← The Official Yellowstone Podcast
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- [00:11]
Jefferson White
Hello, Yellowstone fans, it's Jefferson White with you again. Jimmy Hurst from on the show. And can I just say that it is. It's good to be back. And I'm not just talking about the podcast. I think that we're all kind of reeling from this mid season finale. I cannot wait to dive into it and unpack it with the one and only Jen Landon, AKA Teeter.
- [00:32]
Jen Landon
Hey, Jeff. And speaking for the entire Yellowstone community, because I can. I just gotta say it's really good to have you home. Even if that home is at the 6666. It's. It was so heartwarming to see you.
- [00:44]
Jefferson White
And we might be seeing each other soon because it looks like Teeter's going to Texas. So I'm gonna keep my eye out for you.
- [00:49]
Jen Landon
How crazy was this episode?
- [00:53]
Jefferson White
Really wild. An episode with these amazing contrasts. Right. So there's total loyalty being demonstrated and also just devastating betrayal.
- [01:05]
Jen Landon
Yeah. Like from young Rip's branding and the commitment of that to the ranch, to Jamie's knife in the back. I mean, it was just crazy.
- [01:18]
Jefferson White
Unbelievable. So we're going to cover all that, plus we are very, very lucky. We're going to talk to the man of the hour, Wes Bentley, Jamie Dutton, and maybe get a glimpse into what's next for Jamie.
- [01:30]
Wes Bentley
I'm flipping through his pages like, wow, that's going to be a beautiful scene. And then I turn it and all I see is someone's dragging me down the hallway, kicking me in the face, and I'm crying.
- [01:39]
Jefferson White
We're going to hear more from Wes in a little bit, but first we're going to take a very quick break.
- [01:59]
Jen Landon
Jeff, do your parents ever call you after an episode to talk to you about what they didn't like that you did, or just to tell you maybe that they would have preferred that you do it slightly differently?
- [02:12]
Jefferson White
That's devastating to hear. Luckily, no, they don't because I haven't been in any of the episodes.
- [02:18]
Jen Landon
Jeff, I think today's episode is really gonna be about you. I have half a mind to interview you as the guest because Jimmy does come back with a bang. I loved all of those scenes between you and Emily.
- [02:33]
Jefferson White
Oh, thank you. That was a real. It was an incredible treat to get to do that stuff with Kat Kelly. And I'm also just excited for what the future holds. Uh, I'm incredibly excited to get to work with my friends again because let me tell you, it was a long, long half season being banished. Banished from the ranch. Speaking of banishment, you know, this is also A huge Jamie episode. And Jamie seems to have perhaps been pushed so close to the edge that he's maybe finally snapped. And luckily, we're going to hear it from the horse's mouth, as it were. We've got Wes Bentley as a guest today. I am so, so excited to dig into this stuff with Wes.
- [03:12]
Jen Landon
Yeah, I actually. This was my favorite season for the Jamie character and Wes the actor. This might. The last two episodes might have been my favorite two episodes. And this. The scene. The scene with Beth in this episode was probably my favorite scene of all time for him.
- [03:30]
Jefferson White
I can't help but be reminded of the fight between Jamie and Beth in season one. There's this, like, blowout fight they have in the barn that I think comes to blows. And this scene really bookended that. But both of these characters have changed so much. You know, the events. The events of the last five seasons have changed them so much, such that this is a much deeper, richer, sort of nastier conflict that's digging up years and years of resentment and anger and trauma that these characters have shared or failed to share. So it's really, really rich, exciting stuff. I can't wait to talk to Wes about it.
- [04:11]
Jen Landon
Yeah. So before we do that, should we just jump to the top and take everyone through this episode? Let's do it.
- [04:20]
Jefferson White
Sounds great. Why not start at the beginning?
- [04:22]
Jen Landon
It's a very good place to start. So, you know, we start in a cheery scene, a body being dumped at the train station. You know, a real, real cheerful moment. I thought it was so interesting, the dynamic that's being established there in terms of the relationship at the train station. The way that Josh Lucas sort of was. Whatever he was going through in that truck, as young Rip and young Lloyd were dumping that body, was particularly interesting to me. I wondered if you had thoughts about that.
