at this point in her career, Asbille joined Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen in the film "Wind River." Between seasons of "Yellowstone," she popped up in Season 4 of FX's "Fargo" as Swanee Capps and co-starred with Finn Wittrock in the Netflix horror film "Don't Move." Presumably, she'll reprise her role as Monica in CBS' upcoming Kacey-related spin-off series, but if she doesn't, she said that the last time she played Monica was memorable enough. "It was so hard to confront [letting Monica go]," she related on The Kelly Clarkson Show. "The last day of shooting I will never forget because we were sitting ducks due to the smoke from the [nearby wild] fire." But when they went to shoot the last scene, she recalled, the skies parted and the sun shone down — a sweet way to say goodbye to a character who experienced a lot of trouble.

As the youngest regular in the "Yellowstone" cast, Brecken Merrill guided his character from youth to his preteens. As Monica and Kacey's son, Tate, he has to deal with a tough, dog-eat-dog world at a very young age, nearly dying in several alarming accidents. Tate ultimately comes through the situations with flying colors, and he and his parents start a happy life on a small Montana ranch, far from the Duttons' legacy of blood and horror.

Merrill had little acting experience before playing Tate, having only appeared in two episodes of "This Is Us" as a teenaged version of Nicky Jr. Since "Yellowstone," he has appeared in the film "Lifeline" as the youngest version of Steven Thomas (played by Judah Lewis as an older teen and Josh Lewis as an adult). He's also acted in the unreleased independent feature "We All Got Up To Dance."

No matter what happens in the future, it looks like Merrill is grateful for the experience he gained by working on "Yellowstone." "This is my passion," he told Entertainment Tonight. "I'm loving it ... I'm so blessed to work with such an amazing cast." The young actor clearly has plans to continue to act, and playing Tate definitely helped prepare him for it.

Jefferson White may have made a name for himself as hard-luck Dutton ranch hand Jimmy Hurdstrom, but in real life, he's combined his work as a producer and an actor while broadening his star power, giving him plenty of options for his Hollywood future.

White started his career as a journeyman supporting actor, picking up small parts in "The Americans" and "Elementary." He played Philip Jessup in Season 2 of "How to Get Away with Murder," Cole Dunlavey in the short-lived "Manhattan," and Sean O'Neal in "Chicago P.D." On the big screen, he portrayed Samuel in "God's Country" and Dave in "Civil War." He's become a prolific producer of short films and will direct and star in his first feature, "Caravan," soon. 

He's always maintained a healthy distance from his "Yellowstone" character, telling the San Francisco Gate that he hopes "Jimmy lives just interesting enough a life to be on TV, and no more interesting than that [...] I guess I hope that he has a long, peaceful spring with his new fiancé and the sort of beautiful, peaceful life ahead of him." Peace may or may not be in the cards for Jimmy if he becomes a regular part of the upcoming spin-off set at the ranch he moved to work on in "6666."

Jennifer Landon was born into an acting dynasty. The daughter of actor-director Michael Landon, she managed to forge her own way through Hollywood as an actor. Before playing Teeter, Landon gained fame as a soap opera star. She was Gwen Munson on "As the World Turns" (for which she won three Daytime Emmys for outstanding younger actress), Hillary Nelson on "Days of Our Lives," and Heather Stevens on "The Young and the Restless."

Working in the soap world helped bolster Landon's learning process and led to guest-starring roles on "House," "Chicago Med," "The Resident," and "The Orville." She recurred on "Banshee" as Lilith Bode and played Sarah Allen on Seasons 2 and 3 of "FBI: Most Wanted." She also recurred on "Animal Kingdom" as Amy Wheeler.

Landon might pop up as Teeter once again in "Yellowstone's" upcoming "6666" spin-off, and she'll bring her incredibly unusual accent if she reprises the role. "It was so weird," she told TV Fanatic about her character's vocal quirkiness. "It was always really easy for me. And I'm not sure why. I think that's a sign of a good fit. I always understood what she was saying."

Millennials will always look at Gil Birmingham and think of Billy Black, father of Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) in the "Twilight" series of films, but his career stretches back to the 1980s. He was Oz in the medical drama "Body & Soul," Pete in two direct-to-VHS reboots of "Gentle Ben," and an older version of Dog Star in the miniseries "Into the West." After "Twilight" made him more famous among moviegoers, he played Red Knee in 2013's "The Lone Ranger" — ten years after he portrayed One Horn in the 2003 "Lone Ranger" TV movie.

