‘Yellowstone’ Cast And Characters: Who Plays Who?
Yellowstone returns for the second half of its fifth, and possibly final, season on the Paramount Network in November.
It’s been a while since the first half of the latest installment arrived, so character names may be fuzzy, and the expansion of the show’s world through prequel series like 1883and 1923 might confuse viewers as to which Dutton is which. Kevin Costner won’t be returning as John Dutton III in these latest episodes of the series.
Find the Yellowstone cast members below, their characters and where you may have seen them before:
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John Dutton III (Kevin Costner)
Image Credit: Paramount/CBS/Everett Kevin Costner’s John Dutton III was the patriarch who anchored the show through four and a half seasons. He sadly won’t appear in the second half of Season 5. He started out as a Montana rancher in charge of one of the largest cattle ranches in the United States, and he eventually became Governor of Montana. He ran the ranch with late wife Evelyn Dutton, who died in 1997. His father John Dutton II urged him to never give up the Yellowstone Dutton ranch, so he held onto the property tightly, even beating his foster son Jamie out for governor with the intention of saving the property.
Kevin Costner won two Oscars for Dances With Wolves (1990), and he won an Emmy for Lead Actor in Hatfields & McCoys. He is also known for playing Ray Kinsella in Field of Dreams (1989), Wyatt Earp in Wyatt Earp (1994), Billy Chapel in For Love of the Game (1999), Jonathan Kent in Man of Steel (2013), Jim White in McFarland, USA(2014) and, most recently, in his self-directed movie Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 which is the first of four parts.
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Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley)
Image Credit: Roger Snider / ©Paramount Network / Courtesy Everett Collection James Michael Dutton, aka Jamie, is the adopted son of John and Evelyn. Before his adoption, he was Michael Randall, and his father Garrett Randall killed his mother. Jamie eventually went to law school, but before that, he took his teen sister Beth to a Native American reservation abortion clinic that gave women hysterectomies without their consent because she got pregnant. He ran for State Attorney General and governor of Monday (losing that race to his dad), and got some blood on his hands both literally and physically along the way.
Wes Bentley is known for playing Seneca Crane, head game-maker, in the first Hunger Games (2012). He also appeared in American Beauty (1999), which won the Academy Award for best Picture in 2000. He played Doyle in Interstellar (2014), Thomas in P2 (2007) and Thomas in Lovelace (2013).
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Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly)
Image Credit: Paramount Network / Courtesy Everett Collection Beth Dutton is the one Dutton daughter of the four children. At the start of the show, she was head of acquisitions at the leading financial firm in the United States, Schwartz & Meyer. She was working in Salt Lake City, Utah as well as Bozeman, Montana, but eventually became devoted to helping John Dutton keep hold of the ranch by any means necessary. As a teen, Beth became pregnant and underwent a hysterectomy without her consent when her adopted brother Jamie took her to an abortion clinic on a Native American reservation, and she has never forgiven him for taking away her ability to bear children.
Kelly Reilly played Caroline Bingley in Pride & Prejudice (2005), Jenny in Eden Lake(2008), Mary Morstan in Sherlock Holmes (2009) and Nicole in Flight (2012). She appears in Here (2024) and as Rowena Drake in A Haunting in Venice (2023).
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Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes)
Image Credit: Cam McLeod / ©Paramount+ / Courtesy Everett Collection Kayce Dutton is another son of John and Evelyn, only he is more of a rancher than Jamie. Kayce is married to Monica Long, and they share a son, Tate Dutton. Estranged from his father at the start of the show, Kayce was formerly a Navy SEAL who lived on the Broken Rock reservation with his wife. Later, John Dutton gave Kayce the ranch when he became governor of Montana.
Luke Grimes played Jake in All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006), Teddy Q in The Magnificent Seven (2016), Marc Lee in American Sniper (2014) and Elliot Grey in Fifty Shades of Grey (2015).
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Monica Dutton (Kelsey Asbille)
Image Credit: Cam McLeod / ©Paramount Network / Courtesy Everett Collection Monica Dutton, wife of Kayce Dutton, is a Native American who grew up on the Broken Rock Indian Reservation, which complicates her relationship with Kayce because of the conflict between the Yellowstone Ranch and the Native Americans for land. She suffered a traumatic brain injury, and, in Season 2, decided to resume using her maiden name, Long, shortened from Longspear.
Kelsey Asbille is known for playing Swanee Capps in Fargo, Natalie in Wind River(2017) and Tracey Stewart in Teen Wolf.
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Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser)
Image Credit: Paramount Network / Courtesy Everett Collection Rip Wheeler is an employee at the Yellowstone Ranch and the righth-and man of John Dutton. He became John Dutton’s son in law when he married Beth.
