Tragic Details About The Cast Of Yellowstone

The following references suicide and addiction.

When American drama "Yellowstone" arrived on the Paramount Network in June of 2018, it wasted no time in becoming a hit, and the momentum has only continued to build as the show goes on. As The Hollywood Reporter noted in 2018, Season 1 had, on average, 5 million viewers an episode; the only cable series that year that pulled in more viewers was "The Walking Dead." According to The Wrap, over 10 million people watched the Season 4 finale across platforms.

The secret sauce of the show starts with writer and show creator Taylor Sheridan, who is also an actor on the show. Still a cowboy at heart, having grown up on a ranch in Texas and now owns and operates two, Taylor combined two of his loves with the drama series: "cowboying" and writing. Then add in an iconic roster of talented actors — such as Kevin Costner, Cole Hauser, and Kelly Reilly — and put them in gorgeous, sweeping location shoots with a sprinkling of drama... er, more like a torrential downpour of drama. Now, that's a winning combination.

But the road to success is not often an easy one. And with such a large cast of mostly seasoned performers, chances are there's a whole lot of life experience wrapped inside each of these talented "Yellowstone" actors. Read on to learn the tragic details about the cast of "Yellowstone."

"Yellowstone" might be a tad different — okay, it's a far cry — from "Little House on the Prairie," but the two shows have a connection that goes beyond horses and grassy plains. Jennifer Landon, who plays the curious and at times off-putting Teeter, is the daughter of actor Michael Landon, who starred in the long-running Western series "Bonanza" as well as "Little House on the Prairie." He also created and starred in the popular show "Highway to Heaven," which Jennifer had a guest role on in 1989 when she was only five years old.

Sadly, a year later, Jennifer lost her father, who died at the age of 54 of pancreatic cancer. His diagnosis hit the family hard. As Jennifer said in People, "I was not ready. I wasn't ready to hear it at all, not at all." In 2019, the "Yellowstone" actor told Closer Weekly that although she was so young when he died, she has fond memories of her time with him. She said, "He was always so present as a father. He'd watch me jump around the pool for an hour straight." She went on to say that as busy as he was being an actor, he put his kids first. And she credits her famous father for inspiring her to take swings. "I always had this feeling that even if I was afraid of something that I would do it because I wanted my father's respect," she said.

Did you know that beneath the dark beard, cowboy hat, and gritty voice of Rip Wheeler on "Yellowstone" is natural redhead Cole Hauser? Before he became the right-hand man to John Dutton and official escort to "the train station," Hauser was best known for his roles in "Good Will Hunting" and "2 Fast 2 Furious," as well as his starring gig in the 2015 television series "Rogue." Things appeared to be going quite well for the actor, whose great-grandfather was film mogul Harry Warner, the original President of Warner Bros. studio.

As TMZ reported in April 2016, Hauser was arrested after failing a sobriety test. According to the outlet, he was pulled over after cops spotted his car swerving all over a major freeway. Three months later, TMZ reported the "Yellowstone" actor pleaded no contest to driving over the legal alcohol limit. Hauser's deal included around nine months of probation and a breathalyzer device installed in his car.

In "Yellowstone," Piper Perabo's character, Summer Higgins, is an environmental activist who protests industrialized farming, which happens to cause problems for Kevin Costner's John Dutton. Still, he takes a liking to Summer and ends up helping her when she's arrested. Fittingly, the actor herself is an activist. And although she might be just as likable, that has not always gotten her out of trouble the way it does for Summer.

Perabo has been arrested twice. The first one came in September of 2018 when she protested the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. In a piece for CNN, she shared she was concerned that he would overturn Roe vs Wade if he was sworn in, but just before she was set to speak against him, the cops nabbed her. The second infraction was in November of 2019 when Perabo, along with fellow actors Diane Lane and Jane Fonda, were in Washington D.C. protesting for politicians to address climate change.

Perobo told Taste of Country the part of Summer was actually written for her because of the issues she's had with the law. She shared about her meeting with show creator Taylor Sheridan and how she told him about her arrests. The actor said, "He was really interested in that, and we started talking about it, and he kind of wanted to know all the nuts and bolts and exactly how it works."

With his signature flowing mane and ever-present five o'clock shadow, Josh Holloway can play the villain and the hero. Most notably, Holloway starred as bad boy Sawyer in the hit series "Lost," however, his more recent character on "Yellowstone" doesn't have the redeeming qualities Sawyer ultimately displayed. But as many times as Holloway has held a prop gun and threatened someone on screen, nothing could prepare him for the tables being turned in real life.

