Taylor Sheridan is an incredible actor, producer, director, and writer. But before he was singlehandedly running one of the best series of all time, the Hollywood star was just an actor struggling to make ends meet. In 2008, Sheridan was roped in to play Deputy Chief David Hale in the Charlie Hunnam-starrer Sons of Anarchy.
However, the Yellowstone showrunner’s character was brutally killed off in season 3 after Sheridan did not agree to the wage rate he was being paid. And then apparently to take revenge, Sheridan took to his critically acclaimed series to take a digg at the FX series.
Taylor Sheridan was Uncereminously Killed Off in Sons of Anarchy
Sons of Anarchy starred an ensemble cast of actors. Based in California, it featured an outlaw motorcycle gang with Charlie Hunnam in the lead. Containing seven seasons and running from 2008 to 2014, it is one of the best American action crime dramas of all time with generally favorable reviews throughout its run.
Before Taylor Sheridan created his Yellowstone universe, the writer-director was cast as Deputy Chief David Hale in Sons of Anarchy and his character had close links with Hunnam’s Jax Teller. However, despite being one of the few sane characters in the show and being an important character, Hale was unceremoniously killed off in Season 3 during a drive-by shooting scene.
In an interview with Deadline, Taylor Sheridan had remarked,
At that time, they were offering me what I thought was a very unfair wage. It was less than virtually every other person on the show… So, the business affairs attorney… The guy goes, ‘I know and you’re right that he probably deserves to make more, but we’re not going to pay him more because guess what, he’s not worth more’. ‘That’s what he’s worth. There’s 50 of him. He is 11 on the call sheet. That’s what that guy is, and that’s all he’s ever going to be.’
Thus, dejected and feeling undervalued on top of being grossly underpaid, Sheridan did the sensible thing of quitting one of his best roles. While the closure of one door led to the marvelous world of Yellowstone, it eventually also gave him the opportunity to take his revenge on the FX show.
How Taylor Sheridan Took Revenge on Sons of Anarchy via Yellowstone
After having his character brutally murdered, Taylor Sheridan was forced to quit Sons of Anarchy. Yet the actor was apparently not over the disrespect he was treated with and later took revenge in a cruelly brilliant way.
In Season 3, episode 4 of Yellowstone titled Going Back to Cali, the series features a biker gang from California (where Sons of Anarchy is set). The gang gets into a tussle with the Dutton Ranch family leading to Rip Wheeler smashing the bikes of the gang with his truck.
A powerful and enticing fight scene follows leading to Wheeler declaring to the leader of the gang that he will bury them where they stand. While the gang apparently leaves, they later return in the dark to burn down the ranch only to run into Kevin Costner‘s John Dutton.
The bikers are then forced to dig up their own graves and Dutton looks close to killing them there and then. However, they are soon let off and are told they will be killed if they set foot in Montana again. An incredible ending to an incredible episode, the scenes in the last half of the show seem like the perfect revenge.
Although, Sheridan has not spoken about the alleged revenge he took on Sons of Anarchy, fans like to believe that it really is a revenge best served cold.
Yellowstone can be streamed on Peacock while Sons of Anarchy can be streamed on Disney+.
