Taylor Sheridan was inspired by all the Western films he saw as a youngster to create Yellowstone. One film that influenced him the most was Clint Eastwood’s Oscar-winning film Unforgiven. However, Eastwood’s indirect contributions to Sheridan’s series go beyond Western inspiration. The creator hired one actor in the series after watching him play a role in an Eastwood film.
Luke Grimes played the role of Navy SEAL Marc Lee in the 2014 film American Sniper. It was this role that caught the attention of Sheridan, who then cast him as everyone’s heartthrob Kayce Dutton in the series.
Clint Eastwood’s Film Was The Reason Why This Star Landed A Role In Yellowstone
When Clint Eastwood made American Sniper with Bradley Cooper as the lead, many side characters left an impact on the audience. One such character was Marc Lee, a real-life Navy SEAL who is believed to be the first one to get killed in action in the Iraq war. Luke Grimes played the role in the film.
Eastwood saw something in the actor, whose major roles before the film included True Blood and Fifty Shades of Grey. While Marc Lee’s widow told Fox News that she was disappointed with her husband’s portrayal in the film, Taylor Sheridan found Grimes’ performance as compelling.
During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Grimes revealed the story about how Sheridan and John Linson cast him as Kayce Dutton in Yellowstone. The creators saw American Sniper during the early development of the Paramount series and took note of Grimes.
The characters had similarities as Kayce Dutton was also a former Navy SEAL in the series. They believed that Grimes could bring the same grittier, realistic yet charming performance to their series. Grimes shared with THR:
I heard that he’d seen that film with John while he was writing it, which was a couple of years before it actually ended up going. So just the correlation between Kayce being a Navy SEAL and then seeing me do that on ‘American Sniper,’ I think, clued him in that maybe I could play a role like that.
He continued:
And thank God. I don’t know if that helped my chances or got me to the top of the list or what, but I do know that he saw that movie and that he’s a big fan of Clint Eastwood, as am I.
With talented actors like Grimes, Eastwood made a film that is considered one of the best in the war films category. It collected $547 million worldwide (via Box Office Mojo), marking Eastwood’s highest-grossing film to date.
Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven Influenced Taylor Sheridan To Make Yellowstone
Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone featured Claudia’s Theme in its Season One episode, The Remembering. Clint Eastwood wrote and performed the song for his film Unforgiven. For Sheridan, using the music in the series was about paying homage to Eastwood and his film.
It was the Oscar-winning flick that got him into the world of Western movies and series, and eventually to Yellowstone. In a behind-the-scenes clip of the series, the creator explained (via CinemaBlend):
You know, it’s the theme of Unforgiven, which, for me, it’s the film that made me decide that’s what I want to do for a living. So to have an opportunity to pay this abstract homage to the man who both directed that movie and wrote that song and performed it…that was a 90-second homage to Clint Eastwood.
Eastwood never allowed other filmmakers to use the music in their films. However, when Sheridan sent the music with the clip that he had shot for the series, he gave his permission. Eastwood saw the heart in Sheridan’s project and considered it worthy to have his song.
American Sniper is now available for streaming on Prime Video and Max, while Yellowstone is now available on Peacock.
