Whether you’re new to Taylor Sheridan’s world or an established Dutton fanatic, it can’t be said that the Yellowstone cast doesn’t play a wild collection of characters.
From the Dutton family tree to the many friends and foes who cross paths, Yellowstone is teeming with newcomers and familiar faces.
Yellowstone stars (or, starred) Hollywood legend Kevin Costner. Alongside him, country singers and regulars from Taylor Sheridan’s movies and TV shows keep the drama going and those cattle fed. We’ll be saying goodbye to most of them in Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2, but it’s still worth getting to know these Western experts.
There are a lot of people, so here’s a breakdown of the cast, the Yellowstone characters they play, and where you know them from.
John Dutton III: Kevin Costner
John Dutton III is the patriarch of the Dutton family. A widower, Dutton owns and operates the Yellowstone/Dutton Ranch, the largest contiguous ranch in the US (the size of Rhode Island, mind you), which has been under Dutton family ownership dating back six generations. He also serves as Montana Livestock Commissioner and remains steadfast in his battle to fend off attempts to claim his land.
Kevin Costner Westerns are plentiful, and the genre legend plays John Dutton III. Costner has won two Academy Awards, winning in the Best Picture and Best Director categories for Dances With Wolves, as well as Golden Globes for acting in Hatfields & McCoys and Yellowstone. His illustrious career has included starring roles in The Untouchables, Field of Dreams, JFK, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, The Bodyguard, Waterworld, The Postman, and many more.
Unfortunately, Costner has now left Yellowstone, so won’t be returning the final episodes. This was due to his involvement in his own multi-film Western series, Horizon: An American Saga. There’s still three more movies to go, so you can still catch him on the back of a horse!
Kayce Dutton: Luke Grimes
Kayce Dutton is John’s youngest son and a former US Navy SEAL. He works as a horseman and ranch hand, and as a Livestock Agent for the Montana Livestock Association.
At the beginning of the series, he lives on the Broken Rock Indian Reservation with his Native American wife Monica and son Tate before he relocates to the Yellowstone Ranch. Wherever Kayce goes, death and destruction are sure to follow.
Luke Grimes plays Kayce and is known for playing real-life Navy SEAL Marc Alan Lee in American Sniper and for playing Christian Grey’s brother in Fifty Shades of Grey and its sequels. These days, he’s also a country music star. (If you’re looking to check out his music, start with “No Horse To Ride”.)
Beth Dutton: Kelly Reilly
Beth is the only daughter of John and his deceased wife Evelyn and makes her living as a financier. She is smart, forthright, and confrontational, and also emotionally unbalanced. She has a somewhat tumultuous relationship with Rip Wheeler and is fiercely loyal to her father.
Kelly Reilly is known for her roles in True Detective, Black Box, and Britannia. After impressing as Caroline Bingley in Joe Wright’s Pride and Prejudice in 2005, Reilly went on to star in the tense horror thriller Eden Lake opposite Michael Fassbender.
She also appeared in Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows, Robert Zemeckis’s Flight starring Denzel Washington, and John Michael McDonagh’s brilliant Calvary. Most recently, she joined the 2023 Poirot mystery, A Haunting in Venice.
Jamie Dutton: Wes Bentley
Jamie is undoubtedly the black sheep of the Dutton family. After being convinced by John at a young age to pursue law for the good of the ranch, Jamie spent the rest of his life trying to earn an appreciation and love from his father that he was never going to get.
Jamie suffers most at the hands of Beth, who can’t forgive him for one awful choice he made when they were teenagers. Jamie’s turbulent spot among the Dutton children is explained in later seasons, and as time goes on, he tries to push out on his own.
Wes Bentley, who plays Jamie, is known for roles in Sam Mendes’ American Beauty and Shekhar Kapur’s The Four Feathers opposite Heath Ledger and Kate Hudson. He has also had roles in Ghost Rider, Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar, and the TV series American Horror Story.
Rip Wheeler: Cole Hauser
Rip was taken in by John Dutton as a youngster after he killed his father upon witnessing him murdering his mother and brother. Consequently, Rip is extremely loyal to John and works on the ranch as John’s right-hand man. He has a turbulent but loving romantic relationship with John’s daughter, Beth. Rip is not to be messed with — he’s essentially John’s hitman, taking out obstacles in brutal, relentless ways.
As such, Cole Hauser is an integral part of the Yellowstone cast and is known for his roles in Dazed and Confused, Good Will Hunting, Pitch Black, and 2 Fast 2 Furious, to name a few. He also starred in the crime drama Rogue opposite Thandiwe Newton.
