Part of the fun of “Yellowstone” Season 5 was seeing Jamie (Wes Bentley), the adopted son of John Dutton (Kevin Costner) and mortal enemy of John’s biological daughter Beth (Kelly Reilly), become an even more oily and complicated man. Changed in form. Character. And all of his political maneuvering led to one of the best performances in series history, as he and Beth both characters let the venom fly.
In case you haven’t fully caught up, this season saw Jamie take on his role as Attorney General of Montana, working under John Dutton and alongside Beth. Of course he is constantly undermined and shunned by his family members, even as he falls under the spell of a powerful new operative looking to bring down the family.
TheWrap spoke to Bentley about what happened in the scene, what his relationship with “Yellowstone” creator Taylor Sheridan is like, and what he can tease about the back half of season 5 (debuting this summer on Paramount Network). Ready to).
You have been in the show since the beginning. Did you have any indication that this would happen?
No, I meant Taylor. I hear these things all the time, I’ve worked with people who believe this, but they say, “It will be this and that”. But everything Taylor said the show would — It’s going to go on for several seasons and it’s going to be the biggest thing I’ve ever done. And it’s about to be the biggest show on TV, and you’re like ok i could see its potential but lets see, And it’s all of this and much, much more. However, it has been a journey to see the growth and who watches the show and what they are about the show. It just proves Taylor can get away with polarizing stuff and lets you in Life all this.
How is your relationship with Taylor? And how has it changed over the years?
That’s great. It’s been great from the start. And talking about it from the first phone call with us until now, even what he told me then, which is a Greek tragedy in Big Sky country. Well, that’s how I describe Beth and Jamie, it’s a bold Greek drama relationship between the two of them that’s complicated, making it feel like what they bring comes from what they bring. But he and I are close. And I don’t ask him any questions because I get it in writing. I love exploring the writing, sometimes line by line, what’s coming out, how much depth they put into it, because they put so many things into it. And you just give time to find it. Every once in a while, we talk to catch the bus. But at the same time, if I have any questions, he’ll definitely answer and help guide me, which is a great thing.
What’s also funny about Jamie as a character is that he’s so different every season. How do you prepare for that as an actor and does Taylor give you any kind of heads-up?
Well no, but I find it in writing. He doesn’t… I shouldn’t say that… In conversation, I’ve heard that ideas come out of him. I’m not asking but he will say what is Jamie’s plan or what is his plan because we both agree, Jamie is a chess player who is thinking ahead all the time. He’s always had a plan until the beginning of this season, where he at first felt stumped because he didn’t know what Beth knew or didn’t know. Anyway, Taylor and I are really close when we need to be close and if she’s on set it doesn’t take long, we don’t need to say much to each other. This is a few words. But by delaying for so long, you go deeper. And I’m so grateful. All I wanted to do was play diverse characters. And I am playing multiple characters in one character. Every scene is a big moment for Jamie. Since Season 2, it’s just these big swings and things that he goes through and it’s been the biggest challenge of my career and also the biggest joy of my career to try to perfect his writing and what he’s given me. I have given it to bring it into life. Doing all this has been a challenge and a pleasure.
We got to talk about some of your big scenes in the finale. Can you talk about what happened in the big confrontation with Beth?
We have worked so long on its creation. When we met, we just clicked and he’s so sweet and the opposite of Beth. He doesn’t have that cold streak and so to work with him in that space, we worked together on how bad he could be to Jamie because that was important. She was working really hard, doing a great job and we were working together and it was really fun. We were finding that in what should have been an abomination between them, only brute force had to be used. We trust each other because we know each other, we like each other. I told him, “You can do it. Do it. Don’t worry about me. You know, if it’s okay, we’ll fix it, it’ll feel great. And it worked.”
She was wonderful in all the physical stuff, but also emotionally, being able to relate as well, asking me to go and saying horrible things and being horrible to her. That trust gets us there. And these final scenes are different for Jamie because he steps into a position of power in a moment for, who knows how long but, but he has a moment like, Oh, I’ve got power here. she doesn’t know that, I’ve made my move on impeachment. it is working, And you would think he’s changing his position on that. Even his stance on it at that moment. It was different for us that day as well, the things I was doing and the things she was doing to get into the scene. But we are now at a stage where we do not need to talk much. We know there is trust. We know we are going to deliver. If we don’t, we just say, “Let’s go, go leave it to me.” Cut loose on me, like, like a roadside scene. She went to a place I’ve never seen her go, which was terrifying and terrifying and so sad crushing and so wonderful. But it was because we could let each other out there and feel safe.
The other surprising part of that scene, which is implied, is Jamie telling her where the bodies are buried, which will put a strain on Beth and Rip’s relationship.
Yes, because earlier in the season she threatens that thing – she threatens to rip on Jamie and Jamie freaks out and begs her not to do it. And so we see the transition to the only two moments where he should have known what was happening with impeachment. He knows that the bottom three moves are his death. Now is it about her baby or the future of the ranch. And he has already resigned himself. There is some power in that. when you are like Ok, I’m done. I’m going to do the best I can to pursue my idea.
In your guess, how much of it is Jamie and how much of it is being handled by Dawn Olivieri’s character Sarah Atwood?
It’s this fascinating thing where it’s both. Jamie’s been used his whole life, he knows what it feels like to be used. This is different from Sarah’s arrival as he is attracted to her. And he is also realizing that this is the world he was made for. He is drawn in by her but is also realizing that he has something to offer her as well. This, I think, is more of a transaction than it may appear, as Jamie may be playing it smart and trying not to reveal too much of himself about what he’s up to. wants to And maybe that’s what we see at the end of the scene when he realizes that I have to kill Beth, that it was my plan if I needed to do that. i need help can you help me Who’s going to come out on top? It’s probably them. By accepting this, he is trying to get what he wants through them instead of both Dutts, but is also resigned to his fate. It’s an enigma, but she’s definitely focused on what she’s saying to push that power in the right direction.
What can you tease about the second half of the season?
I can’t tease anything because I don’t know anything yet but if I did I wouldn’t say because that’s part of the fun isn’t it? It’s frustrating but part of the fun.
“Yellowstone” returns to the Paramount Network this summer.