- [04:59]
Jefferson White
Yeah, it's fascinating. We're seeing John Dutton long before his evolution or maybe partway through his evolution. And at this time in his life, he is not ready to imagine, you know, Beth with anybody. He lost his wife recently. He's sort of struggling with his own grief. He's not ready to imagine Beth as an adult. And that takes him a while. It takes him a while to come around to the idea of Rip and Beth being together. I don't know if you remember, but in season one, he also says to Beth, quit the help, honey. And then a few seasons later, he's calling Rip his son, you know, so there's a lot of evolution that happens over the events of the show. Yellowstone that the character has not come to yet.
- [05:43]
Jen Landon
Yeah, he also dropped. There's these one liners. I mean, one of the things that Taylor does so well is he writes these sort of, these truths that will play out within dialogue and they. And they feel entirely natural. But when he talks about, he says, protect the ranch, protect yourself or the ranch itself, and you. And you have no idea how much fighting you'll do. It feels like a foreshadowing and a looking back at the history of the ranch at the same time and the dynamic that plays out there. And he also says, another one that I wrote down, which was, you will have a home till the day you die, or this ranch is no more. And that is something worth fighting for. And I thought that was something again, that not only was really beautiful, but is this sort of theme that has played out historically in this theme that plays out moving forward?
- [06:39]
Jefferson White
Yeah, it's funny. This, this timeline, this sort of, you know, young JD Young Rip timeline is in between. You're totally right. It's this middle child timeline. We've seen events that happened before it and we've seen events that happen after it. So you're right. His words kind of both prophecy the future and like, sort of are a story about everything that's brought us to this point. It really echoes in both directions, forward and backwards in time.
- [07:08]
Jen Landon
Yeah. And then there's this very ominous thing, ominous moment where Rip is about to be branded. John steps away and, you know, says, I know what choice you'll make tomorrow. And then he says to young Rip, I didn't know I had a choice. And Young.
- [07:26]
Jefferson White
Yeah, Rip says to young Lloyd, you.
- [07:27]
Jen Landon
Always have a choice. But, you know, basically, if you make one choice, you go back to Wyoming where we just were, and you don't come back. So it's loyal to your death. So while we do have this sort of, I mean, at least I do from within the world, have this sort of romantic notion about this branding thing because of what it meant in terms of joining a family. And that's what it felt like when I was within the scene. Certainly looking at it from the outside is rather terrifying. I mean, oh, yeah, there's a choice.
- [08:00]
Jefferson White
But it's not much of a choice.
- [08:02]
Jen Landon
No.
- [08:03]
Jefferson White
Because otherwise, you know, you've seen a murder.
- [08:05]
Wes Bentley
Right.
- [08:06]
Jefferson White
So the equation for the ranch is like, okay, you can work for us forever, or you are a witness to us doing murder and disposing of the body. It's the same kind of choice that Jimmy was presented with in season one. You know, Rip says Okay, you can accept this brand and come work on the Yellowstone, or I'll send you to jail for the rest of your life. You know, like, it's sort of the. Like, kind of. It's a sort of. It's a barely a choice.
- [08:29]
Jen Landon
Yeah, yeah. You have free will, fate. Okay, well, onto cheerier matters, I have Jimmy and Emily with 37 exclamation points written down in my notepad. Because when we jump to you, I was so overwhelmed with joy. And, Jeff, I got to tell you, you are so. You are such an amazing actor, and that is. That is apparent in every single scene that you do. But there was something. I looked at you in these scenes that were set at the 6666, and it was a slightly different version of the Jimmy that I was expecting and the Jimmy that I had known. You were. You were a cowboy. You were a four sixes cowboy. And I don't know how you did it, but it was layered into everything that you did, and it was just fantastic. Jeff, looking at some. Looking at that four sixes footage, I couldn't help but notice that some of the faces were faces of people that I had met not on set, but at rodeo events and whatnot. One of those being true. And I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about all of the 6,666 Cowboys that were in those scenes and what it was like working with them, because I don't know if the audience knows this, and I. And I'm not even 100% sure that a lot of those people that we see in those four sixes uniforms are the four sixes cowboys, if not all of them. Right?
