Kevin Costner says he was ‘disappointed’ after Yellowstone higher-ups did not publicly have his back amid his exit from the Western series.
The Oscar-winning actor, 69, who is on the promotional trail for his new motion picture Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1, chat with People Wednesday about his feelings on the touchy TV topic.
‘I read all the stories,’ Costner said. ‘I was disappointed that nobody on their side … ever stepped up to defend what it was I actually did for them.
‘There came a moment where I thought, ‘”Wow, when is somebody going to say something about what I have done versus what I haven’t done?”‘
The A-lister said he enjoyed playing the role of John Dutton III during his five-season stint on the series between 2018 to 2022, for creators Taylor Sheridan and John Linson.
Kevin Costner, 69, says he was ‘disappointed’ after Yellowstone higher-ups did not publicly have his back amid his exit from the Western series. Pictured Tuesday in NYC
The A-lister played the role of John Dutton III during his five-season stint on the series between 2018 to 2022
‘I loved the show,’ Costner said. ‘I liked the people on the show. I liked what it was about. I love that world.’
Costner said he said that he had been patient for more than a year’s time anticipating the show’s storyline and shooting schedule, but ‘the scripts weren’t there’ ultimately.
‘There was a moment where that show for me stopped for 14 months,’ Costner said. ‘That’s the fact. I could have done a lot of things in that time, but I wasn’t aware that that [hold-up] was going to happen.’
Costner was irked by reports he departed the series to work on his film series, or made himself available for filming for only one week, the publication reported.
‘In the very end, I couldn’t do any more for it than I had already done,’ Costner said of the show.
Costner said that he initially only agreed to be on a single season of the series in the first place.
‘When it was first pitched to me by Taylor it was one season and [like] a long movie, which [is] speaking my language … but ultimately, I think what happened was the studio didn’t want that,’ Costner told the outlet. ‘And because he’s such a prolific writer, he said, “I can do that. I can make a series that goes on.”‘
Costner said he ‘stepped up’ and committed to work on the series for three seasons, and ‘ended up doing it for five.’
Costner said that he was impressed by the writing of Yellowstone and Sheridan’s outline for the series storyline.
The A-list actor said, ‘I read all the stories. I was disappointed that nobody on their side … ever stepped up to defend what it was I actually did for them’
Costner was pictured on the series opposite late actor Dabney Coleman
‘I liked the writing and really, really liked what Taylor was doing,’ Costner said. ‘He understood the world of modern-day ranching and was able to create all this other type of drama inside it, but in an effective way.’
Despite the hard feelings over his exit, Costner said he would consider appearing on Yellowstone again if the creative aspects aligned to his liking.
‘I’ve always felt that … it might be an interesting moment to come back and finish the mythology of this modern-day family,’ Costner said. ‘And if that happens, I would step into it if I agreed with how it was being done.’
