Ed Harris blasts Taylor Sheridan over his role in Dutton Ranch

Ed Harris has blasted Taylor Sheridan, claiming he was misled about the significance of his role in the Yellowstone spinoff Dutton Ranch.

The 75-year-old actor revealed that in an initial briefing about the part, he was made to believe he was a main character.

But after he began filming season one, Harris recalled telling his handlers to ‘get me the f*** out of here.’ 

‘Prior to signing on for it, I was talked to quite a bit about what the season was, and what my character was going to do – and that I was one of the four main characters. And that wasn’t really the case,’ he told Variety on Monday at the premiere of Apple TV’s The Dink.

The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for Harris, Sheridan and Paramount and has yet to hear back.

On the series, Harris plays Everett McKinney, a good-humored veterinarian. Dutton Ranch aired its season one finale earlier this month, and Harris is slated to return for season two.

Ed Harris, speaking at the LA premiere of Apple TV film The Dink on Monday, claimed he was misled about the significance of his role in the Yellowstone spinoff Dutton Ranch

The 75-year-old revealed that in an initial briefing about the part, he was made to believe he was a main character. He starred with Annette Bening in the Paramount+ show

The star recounted about filming season one, ‘I said, “I’m feeling underused and inconsequential,” and they kind of went, “Oh.”‘

And he candidly noted, ‘I’m being told my character will have a little bit more to do [in season 2]. I was just a little frustrated, to tell you the truth.’

Harris then went on to recall filming a scene in a bar only for it to ultimately be cut from the show, which ‘pissed him off.’

He said: ‘So there’s this scene in there… I’m talking to [Beth Dutton] at the bar, and [Rip Wheeler] comes in and says, “OK, Everett, come on, it’s your turn.”

‘I walk up to the mic, and they cut it. They cut the song out. I’m going, “F*** you, people.”‘

Harris said production told him the bit was cut because it was ‘too “up” for the dark ending of that episode.’

At the time, the longtime actor said he felt the incident was ‘enough reason to say I am voiding my contract.’

It’s unclear if the star intends to exit the show. 

Harris then recalled filming a scene in a bar, only for it to ultimately be cut from the show, which ‘really pissed him off.’ Above, with Kelly Reilly

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Dutton Ranch premiered on streaming service Paramount+ on May 15.

It centers on Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) and Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser), who leave Montana in pursuit of building their own ranch in South Texas.

Annette Bening, Finn Little, Juan Pablo Raba, Jai Courtney, JR Villarreal, Marc Menchaca and Natalie Alyn Lind also star.

Sheridan is arguably the biggest name in television right now as he co-created Yellowstone and several spin-off and prequel series including the aforementioned Dutton Ranch, 1883, 1923, and Landman.

This is not the first time that the Sheridan universe of shows has been hit with controversy – leading man Kevin Costner famously left the Yellowstone series in 2024 amid feud rumors. 

As a result, Costner’s character Dutton was unexpectedly killed in a murder-for-hire plot in the premiere of Yellowstone’s season five, part two episode.

He died within the first few minutes of the show, after Costner acrimoniously left the series over scheduling conflicts with his Western movie franchise Horizon. 

In 2024, Paramount claimed Costner refused to shoot more episodes, instead promoting Horizon. However, the actor said the streaming service sought contract amendments due to Sheridan’s delayed scriptwriting.

Though he suggested he would be willing to walk away from the series, it remains unclear if he is actually trying to exit the show

‘There was no script,’ Costner told ᴅᴇᴀᴅline. ‘And then things imploded. You’ve been reading one version [of the show’s drama] for a year and a half.’ 

He added: ‘I have taken a beating from those f***ing guys and I know a lot of times where it’s coming from. I just elected not to get into that. But if you know me well enough, I made Yellowstone the first priority, and to insinuate anything else would be wrong.’

Costner also defended Sheridan, claiming, ‘I did not initiate any of those things; they did. They were doing a tap dance and this poor guy was also having to write so much. And I don’t know why they didn’t stick up for me.’

However, rumors spread he only wanted to spend one week filming the rest of the episodes. Costner contends that Paramount deceived him.

‘I haven’t felt good about it the last year, what with the way they’ve talked about it,’ he told ᴅᴇᴀᴅline.

‘It wasn’t truthful. So now I’m talking a little bit about what the real truth of it was. I made a contract for seasons five, six and seven. In February, after a two- or three-month negotiation, they made another contract. They wanted to redo that one, and instead of seasons six and seven, it was 5A and 5B, and maybe we’ll do six. They weren’t able to make those.’

This is not the first time that the Sheridan universe of shows has been hit with controversy, as leading man Kevin Costner famously left the Yellowstone series in 2024

Costner, 71, who played John Dutton (above) was killed off in the show’s fifth season. It came amid rumors Sheridan, 56, had developed a ‘God complex’ and clashed with the Oscar winner over the direction of his character 

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Costner went on to say he was willing to film Horizon around the Yellowstone schedule but the timeline kept changing. 

News first began to spread about him potentially leaving the show in 2023, amid rumors of a dispute between him and Sheridan.

Costner’s attorney, Marty Singer, denied rumors that his client refused to film on the show for more than one week in season five, part two.

‘The idea that Kevin was only willing to work one week on the second half of season five of Yellowstone is an absolute lie,’ Singer said last summer.

‘It’s ridiculous – and anyone suggesting it shouldn’t be believed for one second,’ he emphasized.