The Cast of 'Yellowstone': Everything to Know

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More than 12 million people tuned in to watch the season 5 premiere of Yellowstone in November 2022. Why? Because the Dutton family drama just keeps getting better, thanks to creator Taylor Sheridan.

The allure of Yellowstone — outside of cowboying, gun fights and extreme use of profanity — are the complex characters.

"It's ludicrous that I'm working with these people. It's fantastically insane," Sheridan told CBS Sunday Morning, referring to his Yellowstone cast that includes A-lister Kevin Costner as his lead.

From their former roles to their Yellowstone casting stories, here's everything to know about the cast of this modern-day western TV series.

Kevin Costner as John Dutton

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Kevin Costner, 67, was a household name long before he took on the role of John Dutton. The two-time Oscar and Golden Globe winner has been acting for more than 40 years — and is well known for his work in Field of Dreams, Dances with Wolves, The Bodyguard, Hidden Figures and The Highwaymen.

Costner stepped into John Dutton's boots in 2017. But at one point, long before cameras were rolling, the actor felt reluctant about taking the job.

"When I was approached with this, it was going to be a 10-episode movie," he explained on Popcorn with Peter Travers. "Suddenly, it was going to be a multi-season thing. I had to make a real fundamental decision there. I thought if I said, 'Now I'm not doing it,' it might have crumbled before it got started. I took the weight on emotionally of not wanting the show to crumble."

Five seasons later and Costner has exceeded all expectations as the patriarch of the Dutton family — a man fighting for his land and his legacy.

"I love working in this genre," he shared. "There's a musical dance that I feel when I do a western. My draw to it isn't the gunfight, my draw is how people talk to each other and the type of characters."

When he's not riding horses around Montana, Costner told PEOPLE that his life revolves around his wife, Christine Baumgartner, and his seven children.

"When I'm not making a movie, I'm living and on the freeway with my wife, getting the kids to their stuff or I'm waiting for them to come out of a party. I'm just twiddling my thumbs," he said.

The actor shares three adult children — Annie, Lily and Joe — with his ex-wife Cindy Silva, and son Liam with former partner Bridget Rooney. Costner married Baumgartner in September 2004, and they welcomed three children: Cayden Wyatt, Logan Hayes and Grace Avery.

Luke Grimes as Kayce Dutton

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You might recognize Luke Grimes, 38, from Brothers & Sisters, in which he played the illegitimate son, Ryan Lafferty. He also held the role of Christian Grey's older brother in the Fifty Shades of Grey film trilogy.

Today, he's best known for his part in Yellowstone as John Dutton's favorite son, Kayce. Grimes didn't personally know Costner before joining the cast — but the pair met briefly when the actor was just 17 years old.

"[Kevin Costner] was my first-ever celebrity sighting," he told Jimmy Kimmel. "The first time I came to L.A., I was walking down Sunset and he gets out of a car. My mom shortcircuited. She lost her mind. It was the first time I saw the power of Kevin Costner."

Grimes fell in love with Montana while filming Yellowstone. He now lives there full-time with his wife Bianca Rodrigues.

With a short commute to and from work, Grimes has a bit more time to focus on his country music career. His debut single "No Horse to Ride" was featured on Yellowstone season 5, and he has plans to play at Stagecoach in April 2023.

Kelly Reilly as Beth Dutton

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It's hard to believe that Kelly Reilly, 45, isn't from the American West by the way she masterfully plays the tough-as-nails Beth Dutton.

"People call me Beth. They'll come up to me wanting to high-five or start a fight. It's really interesting how people believe that you're your character," the English actress told Entertainment Tonight.

Reilly admits that she didn't share the same confidence that Taylor Sheridan had in her ability to play the crude and incredibly witty character.

"This character is a beast. I didn't know I was Beth. It took me a while to find her. I'm not sure what [Taylor Sheridan] saw," she told the outlet. "Beth is Taylor's creation and all I ever wanted to do was show him that I could do it and make her real for him."

