All 8 Yellowstone Actors Who Appear in Taylor Sheridan Movies
Taylor Sheridan’s Expanding Frontier
Few modern storytellers have built a world as immersive as Taylor Sheridan’s. From Yellowstone and its prequels (1883 and 1923) to Mayor of Kingstown and Landman, Sheridan has crafted a connected “American West” universe filled with grit, loyalty, and tragedy.
But before he became a television powerhouse, Sheridan was a screenwriter and director whose films — Sicario, Hell or High Water, and Wind River — laid the foundation for everything to come. Many Yellowstone stars appeared in those films long before (and after) joining the Dutton ranch, making Sheridan’s storytelling world feel even more cohesive.
Here’s a roundup of all eight Yellowstone actors who have appeared in Taylor Sheridan’s movies — and how each role helped shape his growing legacy.
1. Taylor Sheridan — Hell or High Water, 1883, Lioness
Before he was the creative mind behind Yellowstone, Sheridan was an actor himself. After a recurring role on Sons of Anarchy, he made a cameo in his own 2016 masterpiece Hell or High Water as a cowboy.
On Yellowstone, he became instantly recognizable as Travis Wheatley, a Texas horse trader who mentors Jimmy Hurdstrom. He reprised the role across multiple seasons, often serving as Sheridan’s real-world showcase for his Bosque Ranch horses.
Sheridan also appeared in 1883 as Charles Goodnight and in Special Ops: Lioness as Cody Spears, continuing his occasional habit of stepping into his own stories.
2. Buck Taylor — Hell or High Water
A legend of Western television thanks to Gunsmoke, Buck Taylor brought old-school authenticity to Sheridan’s cinematic universe. In Hell or High Water, he played “Old Man,” a brief but memorable part that honored the spirit of the classic cowboy.
That role led to his casting in Yellowstone as Emmett Walsh, the wise Stock Growers Association chairman and longtime friend of John Dutton. His peaceful death on horseback in Season 5 became one of the show’s most poignant moments — a cowboy’s dream ending, as Dutton himself said.
3. Martin Sensmeier — Wind River
One of Sheridan’s most powerful films, Wind River (2017) brought attention to the real-world epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women. Martin Sensmeier played Chip Hanson, the brother of the victim at the story’s center.
Impressed by his performance, Sheridan brought Sensmeier into Yellowstone as Martin, a physical therapist who briefly romances Monica Dutton. Later, he was cast in 1883 as Sam, a proud Comanche warrior and love interest to Elsa Dutton. Sensmeier’s recurring presence across Sheridan’s works cements him as a key figure in the Yellowstone mythology.
4. Ian Bohen — Wind River and Sicario: Day of the Soldado
Before he became Ryan, one of the loyal ranch hands on Yellowstone, Ian Bohen appeared in not one but two Taylor Sheridan films.
In Wind River, he played Evan, a deputy involved in the film’s tense standoff. A year later, he joined the cast of Sicario: Day of the Soldado (written by Sheridan), portraying Carson Willis, a Marine sniper. His recurring presence in Sheridan’s world made him an obvious choice for Yellowstone, where his grounded, authentic performance stands out among the Dutton chaos.
5. Gil Birmingham — Hell or High Water and Wind River
Perhaps Sheridan’s most frequent collaborator, Gil Birmingham has appeared in nearly all of the filmmaker’s major projects.
He first starred alongside Jeff Bridges in Hell or High Water as Texas Ranger Alberto Parker, the calm and wise partner to Bridges’ grizzled lawman. One year later, he delivered a heartbreaking performance as Martin Hanson in Wind River, the grieving father at the film’s core.
On Yellowstone, Birmingham plays Chief Thomas Rainwater, the Broken Rock Reservation leader whose uneasy alliance with John Dutton drives much of the series’ moral complexity. Across each role, Birmingham embodies dignity, pain, and purpose — qualities that define Sheridan’s storytelling.
6. Kelsey Asbille — Wind River
Before she became Monica Dutton, Kelsey Asbille starred in Wind River as Natalie Hanson, the young Native woman whose tragic death sets the story in motion. Her sensitive and haunting portrayal earned Sheridan’s respect — and likely paved her way to Yellowstone, where she took on one of the show’s most emotionally layered roles.
As Monica, Asbille’s strength, grief, and resilience echo her earlier performance, bridging Sheridan’s film and TV worlds through shared themes of loss and survival.
7. James Jordan — Wind River
A true Sheridan regular, James Jordan might be the most versatile performer in the Yellowstone universe. In Wind River, he played Pete Mickens, the film’s main villain, whose crimes against Natalie Hanson set off the story’s tragic chain of events.
He later appeared in Yellowstone as Steve Hendon, a Livestock Agent who often assists Kayce Dutton. Jordan has since appeared in multiple Sheridan shows, including 1883 (as Cookie, the wagon train cook), Mayor of Kingstown, Landman, and Lioness.
In short, if Sheridan’s directing, Jordan’s probably on set.
8. Hugh Dillon — Wind River
Rounding out the list is Hugh Dillon, who co-created Mayor of Kingstown with Sheridan. Before their partnership, Dillon appeared in Wind River as Curtis, a security supervisor implicated in the film’s central crime.
He later portrayed Sheriff Donnie Haskell in Yellowstone, a crooked lawman whose uneasy alliance with the Duttons often crossed legal lines. Dillon’s gritty realism and gravelly intensity make him a natural fit for Sheridan’s hard-edged universe.
Sheridan’s Trusted Stable of Actors
What makes Taylor Sheridan’s projects so cohesive isn’t just his writing — it’s his loyalty to actors who embody the world he builds. By blending faces from his films into his TV empire, Sheridan has created a Western tapestry where every role feels connected, every character familiar.
From Wind River’s icy wilderness to the sun-bleached fields of Yellowstone, these actors remind us that in Sheridan’s universe, the frontier never ends — it just takes new forms.