Once upon a time, Taylor Sheridan had a different role in mind for Darren Mann in the Yellowstone-verse.

Before he ever made it to cowboy camp to prepare for the role ofJack Dutton, Mann was actually considered for the role of the swashbuckling Spencer, played by Brandon Sklenar.

“All my auditions were for Spencer,” recalls Mann to Deadline. “I never read for Jack. I did something like four self-tapes, I believe, and then eventually I got a phone call saying, ‘okay, you’ve got five new scenes and you’ve got to go to Wyoming in 30 hours or something like that and you’re going to screen test for Spencer.”

“I went there, had the screen test, it went great. I was feeling pretty good about it but I wasn’t sure,” Mann continues. “And then I got a call maybe 30, 45 minutes later saying, ‘we want to offer you the role of Jack’. I was like, yeah, let’s go.”

It was a welcome development for Dunn, since he realized he saw more of himself in Jack while preparing for the Spencer auditions. “I was focused on the task at hand to just do my best and to show what would my flavor of the Spencer character would be if I did it. Though that one didn’t work out, I think the process all worked out for me and I got to play Jack. I love playing Jack.”

At the very least, it helped Mann realize a dream after first hearing about the making of 1883, Sheridan’s Yellowstone prequel that dropped before 1923.

“My team was telling me they thought there was a good part in there for me, and that I’d probably audition soon,” recalls Mann, whose previous credits include Animal Kingdom, Fortunate Son and Wayward Pines. “I’ve always wanted to be in a western. The idea of being in a western is like every little kid’s dream, to play a cowboy. So I started taking riding lessons. I wanted to make sure I was sharp. When the opportunity comes, I better be ready for it.”

The opportunity to try out for 1883 never materialized, but Sheridan’s team eventually came knocking for 1923. Mann debuted in season one as the earnest, 25-year-old cowboy whose great uncle and aunt are Jacob and Margaret Dutton (Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren). Sklenar’s Spencer is his uncle.

“He’s so pure intentioned,” Mann tells Deadline of Jack. “He’s so much different than the rest of ’em. He’s not hardened or jaded. He has such a beautiful, pure view of the world.”