One of the big reveals that “Yellowstone” went toward the end of the first half of Season 5 was the origin of the Yellowstone brand — the big, gnarly trail that the most devoted cowboys, faithful ranchers, and for John Dutton himself, put on his chest. Wear on To do this, the show traveled to the past—not as far back as in any of its spinoffs (“1883” or “1923”), but to a time when Rip (now played by Cole Hauser) was a young man and John Dutton (played by Kevin Costner in the main series) was a young man with a moustache. This meant the return of Josh Lucas, who has been a part of the show since its inception.
And before we get any further into the conversation, TheWrap asked Lucas about his mustache — was it the real deal or some makeup magic?
“Well, it comes and goes. I hope you don’t know that it comes and goes, but it depends on whether I’m shooting something else,” Lucas said. “I really love wearing it. If I come back in the second half of season 2, which frankly, I don’t know, nobody knows, only Taylor knows what’s going to happen in the second half of season 5.” I’ve decided that I want, if I go back, focus on that and we have my real mustache because it’s too good to be real.
TheWrap also talked to Lucas about returning to the show, the pressure of being a part of the most popular show on television, and why we haven’t gotten a Josh Lucas-led spinoff yet.
When you signed on to do this five years ago, did you ever imagine that this would still be happening?
The fact that he told me when I signed. I wanted to be one of Kevin’s kids, and he said to me, “Look, I have a different idea for you” and brought me on to play Kevin, 20 years younger. But what he said is, “We don’t have much to do for you in the first few years, in fact, you’re not going to come back until the fifth season.” And I really thought so, this guy is crazy, And you know, “Yellowstone” didn’t exist at that time at all. And even if it started to exist for that first year, for all you know, it wasn’t some big crazy hit show.
The idea that he’s had seven whole years in his mind, but I can tell you, as you mentioned, “1923” and “1883” and the various iterations of the show to come, they’re all on Taylor’s mind. And they have been for years. It is not something that he is bringing because of the success of the show. It’s like unleashing his creative juices, I think he’s considering it. He had seven generations of “Yellowstone” storytelling in mind. And he gets to do something that I think is unprecedented in the history of television, which is telling this multi-generational story. And all the stories I understand are also, obviously, really based on true stories that Taylor knows either from his family, from his past, from other cowboys. Taylor never talks to other screenwriters about the “Yellowstone” universe, he talks to cowboys, he talks to Native American storytellers, he talks to his friends who are a far cry from Hollywood. In different worlds, that’s for sure.
It’s about time we got a Josh Lucas spinoff!
I mean, look, I’ll obviously do it in a second. And part of it is that it’s not just because I would do it for myself. It’s partly because I’ll be watching that show, and not just because of me by any means, because I’m as thrilled as I think a lot of people who love the “Yellowstone” universe are, by These are characters as they develop, as you watch them change.
And as you see their evolution in seven generations. Look, I don’t know what’s going to happen to “Yellowstone,” which means I don’t know what’s going to happen to John Dutton, and only Kevin knows. But there’s a clue in “1883” if you go back and see where one of the Indians says to Tim McGraw’s character, “We’ll come back in seven generations and take this from you.” I wonder where he’s going. I don’t know I’m just as thrilled with it as you are. I’d love to see, you know, “1993.” I would love to see “1972”. I will say that, as a fan of the show, as much as someone who is deeply, deeply grateful to be a part of it, and frankly, feel a very intense responsibility to portray the characters of Kevin and Taylor. Yes, who is this character.
Do you feel pressured to be a part of one of the most watched shows on television?
I don’t think you can deny when something has such a level of attention that it makes it so heavy on you. And I would say heaviness can actually be beneficial because it makes, you know, look, if you’re a championship, I hate to bring it back to the sports analogy. But if you’re a championship team, you want to remain a championship team. And if you’re a guest on a championship team, you think you’d better play at the level everyone else is playing.
And I feel really strongly that what Kevin and Taylor have built with John Dutton, and the audience has such a relationship with them and the family and the dynamic, that if I wasn’t doing it right, I might be tempted to say It would be remiss that I did not feel the tremendous responsibility. And to be honest, I started obsessing over the show when [Taylor] Told me he was bringing me back for season five. And I fell in love with it and I love it as a fan. But then it inspired me to become more diligent. I think that the things that I saw, that Kevin made, and also that world, I think that there is as much Kevin in John Dalton as there is in Taylor Sheridan. And when you work with Taylor and you spend time with her, I sense some strong linear character elements to Taylor Sheridan, and I think Kevin is probably playing with those things as well.
‘Yellowstone’ returns this summer for the second half of Season 5.