In October of 2005, Josh Holloway and his wife, Yessica Kumala, were awakened in the middle of the night at their Hawaii Kai home by an armed robber. Holloway told ET (via People) that after he saw the gun, he was careful not to escalate the situation. "I just covered my wife and protected her, and that was it. And off he went," Holloway said. Understandably, the incident had lasting effects on the couple. In a follow-up interview with Playboy (via People), Holloway shared that he'd taken steps to prevent any future home invasions. He told the publication, "I took the FBI training course. I have home protection." Holloway also said the culprit had committed a string of robberies in the area and from the actor, he made off with cash, credit cards, and Holloway's Mercedes-Benz. The perpetrator, Ruben Royce, was ultimately arrested and sentenced to up to 30 years for committing a series of burglaries, according to Hawaii News Now.

John Dutton of "Yellowstone," played by Kevin Costner, would do just about anything to protect his ranch and his family. Costner himself is also a passionate man who fights for what he believes in. And he's done so in court, unfortunately more than once. Costner's first trip in front of the judge was in 2006 over a casino. As reported by Today, he sought to dissolve his partnership and become sole owner, but also ended up appealing over the value he was set to pay. Ultimately, the decision went in Costner's favor.

Then, in 2010, Costner talked to CNN about how he'd invested in technology that would help with oil spills in the ocean — something that Costner had been involved in since the early 1990s. However, later in that same year, The Hollywood Reporter reported actor Stephen Baldwin was suing Costner over the investment. Baldwin claimed he was aced out of the deal and kept from a meeting with BP Oil that resulted in BP purchasing the tech, with a price tag of approximately $52m. The case went to trial, and according to The Guardian, Baldwin's claims were rejected by the jury.

In more recent news, Costner sued former business partner, Jim Wilson, in early 2021. Per The Hollywood Reporter, Costner claims Wilson had no involvement since 2015 but was still reaping the financial benefits. There's been no indication whether the Academy Award winning actor won his suit, but based on his stats in the courtroom, you can probably guess the outcome.

Fans of the show "Yellowstone" definitely have their favorite characters, but one seems to be constantly up for debate. Played by Wes Bentley, Jamie Dutton, black sheep of the Dutton family, can't seem to catch a break, and his volatile life and personality leaves viewers heartbroken one minute, cringing another. And the actor himself is no stranger to the ups and downs of life, the lows plunging dangerously so at times due to a drug addiction. The actor, whose breakout role in "American Beauty" boosted his visibility to "rising star" level, told The Hollywood Reporter in 2013, "I put up such a wall that I didn't even go and meet with these great directors whom I respected and admired so much." He also shared he believes it caused his divorce from his first wife, Jennifer Quanz.

Bentley said to HuffPost in 2015, "Some people have one bottom, I had 10 or 12 bottoms: a friend who passed away; I had no money; I lost contact with my family." He also shared that the 2008 death of close friend Heath Ledger's hit him hard, too. "He was like a brother to me," he said. 

Now sober since 2009, Bentley's career has been going well and he and is happily remarried to Jacqui Swedberg, with whom he shares two children. In 2015, he told the New York Post that he hopes he can use his personal experiences with addiction to be a resource for others who struggle with the disease.

If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Known only as "Walker" on the "Yellowstone" ranch, musician and actor Ryan Bingham plays an ex-con turned ranch hand who is both disarming and kind of a rebel all at once. Like his character Walker, Bingham has the cowboy in him: As he told Texas Monthly, while growing up in West Texas, he got into rodeoing at an early age. 

In a 2022 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Bingham shared how for years, he balanced singing gigs at night with hard labor jobs during the day. That hard work sure paid off: In 2010, he, along with co-writer T Bone Burnett, received an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "The Weary Kind," which was featured on the soundtrack for the movie "The Crazy Heart," starring Jeff Bridges. The song also won a Golden Globe and a Grammy.

Bingham's music has been shaped by the hardships he has faced in his personal life. As the Los Angeles Times noted, Bingham's mother died from alcoholism, his father died of suicide, and his longtime marriage to Anna Axster ended in 2021. He told the outlet, "I've tried to make a conscious effort to write lighter songs. But when I'm having those hard times, it's almost like I can't keep it from coming out. I'll just pick up the guitar and it just pours out."