Cole Hauser appeared in Dazed and Confused (1993) as Benny O’Donnell, Good Will Hunting as Billy (1997), 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) as Carter Verone and Rogue as Ethan Kelly.
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Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham)
Image Credit: Cam McLeod / ©Paramount Network / Courtesy Everett Collection Thomas Rainwater is chief of the Broken Rock Native American Reservation as well as a wealthy casino mogul. He runs the Grey Wolf Peak Casino, and he also competes for land around the Yellowstone Ranch.
Gil Birmingham appeared as Billy Black, head of the Native Americans who were really werewolves, and father of Taylor Lautner’s Jacob Black, in the Twilight films. He has more recently appeared as Detective Pearce in Animal Kingdom, Sheriff Dale Bishop in Siren, Charlie Bass in Pieces of Her, Detective Bill Taba in Under the Banner of Heavenand Clark Bekkum in The Marsh King’s Daughter (2023).
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Mo (Mo Brings Plenty)
Image Credit: Cam McLeod / ©Paramount+ / Courtesy Everett Collection Mo is the driver and right-hand man of Thomas Rainwater. He is also a member of the Tribal Police.
Mo Brings Plenty is a real-life Native American rancher. He is Lakota and hails from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. His traditional name is Ta Sunke Wospapi (“Catches His Horse”). He appeared in another show of Taylor Sheridan’s Lawmen: Bass Reeves, Dead Man’s Hand (2023), Jurassic World Dominion (2022) as Shep Wauneka.
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Jimmy Jurdstrom (Jefferson White)
Image Credit: Paramount+ / Courtesy Everett Collection Jimmy Jurdstrom has come a long way since Season 1, when his grandfather, Dirk Hurdstrom, approached John Dutton asking him to take on Jimmy as an employee as a favor. Before that, Jimmy was a drug cook and professional thief, but he became a ranch hand and worked with Rip.
Hurdstrom appeared as Samuel in God’s Country (2022), Buck Warren in Eileen (2023) and Dave in Civil War (2024).
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Sen. Lynelle Perry (Wendy Moniz)
Image Credit: Cam McLeod / ©Paramount Network / courtesy Everett Collection Senator Lynelle Perry was formerly a congresswoman and Montana governor. She was an ally and love interest to John Dutton in the beginning of the show, and she became Montana’s U.S. Senator in Season 5.
Wendy Moniz appeared as Louisa ‘Lulu’ Archer in The Guardian, Dinah Marler in Guiding Light, Insp. Rachel McCabe in Nash Bridges and Jill Burnham in Damages.
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Lloyd Pierce (Forrie J. Smith)
Image Credit: Cam McLeod / ©Paramount Network / Courtesy Everett Collection Lloyd Pierce is the oldest ranch hand on Yellowstone Dutton Ranch, and he is branded.
Forrie J. Smith is known for doing stunts on Rambo III (1988), 2 Guns (2013), Hell or High Water (2016) and more.
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Colby Mayfield (Denim Richards)
Image Credit: Paramount Network / Courtesy Everett Collection Colby Mayfield is a ranch hand who was branded with the mark of the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch in Season 3.
Denim Richards played Elijah Adrieux in Good Trouble and Dante Hill in County Line: All In (2022) and County Line: No Fear (2022).
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Ryan (Ian Bohen)
Image Credit: Cam McLeod / ©Paramount Network / Courtesy Everett Collection Ryan is an employee of Yellowstone Dutton Ranch and a Livestock Agent for Montana. He received the brand in Season 3.
Ian Bohen is known for playing Young Wyatt in Wyatt Earp (1994), Radar Operator #2 in Pearl Harbor (2001), Cop with Gordon in The Dark Knight Rises (2012) and Wind River (2017). He also appeared in Little Women (2018) as Freddy and in Teen Wolf: The Movie (2023) as Peter Hale.
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Walker (Ryan Bingham)
Image Credit: Paramount+ / Courtesy Everett Collection Walker is a cowboy and aspiriring country singer, but he is also a convicted felon. Rip recruits him as a ranch hand, and he accepts the Yellowstone Dutton brand at the end of Season 1.
Ryan Birmingham appeared as Tony in Crazy Heart (2009) and won the Oscar for co-writing with T. Bone Burnett the movie’s song “The Weary Kind,” one of two songs he sang on the soundtrack. He also played Sgt. Paul Malloy in Hostiles (2017). His other soundtrack credits include for Joe (2013) and the score of A Country Called Home(2015).
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Tate Dutton (Brecken Merrill) [Right]
Image Credit: Roger Snider / ©Paramount Network / Courtesy Everett Collection Tate Dutton is the son of Kayce and Monica Dutton.
Brecken Merril previously appeared in This Is Us as Teen Nicky Jr. as well as Lifelineand We All Got Up to Dance.