Kevin Costner's 'Yellowstone' Co-Star Shares How He Really Feels About the Actor's Unexpected Exit

The cast of Yellowstone has remained largely silent after the unexpected exit of Kevin Costner in the second half of Season 5. Did the cast feel abandoned by the A-list star since he left certain storylines hanging for John Dutton? Well, one cast member is finally speaking out about Costner’s departure.

Grimes plays Kayce Dutton, the youngest son of Costner’s character, so he obviously has a major stake in what happens moving forward. While some fans might think the 40-year-old actor would be upset at his former co-star, he has a diplomatic take on the situation. Grimes completely understood that Costner’s “passion projects,” notably Horizon: An American Saga, took precedence over the Paramount+ show. Telling the Independent, “Whatever happened there is unfortunate if it’s changed anything about how the show was going to unfold,” he admitted while adding, “At a certain point, you gotta do what you gotta do, man. You gotta do what you love.”

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Costner’s exit does impact the storyline because you can’t just leave John Dutton off the screen without a plausible reason — he was the central focus of the show. Grimes hints that the cast will likely be affected, but he also applauds his co-star for prioritizing his passions. Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan addressed the issued to The Hollywood Reporter and noted that not having Costner on set “truncates the closure of his character.” Despite the rewrites the actor caused, Sheridan doesn’t hold any ill-will toward the Dances With Wolves star.

Sheridan blamed all of the negative headlines last summer on Costner’s Hollywood team. “Once lawyers get involved, then people don’t get to talk to each other and start saying things that aren’t true and attempt to shift blame based on how the press or public seem to be reacting,” he pointed out. “He took a lot of this on the chin, and I don’t know that anyone deserves it.” But there might be a little animosity from the departure because sources told Life & Style that Costner was getting the “cold shoulder” from the Yellowstone cast.

“He used to hear from Cole [Hauser] and the rest of the gang — but they’ve cut him loose in the months since he walked away from the show,” the insider shared. They’re making no effort to see him and don’t get excited when he calls. They’ve drifted away.” But before Yellowstone viewers throw in the towel over Costner’s departure, there may be hope on the horizon. The 69-year-old actor seems to be open to a possible cameo to finish out the series.

“I’ve loved making that series. I’ve made five seasons of it. Thought I was going to make seven,” he told Entertainment Tonight. “So, how it works out? I hope it does, but they’ve got a lot of different shows going on. Maybe this will circle back to me. If it does, and I feel really comfortable with it, I’d love to do it.”

Before you go, click here to see Kevin Costner’s full dating history.

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