Ed Harris has taken aim at Taylor Sheridan, saying he was given a misleading impression of how central his role would be in the Yellowstone spinoff Dutton Ranch.
The 75-year-old actor said early conversations about the Paramount series led him to believe he would be playing one of its principal characters.
But once production on the first season was underway, Harris said the reality felt very different, recalling that he told his team to “get me the f*** out of here.”
“Prior to signing on for it, I was talked to quite a bit about what the season was, and what my character was going to do – and that I was one of the four main characters. And that wasn’t really the case,” he told Variety on Monday while attending the premiere of Apple TV’s The Dink.
Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Harris, Sheridan and Paramount for comment, but has not yet received a response.
In Dutton Ranch, Harris portrays Everett McKinney, a warm and good-humored veterinarian. The Yellowstone spinoff aired its first season finale earlier this month, and Harris is reportedly signed on for two seasons.
Ed Harris has claimed he was misled about the importance of his role in Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone spinoff Dutton Ranch; pictured on Monday
The 75-year-old actor said early discussions about the part left him believing he would be a main character; pictured with co-star Annette Bening
The star recounted, ‘I said, “I’m feeling underused and inconsequential,” and they kind of went, “Oh.”‘
And he candidly noted, ‘I’m being told my character will have a little bit more to do [in season 2]. I was just a little frustrated, to tell you the truth.’
Harris then went on to recall filming a scene in a bar only for it to ultimately be cut from the show which ‘really pissed him off.’
He said: ‘So there’s this scene in there … I’m talking to [Beth Dutton] at the bar, and [Rip Wheeler] comes in and says, ‘OK, Everett, come on, it’s your turn.
‘I walk up to the mic, and they cut it. They cut the song out. I’m going, ‘F*** you, people.”‘
Harris recalled that production had told him they cut the moment because it was ‘too “up” for the dark ending of that episode.
However, Harris said that he felt at the time like that was ‘enough reason to say I am voiding my contract.’
Though he suggested he would be willing to walk away from the series, it remains unclear if he is actually trying to exit the show.
Harris then went on to recall filming a scene in a bar only for it to ultimately be cut from the show which ‘really pissed him off’; he is pictured with Kelly Reilly
Dutton Ranch launched the series on streaming service Paramount+ on May 15.
It follows Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) and Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) as they leave Montana to build their own ranch in South Texas.
It also stars Annette Bening, Finn Little, Juan Pablo Raba, Jai Courtney, J.R. Villarreal, Marc Menchaca, and Natalie Alyn Lind.
This is not the first time that the Sheridan universe of shows has been hit with controversy as leading man Kevin Costner famously left the Yellowstone series in 2024.
In the show, Costner’s character Dutton was unexpectedly killed in a murder-for-hire plot during the premiere of Yellowstone’s season five part two.
He died in the first few minutes of the premiere, with the show wasting no time revealing he had taken his own life with a gunshot – after Costner acrimoniously exited the show over scheduling conflicts with his Western movie franchise Horizon.
In 2024, Paramount claimed Costner refused to shoot more episodes, instead promoting his film franchise, Horizon, while Costner asserted at the time Paramount sought contract amendments due to Sheridan’s delayed scriptwriting.
‘There was no script,’ Costner told Deadline. ‘And then things imploded. You’ve been reading one version [of the show’s drama] for a year and a half.’
Though he suggested he would be willing to walk away from the series, it remains unclear if he is actually trying to exit the show
He added: ‘I have taken a beating from those f***ing guys and I know a lot of times where it’s coming from. I just elected not to get into that. But if you know me well enough, I made Yellowstone the first priority, and to insinuate anything else would be wrong.’
Costner also defended Sheridan, claiming, ‘I did not initiate any of those things. They did. They were doing a tap dance and this poor guy was also having to write so much. And I don’t know why they didn’t stick up for me.
However, rumors claimed he only wanted to work for one week to film the rest of the episodes. Costner contends that Paramount deceived him.
‘I haven’t felt good about it the last year, what with the way they’ve talked about it,’ he told Deadline. ‘It wasn’t truthful.’
‘So now I’m talking a little bit about what the real truth of it was. I made a contract for seasons five, six and seven. In February, after a two- or three-month negotiation, they made another contract. They wanted to redo that one, and instead of seasons six and seven, it was 5A and 5B, and maybe we’ll do six. They weren’t able to make those.’
This is not the first time that the Sheridan universe of shows has been hit with controversy as leading man Kevin Costner famously left the Yellowstone series in 2024. Above, in 2018
Costner, 71, who played John Dutton (above) was killed off in a faked suicide during the show’s fifth season – amid rumors Sheridan, 56, had developed a ‘God complex’ and clashed with the Oscar winner over the direction of his character
He went on to say he was willing to film Horizon around the Yellowstone schedule but the timeline kept changing.
News first started to spread about Costner potentially leaving the show in 2023, amid rumors of a dispute between him and Sheridan.
Costner’s attorney, Marty Singer, denied rumors that Costner refused to film on the show for more than a week in season five, part two.
‘The idea that Kevin was only willing to work one week on the second half of season five of Yellowstone is an absolute lie,’ Singer said last summer.
‘It’s ridiculous – and anyone suggesting it shouldn’t be believed for one second,’ he added.