- [10:10]
Jefferson White
That's exactly right. It's a real pleasure. Now I've gotten to spend some time with those guys. I'm getting to know them better. So you're talking about true Burson. His brother Dusty Burson is also around. They're the wagon bosses of two of these different sort of big operations down at the four sixes. But a lot of these guys have just become friends. So in season four, I had some scenes with Will Bodicer, who's an amazing cowboy and also an incredible musician. Like, all these guys are so multifaceted in a way that just kind of blows me away every time. So this time, we also got to hear Will Bodicer, his music, which was such a gift. So also down there, we've got Casey green. We've got Brewster. We've got basically a whole squad. Zach Peters has been taking care of me. It's also like, yeah, these guys are the best in the world at this. They're the sort of real life version of the Bunkhouse Boys. You know, they're like the SEAL team Six of cowboys. They are absolutely incredible. And they're also incredibly patient with me when they don't need to be. You know, I'm an asshole. Coming from out of town, sort of messing up their work day, functionally speaking. Like, the days we shoot at the sixes are usually them working and our film crew kind of coming in and just trying to capture it and throwing me into the mix. Let's step away for a second and when we come back, we'll dive into the rest of the episode. So, huge episode. We spent that time down in Texas, and we're back up to Montana, where we see the other side of this, which is these cowboys getting ready to send this massive herd down to Texas.
- [11:58]
Jen Landon
Yeah, we know they're going down to the panhandle of Texas. And then immediately after that, there's a few really moving scenes. There's the dynamic with John and Monica where he basically tells her about this other house for them to live in and that he needs their help. And Monica basically just says to him, all you had to do was ask in terms of getting what you need. I found that to be very simple and poignant. And again, out of John's mouth, there comes another one of those lines that just sort of lands on you, which is, it was something along the lines of sometimes he thinks that people have to suffer so that they can teach the next generation of sufferers how to handle it.
- [12:44]
Jefferson White
Yeah, maybe God gives us suffering so we can pass along the knowledge of how we survived it to the next generation of sufferers.
- [12:51]
Jen Landon
That's a photographic memory right there. Yeah, it was so moving, really.
- [12:56]
Jefferson White
And, you know, as we speak about generations of sufferers, what have we been watching in the extended Taylor verse, but generations of sufferers? You know, Tate is now the youngest generation of sufferers, and we've seen him face incredible adversity in his, know, 12, 13, 14 years of life. You know, in his young life. It really is the Dutton family. As violence hunts them across generations. It really is generations of sufferers.
- [13:25]
Jen Landon
And John also. John also says to Monica, the ranch can't be Tate's if the ranch isn't here. And again, it's one of those moments where Taylor has, in 1883, you know, and throughout this season of Yellowstone in particular, been saying, hey, this is how. This is the seventh generation. This is where the ranch is going to go. This is what's going to happen. And it feels like we're getting so close to it.
- [13:52]
Jefferson White
Yeah. And so there's this really, you know, as everybody's sort of getting ready to go down to Texas, there's these really, as you said, a series of really lovely scenes, including the next scene between John and his son Casey. These two guys who aren't really talkers. Right. These guys are doers. They're not necessarily the most emotionally expressive guys. But we see this sequence where John hugs his son and tells him he loves him.
- [14:22]
Jen Landon
In the interaction immediately following, Casey says to Rip, you'd think he's the one leaving. And Rip tells him he is. And there was something so sad to me about saying bye without actually even being able to say goodbye.
- [14:37]
Jefferson White
It's hard for these guys. Yeah, it really like their sort of reluctance to say this stuff. You know, we've heard it over and over again. In season four, Rip tells Jimmy, cowboys don't say goodbye. We say, see you later until we're in that fucking ground. There's this kind of quiet like, acceptance of their responsibility. But in some ways I think that's also denial. You know, there's this sort of inability to express these deep feelings or perhaps a sort of recognition that expressing them doesn't necessarily make them any easier, doesn't make them go away. It doesn't solve the problem.
- [15:10]
Jen Landon
Yeah, so complicated. What's not complicated is what John says to Claire in the car about how he's going to handle the Jamie situation, which is menace. And Claire says, I don't know how to fight with menace.