Before Yellowstone, Reilly played a role on the opposite end of the character spectrum — a kind, God-fearing mother in the film Heaven is for Real. Her other acting credits include Pride & Prejudice, Sherlock Holmes and Flight.

Reilly is married to financier Kyle Baugher. The couple wed in 2012.

Wes Bentley as Jamie Dutton

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Wes Bentley, 44, has been in many major movies, including American Beauty, The Hunger Games and Interstellar. His role in American Horror Story: Hotel, where he played detective John Lowe, arguably put him on the map for TV viewers.

In December 2022, Bentley appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live to talk about the character everybody loves to hate on Yellowstone, Jamie Dutton.

"In Montana, I'll go shopping at the grocery store and then from across the store some man will yell out: 'Hey, Jamie Dutton, I hate you,' " he said with a laugh.

Bentley shared that his grandfather, a retired evangelical minister, refuses to watch the show.

"I forgot to tell him there was nudity in the first episode," he said. "So, he doesn't want anymore to do with it."

The actor is married to Jacqui Swedberg, with whom he shares two children — Charles and Brooklyn. He was formerly married to Jennifer Quanz from 2001 to 2009.

Cole Hauser as Rip Wheeler

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Everybody loves Rip — but Cole Hauser, 47, has been a Hollywood hottie for decades. Remove the cowboy hat and shave the beard, and you'll recognize him as Billy from Good Will Hunting and Carter Verone from 2 Fast 2 Furious.

Taylor Sheridan always had Hauser in mind when he imagined who would play Rip Wheeler.

"I had [Taylor Sheridan] in mind, too. I've been watching him for a long time. He's a phenomenal writer," he told Entertainment Weekly.

He went on to deny that his wife and former actress, Cynthia Daniel, see him as one of America's hottest on-screen cowboys.

"She doesn't see any of that," he said, chuckling. "She's one of those amazing women. She's been with me for so long, she knows the ins and outs of what we do."

Hauser and Daniel share three children together — Ryland, 18, Colt Daniel, 14 and Steely Rose, 10.

Kelsey Asbille as Monica Dutton

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Kelsey Asbille, 31, sheds light on the trials and tribulations of the Native American population in the West as Yellowstone's Monica Dutton.

"I think what Taylor Sheridan does so beautifully is he puts two groups of people in conversation with each other to talk about issues, especially Native issues, that matter," she said during an interview on CBS Mornings with her on-screen husband, Luke Grimes.

Asbille first worked with Sheridan on Wind River, a film that premiered in 2017.

"He contacted me and told me about Yellowstone. I'd follow him anywhere," she told The Hollywood Reporter. "He's one of the great American storytellers. I love telling his stories."

Unlike Grimes, Asbille has yet to move away from the big city to experience Montana life year-round. She currently lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her partner and fellow actor, William Moseley. The couple have been dating since 2012 after meeting in the film Run.

Taylor Sheridan as Travis

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Nearly 30 years ago, Taylor Sheridan, 52, kicked off his Hollywood career as an actor. He made appearances in hit TV shows, including Walker, Texas Ranger, Veronica Mars and Sons of Anarchy. Frustrated that he hadn't landed a lead role, he tried his hand at scriptwriting.

"An interesting thing about Hollywood is, if you let, it will tell you exactly what you're supposed to be doing. The best I was ever going to be was 10th on the call sheet," he said during his CBS Sunday Morning interview. "The first thing that I wrote was Mayor of Kingston. When I was done, I said, 'Man, I wish I had done this 15 years ago.' "

Sheridan can write so accurately about the Western lifestyle because he lives and breathes it. As a horseman and ranch owner, he can ride and rope with the best of them.

"I bought all the horses for the show and then taught the actors how to ride them," he told Lee Cowan.

And when he couldn't find an actor skilled enough to play a horse trader, Sheridan took on the role of Travis — the character whom John Dutton enlisted to purchase his rodeo-winning horses.

Sheridan may have created the "Taylorverse," but his world revolves around his wife, Nicole Muirbrook, and their son, Gus. The couple have been married since 2013.