The multitalented actor looks back on an amazing run in the Taylor Sheridan series.
Looking back at the start of his lengthy and eventful journey with producer Taylor Sheridan, his stellar co-stars, and everyone else involved with Yellowstone, actor Gil Birmingham sounds amazed and grateful.
“I could never have predicted the success of the show,” he admitted during a recent virtual press junket. “But it doesn’t take long to determine if the people you’re working with are special. And these are very special people.
“And I guess I trusted Taylor's writing because I had done a couple of movies before Yellowstone that he created,” including Hell or High Water, the instant-classic 2016 drama scripted by Sheridan, and Wind River, Sheridan’s acclaimed 2017 directorial debut. “But now that it's blown up the way it is, we're just all kind of clinging to each other. You go, ‘What a journey, what a ride this has been,’ and just loving it and being very thankful.
Since the very first episode back in 2018, Birmingham has played a vital role in the various clashes and machinations propelling the ongoing narrative of Yellowstone as Chief Thomas Rainwater, an influential tribal chief, community leader, and political string-puller who maneuvers through a complicated and often contentious relationship with John Dutton (Kevin Costner), the powerful paterfamilias of a Montana ranching dynasty. John, of course, has been determined to hold on to his land and legacy by any means necessary. But Thomas has been equally determined to reclaim what once was the domain of his people.
The so-called “final cycle” of Yellowstone episodes — a.k.a. Season 5B — kicks off Sunday, Nov. 10, on Paramount Network, and likely will resolve the conflicts between these two powerful and strong-willed men. But then again, maybe not. As is typical of anyone on either side of the cameras in a Taylor Sheridan series, Birmingham has been sworn to secrecy and warned about spoilers. So he took care not to spill any beans during our conversation. But he could not, and would not, contain his joy at having been part of such a popular TV phenomenon.