- [15:26]
Jefferson White
I love it when John says this shit that could be coming out of the mouth of Jacob Dutton. Harrison Ford's character in 1923 could easily be coming out of the mouth of any of these generations. I'll teach you how to fight with menace. It's such a sort of the battles they've been waging, they've been waging for so, so long. But this time, you know, it's a threat coming from inside the house. It's a threat coming from inside his own family. And as we, as we learn, this is like a gloves off episode for Jamie like we've never seen before. He's using every tool he has to tear down his own family. And he's got a lot of tools. But before we get there, we've also got a really lovely sequence in the bunk house. We've got this beautiful sort of series of goodbyes. We're headed down to Texas. There's A lot of. A lot of talk about how cold Texas is in the winter. It's great.
- [16:22]
Jen Landon
Yeah, that was a. That was sort of a sad moment on set. Granted, we have no idea what's going to happen. I'm not just saying that because I'm saying we can't tease anything. Audience Jeff and I truly do not know what is going to happen.
- [16:37]
Jefferson White
Who do you think would tell us?
- [16:39]
Jen Landon
Yeah, that was a sad moment because in the event that we are separated for a period of time, while we are so happy, Jeff and I cannot say that enough to be able to be closer and potentially in scenes with you, there were some goodbyes that. That, that felt. That felt hard.
- [17:01]
Jefferson White
Yeah, a lot of goodbyes. It really. Everybody who's leaving has these relationships, you know, Beth and Rip torn apart. Abby and Ryan torn apart. Walker and Laramie torn apart. Teeter and Colby. Oh, my God. This has been such a sort of juicy, slow burn relationship for C, I think. I think, you know, listening to fans on social media, I think everybody's hungry for details about how this thing works and we only get these little glimpses into it. But this episode, a real. A real left hook, emotional left hook. Knocked me on my ass.
- [17:40]
Jen Landon
Yeah, it was sad saying goodbye to him. I loved that Teeter. I love that Taylor had written for Teeter to tell Colby that she loved him on the inside. I can just tell you that it was this very, like, it was this very neat experience because Teeter is a cowboy. Teeter is what the Ryan character talks about. Cowboying will always come first. You know, that is the thing. You will go anywhere for it. And so there's this excitement of being able to do some cowboy shit, some real intense cowboy shit. And at the same time, there's sadness over saying goodbye and being able to love somebody and not knowing where it will go. And it's just in this moment, maybe.
- [18:31]
Jefferson White
Yeah, so. So, you know, speaking of relationships, Sarah and Jamie cooking along that sort of Machiavellian twosome is increasingly frightening. I don't want to dig too much into the Jamie stuff in this episode because we got to talk to Wes Bentley about it. And why not hear it from the man himself instead of hearing me and you rave about him. So obviously, let's just run through it real quick because we're going to talk to Wes about it too. But that Jamie, you know, Beth comes to confront Jamie about having brought the impeachment hearing, and it's been a so far successful first step. So we learned that, you know, the Montana state House voted 67 to 33 to bring that impeachment hearing. So now John Dutton is going to have to face this tribunal. Beth comes to confront Jamie about it, and Jamie, to his credit, fights back. He has been empowered, maybe by this relationship with Sarah, maybe by just being pushed a little too far. He fights back in a big way.
- [19:33]
Jen Landon
Yeah. This was my favorite Jamie west scene. He was amazing. And, yeah, I. Whatever. I know that. I feel like the Jamie character gets so much. So much hate. You know, some people are so angry at him, but I love him, and I was so relieved that he had this moment where he just let it rip.
- [19:58]
Jefferson White
So one of the big revelations of this argument between Jamie and Beth, this catastrophic argument where they're saying things that can't be unsaid, is Jamie tells Beth about the train station, and she's learning about it for the first time.
- [20:11]
Jen Landon
Yeah.
- [20:12]
Jefferson White
So then she.
- [20:13]
Jen Landon
The look on. The look on Beth's face was devastating.
- [20:20]
Jefferson White
I know the idea that there's stuff that happens at the ranch that she doesn't know about is something that, you know, would drive her crazy. She's such a. Like, she. She. She needs to be in control of everything. She needs to understand everything. She always needs to be the smartest one in the room. And for this big revelation that everybody else knows about and she doesn't. You know, Casey knows about it, Jamie knows about it, Rip knows about it, and she's the only one who doesn't. That's a huge betrayal. So what does she do? She, of course, goes first thing and confronts her dad about it and says, hey, you know, do you have anything to tell me about the train station?
