Taylor Sheridan Shares Funny Story About Originally Casting Robert Redford in YELLOWSTONE For HBO

Yellowstone co-creator Taylor Sheridan recently shared that before Keven Costner was cast in the role of John Dutton while the project was set up at HBO, he actually went out and cast Robert Redford at their request. Then things took a funny and unexpected turn for Sheridan.

While talking to THR, Sheridan recounted his experience of trying to get Yellowstone greenlit at HBO before Paramount picked it up. HBO told him that if he got Robert Redford they would greenlight the project, so he went out and got him only to find there was some misunderstanding. He said:

“They said, ‘We want Robert Redford’. They said, ‘If you can get us Robert Redford, we’ll greenlight the pilot’ … I drive to Sundance and spend the day with him and he agrees to play John Dutton. I call the senior vice president in charge of production and say, ‘I got him!’ ‘You got who?’ ‘Robert Redford.’ ‘What?!‘ ‘You said if I got Robert Redford, you’d greenlight the show.’ And he says — and you can’t make this shit up — ‘We meant a Robert Redford type.’”

That would be so frustrating! Obviously, these studio executives need to be a bit more clear about what they want. However, it’s still impressive that Sheridan managed to get Redford to agree to be in the show! So why didn’t the project move forward at HBO? Well, after a crisis meeting that featured some concerns about the series’ “Middle America” feel and the character of Beth, Sheridan decided HBO was not the right place for the show. He explained:

“We go to lunch in some snazzy place in West L.A., and [Yellowstone co-creator] John Linson finally asks: ‘Why don’t you want to make it?’ And the vp goes: ‘Look, it just feels so Middle America. We’re HBO, we’re avant-garde, we’re trendsetters. This feels like a step backward. And frankly, I’ve got to be honest, I don’t think anyone should be living out there [in rural Montana]. It should be a park or something.’“

This just goes to show that even HBO can make stupid brain fart mistakes. Luckily Sheridan found a home for Yellowstone at Paramount and the show ended up being great! Sure, things with Costner kind of fell apart in the end and he’s not going to be a part of the series after Season 5, but the story will continue in a sequel series with Matthew McConaughey.

Yellowstone “chronicles the Dutton family, led by John Dutton, who controls the largest contiguous cattle ranch in the United States. Amid shifting alliances, unsolved murders, open wounds, and hard-earned respect — the ranch is in constant conflict with those it borders – an expanding town, an Indian reservation, and America’s first national park.”

Do you think Robert Redford would have worked in the role of John Dutton?