He has ties to Hollywood royalty, since his great-grandfather, Harry Warner, was a co-founder of Warner Bros.
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Monica Long Dutton: Kelsey Asbille
Monica is Kayce’s Native American wife and daughter-in-law of John Dutton. She is a teacher by profession, first at a school on the Broken Rock Indian Reservation and then later as a professor at Montana State University. Monica views John as being untrustworthy and undeserving of Kayce’s loyalty, and as such takes a long time to warm up to her father-in-law.
Kelsey Asbille, who plays Monica, is best known for her roles as Swanee Capps in Fargo, and Tracey Stewart in Teen Wolf. She also appeared in One Tree Hill and the Disney XD series Pair of Kings, as well as in another Taylor Sheridan venture, Wind River.
Tate Dutton: Brecken Merrill
Tate Dutton is the young son of Kayce and Monica. He is John Dutton’s only biological grandchild. Tate grows to have an interest in the ranch as time goes on, and to Monica’s disappointment, he strives to get to know his grandfather. Technically speaking, Tate is the sole heir of Yellowstone Ranch, and as such, John and Kayce try to teach him the ways of the land.
Brecken Merrill plays Tate. Yellowstone is his biggest role to date, but he previously appeared in the drama series This Is Us.
Jimmy Hurdstrom: Jefferson White
Jimmy works on the ranch at Yellowstone and is an amateur bronc rider. He was first brought onto the ranch after his grandfather begged John to take Jimmy, a troubled young man, in with a job. Since he joined the ranch and took the brand, Jimmy grew to be a hard worker and a dedicated ranch hand. At John’s instruction, he later transfers to the 6666 ranch in Texas.
Jefferson White, who plays Jimmy, has previously appeared in How to Get Away With Murder, House of Cards, The Alienist, and Blindspot. He’s set to star in the upcoming Yellowstone spinoff, 6666, which should focus on Jimmy’s continued growth over at the Texan ranch.
Dan Jenkins: Danny Huston
Dan Jenkins is a mega-rich land developer intent on taking the ranch from the Duttons. While he’s one of many Yellowstone villains, Jenkins manages to intertwine himself with each member of the Dutton family as he tries to take them down, and even later becomes an ally of sorts.
Danny Huston’s face is instantly recognizable from his varied career. He has worked with some of the world’s greatest directors, including Martin Scorsese in The Aviator, Alfonso Cuaron in Children of Men, and Alejandro González Iñárittu in 21 Grams. The son of legendary director John Huston, he has also appeared in the acclaimed series Succession, Patty Jenkins’s Wonder Woman, and Tim Burton’s Big Eyes as well as X-Men Origins: Wolverine in which he played Stryker.
He also appears in Costner’s Horizon: An American Saga, where there are plenty of Yellowstone cameos if you know where to look.
Thomas Rainwater: Gil Birmingham
Thomas Rainwater is the chairman of the Confederated Tribes of Broken Rock, and chief of the Broken Rock Indian Reservation, which shares a border with Yellowstone Ranch. He wants to reclaim the land the ranch occupies and believes it belongs to the Native Americans who originally lived there.
Gil Birmingham plays Thomas Rainwater, a veteran of the screen. He’s known for roles in The Twilight Saga movies, and series Banshee and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. He also appeared in House of Cards and had a role in the Taylor Sheridan-penned Hell or High Water.
Lloyd Pierce: Forrie J Smith
Lloyd Pierce is a ranch hand at Yellowstone going back many years. Of all the hands, he is Rip’s right-hand man and helps him with keeping the younger workers in order. Lloyd, however, is not as stern as Rip and is one of the friendlier faces among the Yellowstone crew.
Forrie J Smith plays Lloyd and has had guest roles in Midnight, Texas and Better Call Saul.
Senator Lynelle Perry: Wendy Moniz
Lynelle Perry is the former Governor of Montana and love interest of John Dutton. Often, her relationship with John means that she has to help him get out of sticky legal battles, but she always puts her public position first. Ultimately, she moves up the political ranks as time goes on, serving as a dedicated leader.
Wendy Moniz, who plays Lynelle Perry, is best known for her roles as Louise Archer in The Guardian, Rachel McCabe in Nash Bridges, and as Dinah Marler in The Guiding Light. She has also appeared in House of Cards, Damages, Kingdom, and Daredevil.
You can watch Yellowstone on Peacock, while Season 5 Part 2 will arrive in November 2024. For more, check out our guides on the 1923 Season 2 release date, the 1923 cast, and all the other shows to watch if you love Yellowstone.