- [21:00]
Jen Landon
Yeah. And then basically says, you know, she. It was almost repetitive. Jamie knows about this. Jamie knows about this. So the only thing to do with Jamie is to then take him to the train station.
- [21:20]
Jefferson White
Yeah. And it sets up this just nasty cliffhanger, which is Jamie and Sarah are saying, hey, maybe we should get some professionals involved to handle this problem. And at the same time, Beth and JD Are saying, hey, wait a second. Maybe Jamie should go where we take people who threaten this ranch and need to go away.
- [21:44]
Jen Landon
The moment with Jamie and Sarah, real quick was so interesting to me because it's a moment in their relationship that I think is pivotal, where he actually outpaces her in terms of mal intent. She's sort of been leading him on this dark path, and he says, do you know anybody? And she's thinking defense. And she says, you get, you know, security detail, and he's the one who initiates I'm not talking about defense. I'm talking about offense. I'm talking about killing them.
- [22:14]
Jefferson White
It's really fascinating. You know, we've seen efforts on the Duttons lives. We've seen attempts on John's life, on Casey's life, on Beth's life. This one, it feels like there's these two armies sort of gearing up, and they're pointing the barrels of their guns right at each other. So I really can't wait to see how that explosive conflict plays out in the second half of season five. It's a really exciting brewing conflict also. Boy, you hate the timing of it. Jamie and Sarah basically collude to hire a hitman right when Rip leaves town. Right when Rip gets on a truck and heads to Texas. A lot of John's soldiers are spread very thin. And, you know, that's a nasty. It's a nasty situation. John's spending half his time in Helena. He's running around. The last time he got his ass shot to pieces was because he was in a. You know, he was driving between two places and stopped to help a perfectly nice lady with a flat tire. He's in a very vulnerable position, and his best soldiers are spread very thin.
- [23:25]
Jen Landon
That's all I have to say about that. It's not looking good.
- [23:27]
Jefferson White
It's not looking good for anybody. This is a mess. You know, in a civil war, you're going to have casualties on both sides. And I'm really curious to see how this thing plays out. And, you know, I'm kind of grateful that we're in a whole different state. It sounds like the state of Montana is about to turn into a fucking, you know, shooting gallery. Yeah, I'm really glad we're in Texas. Give me the cold. Give me the cold. Where no competing squads of hitmen are shooting at each other.
- [23:56]
Jen Landon
It's a great time to be in Texas, and it's a great time not to be a member of a family. It's just great.
- [24:03]
Jefferson White
Okay, I'm very excited to speak with Wes. Let's get into it with the man himself, Jen and I feel so lucky, so blessed to have with us in the studio today our dear friend, an actor I've been a fan of for years. And I feel so lucky to be able to call a friend for about five years. Now we've got the infamous Jamie Dutton. It's Wes Bentley. Wes, thank you so much for being here.
- [24:46]
Jen Landon
Hi, Wes.
- [24:46]
Wes Bentley
Thanks for having me.
- [24:47]
Jefferson White
Guys, we got to speak last year on this podcast. After season four aired, we got to sort of have a conversation. Catching the audience up to your experience of working on the first four seasons of Yellowstone. I think of this season as a fascinating journey for Jamie. It feels like a bit of a aside to Jamie we've never seen before. Will you talk a little bit about the experience of working on season five and what's been different than the past four years?
- [25:17]
Wes Bentley
Well, a lot's been different by the end of the half season. It's, you know, before it. It's been a lot of taking it for Jamie and for Wes as Jamie, you know, taking on a lot, you know, just pile on the weights and deal with it. And it's been a hard, you know, it's been. As I've talked about before, it's really tricky. You know, it's hard as an actor to just continually do that for years and despite all your instincts fighting it and just as a human being. And so this season, that's. That you see the beginning of the change of that and actually in a deeper way than I even read initially, when I first read the scripts and saw where we were heading, it's. I think there's more depth to it than just Jamie's getting used again. I think Jamie sees an opportunity and so there's a piece of Jamie that's always been there, but in benefit to the Duttons, which is his schemes. And now he's going to use those schemes, possibly against the Duttons. So it's. It's an interesting rebound. It's. I don't think it's a totally conscious one, maybe by him, you know, this is. He's a bit stunned after everything that happened at the end of last season and having to, you know, kill his own father and, you know, try to go back to the Duttons and try to be what they need him to be. And I think he's in a weird, like, state, you know, half alive, half. Half just numb. And so, you know, I think he sees an opportunity in Sarah and in market equities and in people who he thinks see his usefulness.
