Paramount
Since its premiere in 2018, “Yellowstone” has been synonymous with the face of Kevin Costner. Costner, who plays the role of John Dutton, the head of the Dutton Yellowstone ranch, is a significant reason behind the popularity of Paramount’s neo-Western series. However, the portrayal of the Dutton patriarch isn’t solely credited to Costner. Josh Lucas, who plays a younger version of the character on the series, was considered for the role even before the pilot episode of “Yellowstone” was filmed. This was part of the grand plan that show creator Taylor Sheridan had meticulously designed in advance.
During a 2022Â Deadline interview, Lucas shared how Sheridan, after finalizing the location for the Dutton Ranch, had a detailed plan for the series. He recalled how Sheridan pointed at specific locations and shared his vision for the series, saying, ‘This will happen here in season 1,’ and ‘This will happen here in season 2. And here’s where the graveyard goes.’ Lucas, known for his roles in “A Beautiful Mind” and “Sweet Home Alabama,” was impressed by Sheridan’s detailed planning. He also revealed that Sheridan had big plans for the young John Dutton character, stating that his significant role would commence in the fifth season.
As planned, season 5, part 1 of “Yellowstone” delved deeper into John Dutton’s past than any previous seasons, providing a comprehensive backstory just as Kevin Costner was concluding his time on the show. It was confirmed last year that Costner would not be returning for the much-anticipated “Yellowstone” season 5, part 2. Season 5 essentially portrayed John’s life in a series of flashbacks before his departure, as if Sheridan had foreseen Costner’s exit and crafted a visual tribute to the character years before his actual exit.
Interestingly, despite playing a young John Dutton throughout the series, Josh Lucas has never actually interacted with Kevin Costner on the “Yellowstone” set.
Why Josh Lucas and Kevin Costner were kept separate on Yellowstone
Paramount
Hollywood has a long history of keeping actors separate while working on the same project. Examples include James Earl Jones and Eddie Murphy during the filming of “Coming to America 2” and Arnold Schwarzenegger not filming with his “Batman & Robin” co-stars. In most cases, this separation is due to scheduling and time-saving, but there are instances where more controversial reasons are at play.
In the case of Josh Lucas and Kevin Costner, it appears there was no controversy. Instead, a practical reason was behind their separation. In a 2021 Collider interview (via Looper), Lucas explained that their separation was intentional, and Costner was “not there when I’m shooting.” He further elaborated:
“Taylor [Sheridan] and I discussed ‘The Godfather.’ When [Robert] De Niro was playing Brando, he wasn’t trying to look or act like Marlon Brando. He was attempting to play [a younger Don Vito Corleone]. That’s what we talked about.”
In essence, both Sheridan and Lucas were trying to prevent the latter from imitating Kevin Costner in his portrayal of John Dutton. Lucas explained in his Deadline interview that while the characters “need to have the essence of each other,” the actors themselves don’t necessarily need to meet for that to happen.
Josh Lucas was very much doing his own thing as John Dutton
Paramount
In the case of Robert De Niro and Marlon Brando, the two actors were never on-set together because they were not in the same movie. Brando starred as Vito Corleone in “The Godfather” while DeNiro starred as a younger version of the character in “The Godfather Part II.” A study of De Niro’s screenplays, reported by The Telegraph, revealed the actor’s extensive preparation, which involved repeatedly watching Brando’s performance in Francis Ford Coppola’s celebrated 1972 film. So, while the two actors never actually met, De Niro was clearly heavily influenced by his elder’s performance.
For Taylor Sheridan and Josh Lucas, the fact that De Niro and Brando never met while playing the same character provided the key to making Lucas’ John Dutton performance unique. As Lucas explained in his Deadline interview, his portrayal was more influenced by his discussions with Sheridan before filming than anything else:
“I wanted to understand, was [Dutton] darker? Was he angrier? Who was he at that point? His wife’s death was a shattering element in the family that is so destructive to the children. Beth becomes Beth in that singular moment. I think all the different characters, they become broken in a way. And so I said, is John lonely? And Taylor kind of barked at me and said, ‘He’s too busy to be lonely.'”
With Costner’s departure from “Yellowstone,” several questions arise about the future of the show — whether it will continue into a sixth season with existing co-stars Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser in the lead roles. It will also be interesting to see how much Josh Lucas is used moving forward, if at all, now that Costner has left under such contentious circumstances.
Credit: www.slashfilm.com