If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ at​ 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.

For more than four decades, prolific actor Will Patton has appeared in some of the biggest movies, such as "Armageddon," "Gone in 60 seconds," and "Remember the Titans," to name a few. He's also had several notable television spots, including recurring roles on "The Agency" and "Swamp Thing" before being cast as Jamie Dutton's biological father on "Yellowstone." To say Garrett Randle is bad news is an understatement, but the character has owned up to his mistakes. Will Patton is a far cry from the character he played on "Yellowstone" but has at least one big mistake on his public record: a DUI.

The actor, who's also narrated dozens of audio books, was pulled over by police in February of 2015 after his truck started to go into the wrong lane, according to the AP (via The Hollywood Reporter). When the officer asked Patton whether he had been drinking, he reportedly replied, "Not too much, a couple bottles ... er ... couple of glasses of wine."

According to the report, Patton failed a field sobriety test and his blood alcohol level was over the legal limit. After his arrest, the actor was released on a $997 personal recognizance bond, which means he didn't have to pay bail but stated that he would show up to court when necessary.

Josh Lucas played the younger version of Kevin Costner's John Dutton in "Yellowstone," but he's most remembered for his roles in movies like "A Beautiful Mind," "Sweet Home Alabama," "Lincoln Lawyer," and "Ford v. Ferrari." In terms of his personal life, he had a short marriage to writer Jessica Ciencin Henriquez, and the two share a son. Lucas told People in 2014, "We're basically now at a point where we're co-parenting in a way that's thoroughly and amazingly enjoyable," which seemed to indicate things were amicable. And, though their divorce was final, a source told People in 2015 that the couple moved back in together, apparently because of convenience with Henriquez starting grad school and Lucas having his own busy schedule. And the couple continued to be seen publicly together.

Despite appearances that things were headed in a positive direction, it got ugly in April of 2020 when Henriquez publicly accused Lucas of being unfaithful. The accusations came in the form of a series of since-deleted tweets as reported by People. In one tweet, Henriquez wrote, "But it takes a really sh** human to cheat on their partner (correction: now ex partner) in the middle of a pandemic." However, a source close to the actor reported they were not back together. Still, her words seem to indicate she believed they were reconciled when she declared that she and her son deserved better, adding, "Thank you for reminding me why I left you in the first place."

Neal McDonough, aka businessman Malcolm Beck, has been a staple of the small screen and the silver screen since the '90s. As Michael Rosenbaum said when the "Yellowstone" actor appeared on an episode of "Inside of You," "This guy's been in everything."

But in 2010, McDonough claimed he'd been blacklisted by Hollywood because of his faith. As Fox News reported, the "Band of Brothers" actor said that after he was fired from the 2010 TV show "Scoundrels" for refusing to shoot a sex scene, his career experienced a significant setback. As he told Closer Weekly, "After that, I couldn't get a job because everybody thought I was this religious zealot. ... It was hard for a few years."

In the aforementioned chat with Rosenbaum, McDonough got into how getting let go from "Scoundrels" impacted his life. "There was two years of me not getting a job and losing my big house in Hancock Park," he shared. However, the tide turned when he got the call for "Band of Brothers." As he said in Closer Weekly, "I knew that was my shot back at the title."

Danny Huston played land developer Dan Jenkins on "Yellowstone," a role that started him off as a Dutton foe but ended with his death after joining forces with the Dutton family. Huston comes from a family of Hollywood big-hitters, including his actor mother, director father, and half-sister actor Anjelica Huston.

In 2002, Huston, also known for his film work in movies like "The Aviator," "Robin Hood," and 2017's "Wonder Woman," would enter his second marriage, to English model Katie Jane Evans. In 2007, Evans filed for divorce, and things got messy as they fought over their young daughter. Per court papers obtained by the New York Daily News, Huston stated Evans, who reportedly struggled with addiction, was unable to look after their child because she was in a rehab facility, while Evans alleged Huston was not mindful of where he stored his pills. A producer who testified on Evans' behalf said, "This dish [of pills] was sitting on the edge of the desk, easily within reach of a child."

Tragically, Katie Jane Evans died by suicide in October of 2008. As reported by Daily Mail, a friend of Danny Huston's said the actor was stunned. "This is a tragedy for everyone," the source shared.

If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ at​ 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.