- [26:50]
Jen Landon
Do you feel like his having to kill his own dad sort of laid the groundwork for that mental state? And then Sarah Atwood coming in is sort of the engine that he could, you know, hook his car to, so to speak, that sort of propels this whole movement forward?
- [27:09]
Wes Bentley
I definitely do. I think, you know, we talked a lot about Beth's moment for where she started to hate Jamie and the. And we've lived through that and that is a horrible thing. But this, I think, is Jamie's you know, moments where he realizes, oh, I. You know, whatever love I had for her, hoped to have for her forever, and he did for Beth, I think he had more hope for Beth than even Beth ever did. And her forcing him to do that was that moment of she not only doesn't love me and never will, she hates me and wants me dead for real. And I think Jamie wasn't fully. It wasn't clicking when Jamie. That she's really after him for all these years until that moment. And that trauma and doing that, I think is the final break for him with her. And now I think it. Part of him wants her, you know, wants some to. To pay back. I guess he wants some kind of payback and maybe more. I think it has. It has broken something in him further than was already broken.
- [28:11]
Jefferson White
When we last spoke last season, I talked a lot about this idea of repression. Like so many of the characters on this show, it's about this expression. It's about this release. And Jamie seems so under control. He seems so buttoned up. Repression has been a sort of necessity for him for his entire life. He's had to repress his impulses in service of this family. So talk about how that relates so. So specifically with Sarah, because you've kind of got Jamie world this season. You have all of these incredible scenes with Sarah, with Dawn. Talk about the freedom that that relationship offers this character, the experience of doing those scenes. Is there a kind of release, a catharsis that Jamie's never had before?
- [28:59]
Wes Bentley
Definitely. And I think it comes across in the scene where he is sharing with Sarah that what he really wanted to be. And Jamie, like you said, he's been buried under what John wants him to be and whatever obligation he felt to Beth and to his brothers. So whatever Jamie is and whoever Jamie is, he has no idea. And it seems to be that Sarah starts to coax that out that she's not just, like, sleeping with him, she's pulling out this guy that she can see buried under him. And Don is incredible. Don brought more than what's on the page, and there's a lot on the page to work with. And Don't. She's an incredible actor. I was really excited when we started kicking it off because I saw something there to really latch onto and. And she was bringing something different for me and for Jamie. And so it, you know. Yeah, I. I was discovering, you know, as we halfway through the shooting it, I was at home and I actually had a lot of time off as we went through all the Stuff we had to go through shooting the show. And I was just sitting in this, like, in the middle of the woods by myself for a couple weeks. And I had. That gave me time to really ruminate on these scenes that I found very challenging because they were opening parts of Jamie I hadn't opened yet. So, you know, I wasn't prepared for that. And I really was nervous. I wanted to get it right. I wanted to meet Taylor and go beyond him if I could. And so luckily I had those that time. And I just sat there and it just was hitting me how much was underneath all that stuff that I've been playing, that Jamie's been playing, he's been playing for longer. And so, yeah, you know, Don, Sarah, the way she's doing, it's not like your typical story of being manipulated and used, because I don't know if it's that clear. I think Jamie knows what's going on, right? I mean, he's been through enough of these. He's a smart guy. He sees what's coming. Now it's like, well, maybe I want to do that.
- [30:47]
Jen Landon
There's this really amazing moment in that scene because when Jeff was talking, I was thinking about that exact same scene. And you. It almost looked like something that. I don't even know if you're aware of how much you did it, but Sarah says to you, your father's jealous of you. And you see, I'm going to talk about Jamie like he's a real person and you don't play him.
- [31:13]
Wes Bentley
I love it.
- [31:14]
Jen Landon
Jamie lights up and hooks onto that in a way. And then you. I'm going to talk about, you leaned in and you came closer to her. And it was such this moment. I get goosebumps talking about it because I've had moments in my life where I'm so desperate for someone's approval and they will not give it to me, and I just can't get out from underneath them. And that moment when somebody says, you don't need to get out from underneath them, you've already transcended them or your own, you know, or the fact that they're just jealous of you or whatever. And it is this moment where you're like, you're free. It's like the ceiling's been taken off.