Birmingham recurred in "Banshee" and "House of Cards" and was Virgil in "The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt." He played detectives regularly in three cable and streaming dramas: Detective Pearce in "Animal Kingdom," Detective Bill Taba in "Under the Banner of Heaven," and Sheriff Dale Bishop in "Siren." He also recurred as Navy Captain Steven Douglas in "NCIS: Los Angeles" and recently voiced Forge in "X-Men '97."

While the future clearly remains bright for the actor, Birmingham was pleased with how Thomas Rainwater's story ended on "Yellowstone." "It was a great resolution," he told ScreenRant, "very powerful."

Forrie J. Smith was mainly known as an old-salt actor who ended up being cast in a whole lot of Westerns before getting his big break as John Dutton's laconic and knowing right-hand man, Lloyd Pierce. His resume includes a small role in "Tombstone" as Pony Deal and Sammy in "Transamerica." He's also appeared in a whole bunch of Westerns, both big and small. A rodeo rider and wrangler who's been training horses since he was a child, Smith is well-known for his stunt work, having doubled for actors in "Rambo III," "Aces: Iron Eagles III," and "Lightning Jack."

Though Smith is now a well-seasoned Hollywood veteran, he has admitted that he used to put a lot of pressure on himself while he was working to get a foothold in the acting game. But applying roping and riding techniques to his acting work has helped. As he told Cowboys & Indians Magazine, "I always take deep breaths to relax before I ride and stuff. I started using some of the things that make me relax while rodeoing before my auditions."

As a newbie ranch hand on the Dutton estate, Denim Richards' Colby Mayfair leaves a huge impression. A naïf among the more experienced hands, Colby slowly but surely becomes a well-loved presence amongst his peers. He and Teeter eventually embark on a romance that ends tragically when Colby dies saving Carter (Finn Little) from a wild bronco. He passes away after being kicked in the chest by the horse, which leads a devastated Teeter to leave the Duttons' employ and take a job working for Travis Wheatley (Taylor Sheridan) in Texas.

In the real world, Richards resume is short, but it's packed with interesting roles. He has appeared in a number of reality and talk shows as a bit player and singer. While his big break was as Colby, his most substantial role — which he filmed while he was still on "Yellowstone" — came in the series "Good Trouble," where he played Elijah Adrieux. He also appeared as Dante Hill in the direct-to-streaming modern Western film series "Country/Line" and had the lead in Netflix's "Montford: The Chickasaw Rancher" as Jack Brown. He has his own production company, Lazer Focus Productions, LLC, and has established his own nonprofit, Youth Empowering Success (YES), which helps underprivileged youth learn how to express themselves via public speaking, working in film, and more.

Mo Brings Plenty started his Hollywood career with a series of small roles, including portraying Chief Crazy Horse in an episode of "American Experience," which chronicles Custer's Last Stand. He recurred on "Hell on Wheels," played Sitting Bull in "The American West," and Ottawa Jones in "The Good Lord Bird." On the big screen, he was Shep in "Jurassic World: Dominion," and he was part of the cast of "Rez Bomb," the first film to be fully filmed on tribal lands.

On top of playing Mo in "Yellowstone," he served as the show's American Indian Affairs Coordinator. The position allowed Plenty to ensure the authenticity of the wardrobe, rituals, and character behavior of the show's Native characters. He performs the same duties for the spin-off, "1923." There's no word on whether Plenty will continue providing consultation work for the series, but now that his "Yellowstone" duties are done, he'll appear in "Topper," a 2025 film about a disgraced, alcoholic stand-up comic.

Isabel May's Elsa Dutton might not be a familiar face for regular "Yellowstone" viewers, but those who watch the prequel shows "1883" and "1923" know she died upon the Dutton's land and is the first person to have been buried there. Pragmatically changing from innocent to warrior, she ultimately finds herself coping with death itself. She narrates both prequels and provides a voiceover during the series finale of "Yellowstone," making her a huge part of the "Yellowstone" universe. Ever since her death in 1883, Elsa has been watching over the Duttons, who make their lives on their chunk of Montana land — the same Duttons who are fated to someday return their soil and acreage to Thomas Rainwater's tribe.

Before joining the "Yellowstone" clan, May had established a solid career for herself as a teenage actor, appearing nine times as Veronica on "Young Sheldon," co-helming "Alexa and Katie," and playing Leighton in "I Want You Back." Post-Elsa, she's lined up a bunch of new projects, including the latest "Scream" sequel, where she is slated to play Sidney Prescott's (Neve Campbell) daughter. That's a bold move that the fierce Elsa would certainly approve of.