Kevin Costner revealed why he left ‘Yellowstone.’
Whispers of Kevin Costner‘s exit from Yellowstone have been going on for more than a year. Now, the actor has revealed exactly what led to his shocking departure from Paramount Network’s hit Western drama.
In a new interview with GQ, Costner dished on just how much he loved Yellowstone, in which he famously played Dutton family patriarch John Dutton. The actor said he renegotiated his contract from a three-season deal to one that allowed him to film up to seven seasons.
However, production delays due to the dual Hollywood strikes and COVID along with scheduling conflicts made it difficult for Costner to remain on board for the second half of Season 5 — especially since he was set to direct, co-write and star in the new Western Horizon, which recently got a 10-minute standing ovation Cannes Film Festival.
“We very rarely started when we said we would and we didn’t finish when we said we would,” he said of filming Yellowstone. “And I was okay with that. I really was. I was okay with it, but it wasn’t a trend that could continue for me.”
With Costner booked and busy with Horizon, finding dates to manage both projects proved to be an arduous task.
According to Costner, he offered up multiple solutions that would have allowed him to film both Yellowstone and Horizon. But after prolonged negotiations, he was only left with one week to film some sort of farewell for his Yellowstone character.