- [31:57]
Wes Bentley
That's great insight. I'm glad it came across. I. You know, you don't know these things. And it was one of those. That was one of those scenes where everything Dom was doing was. Was doing that she was delivering in such a way that Was like cracking open those things. Like you said, we've all had. I think most people have had that moment where they're like, yeah, they're buried under something, and finally someone sets you free by going. You're imagining that it's the opposite.
- [32:21]
Jen Landon
Yeah.
- [32:22]
Wes Bentley
And your mind's. And for Jamie, that's beyond more than just his ego. That could mean his whole livelihood, everything he wanted, which is to really be away from them and be powerful in his own right. Was just sitting there waiting because, oh, the guy I was afraid of is actually afraid of me. Oh, I'm strong. Oh, I'm smart. Right.
- [32:47]
Jefferson White
If I may briefly step outside the world of Yellowstone. If I dare step outside the world of Yellowstone. Wes. What's up, man? How you doing? What are you excited about? I want people to know. People know you as Jamie, and people have a relationship to you as Jamie, and I guess I just also want to make sure that the audience out there gets to know and love you the way that we do as a person of many dimensions.
- [33:11]
Wes Bentley
Yes. All two of them. I like acting, and I like soccer. No one was hearing me talk about soccer, but, yes, I love soccer. I'm. I'm surprised when I meet fans or people who know me that they. They're surprised that I smile and laugh and make jokes. But it's also one of the best parts of this job because I realize I'm doing my job if they think that, because that's. That is me most of the time. I love to. You know, I. I started in acting as a loving improv comedy. So we did. I did improv competitions with my. With some buddies. They were really good and funnier than me, but that, you know, I. My first thrill was making people laugh. I love doing that on set, you know, having a good laugh with everybody, especially on a. On a heavy day, if it's not too distracting to. To just. Just to let remind ourselves that we're people and all that, and. But yeah, man, I'm. I'm also. I love being a dad, you know? Like, I have two great kids who are at great ages 12 and 8, and they're very active, and I'm very active. I get out and I play soccer a lot. I meet a lot of different people over the world. I don't. I tend to play pickup games wherever I go, just because it's not just soccer. It's culture, too. It's. It's. It's neighborhoods. It's. It's families. It's. You know, it's all that. So yeah, again, I mean, those are a couple of my things. I love being active, and I think it's just surprising when people see me actually laugh and smile and make a joke.
- [34:33]
Jen Landon
It's.
- [34:33]
Jefferson White
So Jen was talking earlier about the kind of disconnect between Teeter and Jyn and how strange it is to support.
- [34:41]
Wes Bentley
Which is huge, by the way.
- [34:42]
Jen Landon
Yeah.
- [34:43]
Jefferson White
People sometimes don't recognize her because, you know, it's such a transformative performance. And Jamie's the same way. Like, the scowl and the furrowed brow is the weight that that character change holds when I see you outside the world of that. It is. You have such a sort of effervescent lightness to you, you know?
- [35:04]
Wes Bentley
Thanks, man. You too. You too. But you don't have to do all the scowling. You can bring it to the work.
- [35:08]
Jefferson White
I. I just get to be a idiot all the time.
- [35:11]
Wes Bentley
That's fun, though. That's fun. Yeah. And by the way, Jen, you're amazing. I love watching you. Both of you are amazing. But, you know, you're both so transformative and Jefferson, what a path for Jimmy that I think people are just loving. And my brother, by the way, I've told you this before. He's. You're still his favorite character, and I'm trying so hard to win him over, but he just doesn't like me as much as you.
- [35:33]
Jefferson White
And, you know, in my life, really likes Rip. You know, my girlfriend's favorite character Rip. My mom's favorite characters Rip. My grandma, you know, calls me to check in on Rip.
- [35:44]
Wes Bentley
Oh, my. My nieces. Well, one of my nieces told me that Beth's hero, which is a really complicated feeling for Wes and Jamie to go through.
- [35:55]
Jen Landon
Wes. Yay, Wes. Besides, I mean, soccer and being hilarious. And I can vouch that you are actually genuinely one of the funniest people on set in the whole. Three times we've gotten to be in the same room together while we go off to shoot. Yeah. Like, different scenes. When I ran into you in Hamilton this year, we were talking about horseback riding, and I was. I don't know if the fans know that you came into the show with more riding prowess than a lot of the other actors. And the audience never gets to see that. I mean, never.
