Kevin Costner opens about some harsh realities of leaving Yellowstone

Kevin Costner played John Dutton III in Yellowstone, the Dutton family head who owned the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch. Costner portrayed the character for four and a half seasons, but wasn't seen in the second part of Season 5. As viewers of the show are aware, John was killed by a gunshot wound by assassins hired by Sarah Atwood.

Kevin Costner left Yellowstone due to scheduling conflicts as he was also working on Horizon: An American Saga at the time, and due to creative differences with Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan. In a recent interview with Radio Times, Kevin Costner has opened up about some of the harsh realities of leaving the show.

Kevin Costner on his departure from Yellowstone

During the last season of Yellowstone, Kevin Costner started working on the Horizon: An American Saga series. He is the writer, producer, and director for all the films of the series. The first two films of the series released in 2024, and Costner also played Hayes Ellison in it, a role that he will continue to play in the next two films of the series as well.

But this wasn't the only reason the actor left the show. While it is unknown what exactly happened, there were creative differences between Costner and Sheridan, and thus, we did not get to see Costner in the latter half of the last season.

Speaking to Radio Times, Costner talked about his reasons behind leaving the show, saying:

"I’m willing to do anything where I feel like what I’m doing is for myself,"

He added:

"It doesn’t have to be a Western, it could be something else. But when something is no longer interesting to me, or there’s some other reason that I need to move on, I’m willing to do that."

From his words, it seems Costner was no longer creatively satisfied with the show's trajectory at that point. Thus, he left when he wanted to. He also said:

"I think you can write a short story and it can live forever. You can write a novel and it can live forever. You can make a short movie and it can live forever. It’s about how you’re telling it. It’s about if other people are going to be able to relate to it and move to it. That’s why there are certain books that continue to live with us, that we pass on to our children. I think the hope for me is that I can stay relevant; not only to myself, but to people who find my work. I can’t create work that I think is going to find them. I can only create work that when they do find it, it reflects what I was feeling and my sensibility. And hopefully they’re moved by it."

Thus, we can tell that Kevin Costner is passionate about staying true to himself, not only regarding his personal life, but also his professional life, as well.

Whatever the exact reason might have been, the actor no longer felt the need to continue with Yellowstone, and thus, he left to work on a project. He was missed in the last few episodes of the show, but perhaps it is better to bid an actor goodbye from a show, rather than see him play his character half-heartedly.

Yellowstone is streaming on Peacock.

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