- [36:37]
Wes Bentley
And it's kind of like a point of like, you know, I grew up watching westerns with my dad. I wanted to do westerns. Like, that was kind of one of my goals. I mean, that's. Things change. But so when I, you know, and especially with Taylor stuff, I was really excited about Taylor. Stuff before I'd met him and had asked to work on his thing and then. Yeah, you want to be in a western with Taylor Sheridan? Yes, I do. Where's my horse? What a suit. A pen, huh? They're riding horses because, you know, we went off to cowboy camp and you know, a few of the guys never rode and I had horses and I rode and yeah, Jefferson was one of them but you're not supposed to have been ridden, so it's so funny.
- [37:17]
Jefferson White
But I also, I feel like this is so dramaturgically valid because you poor Wes is stuck. Just like Jamie is kind of ripped away from the ranch. Sent off to Harvard Law when he's a kid. Kept away from this beautiful, cathartic. You know how much real estate in Yellowstone is spent talking about the beautiful experience of riding out in nature. And Jamie never gets to touch it. Jamie is sort of, oh, no, Cage.
- [37:48]
Wes Bentley
I know that I get to read these amazing scenes where you guys just wax poetic about, yeah, like you said, Montana, the beauty. I'm flipping through his pages like, wow, that's going to be a beautiful scene. And then I turn it and all I see is someone's dragging me down the hallway, kicking me in the face and I'm crying. Oh, okay.
- [38:06]
Jefferson White
Interior, shitty room, please. Jamie sits sad.
- [38:11]
Wes Bentley
No snacks on set that day. No other beneficial. They just keep piling on to make it miserable.
- [38:16]
Jefferson White
Jamie wears an incredibly tight tie.
- [38:18]
Wes Bentley
You know what?
- [38:19]
Jefferson White
Barely swallow.
- [38:21]
Wes Bentley
You know what's crazy too is these horses are some of the best horses I will ever get a chance to ride. Because they are, they're not just wrangler set horses. Right? You guys know, you're the ones who have to ride them. They are award winning, like crazy trained horses. And so that made it especially exciting. Especially we were like learning how to cut. Like I got really into cutting. I thought I was pretty good at it. It seemed like they said I was good at it to the point where I was telling Jim when we ran into each other, I was like, I maybe go do this competition. It didn't work out for me, but I love all that stuff. Yeah, I was really, really bummed and to the point where I won't even go ride, you know, on my off days because it just don't want to get the hopes up or whatever that, you know, this might change. I think my ship sailed though.
- [39:06]
Jefferson White
Wes, as always, it is an absolute joy to speak with you. We feel so, so grateful for your time. You're one of my favorite actors in the world. So thanks for five years of this incredible performance. Thanks for five years of your friendship. I treasure it dearly.
- [39:21]
Wes Bentley
Oh, thank you so much, man. That's really nice of you.
- [39:24]
Jen Landon
Wes Bentley, you are one of my favorite people. And thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us today. And I can say from me and the entire Yellowstone family, we cannot wait to see what happens next.
- [39:39]
Jefferson White
It really is starting to line up like. Like, I don't know how everybody could survive this. It's starting to feel like somebody very close to us is not gonna survive this. But all is not lost. While we wait for the second half of Yellowstone Season 5, I am so stoked to dig into the journey of 1923. And the only official Yellowstone Podcast is going to be right here with you the whole way.
- [40:07]
Jen Landon
That's right. So, listeners, do not forget to subscribe and listen to the official Yellowstone Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [40:18]
Jefferson White
See you next time. Thanks for being here.
- [40:20]
Jen Landon
Bye, guys.
- [40:21]
Jefferson White
The official Yellowstone Podcast is a production of 101 Studios and Paramount. This episode was produced by Scott Stone. Brandon Gatches is the head of audio for 101 Studios. Steve Rezis is the executive vice president of the Paramount Global Podcast Group. Special thanks to Megan Marcus, Jeremy Westfall, Ansley Rosito, Andrew Sarnow, Jason Reed, and Whitney Baxter from Paramount. And of course, David Glasser, David Hucken, and Michelle Newman from 101 Studios.