GOSSIP & RUMORS: Meet the real-life cowboys of the ‘Yellowstone’ cast

Turns out art imitates life when it comes to Dutton Ranch.

The cast and crew of “Yellowstone” have seamlessly brought living on the Western front to TV screens since 2018 on the Paramount Network. However, it’s safe to say the role came easier to some more than others, as many of the series’ stars are real-life cowboys.

These cast members in the Taylor Sheridan-created universe have experienced cowboy boots, rodeos and wild horses. Keep reading for a look at which members of “Yellowstone” are all about cowboy culture off-screen ahead of the second part of the fifth and final season, premiering Sunday, Nov. 10, at 8 p.m.

Forrie J. Smith

Forrie J. Smith, 65, who plays ranch hand Lloyd Pierce on “Yellowstone,” grew up riding horses, and both his mother and grandfather were involved in the rodeo circuit.

After falling from a horse as a child ended his career competing, Smith turned to acting and stunt work. But he’s been back in the saddle for the past five seasons of the show.

He told Cowboys & Indians Magazine that he uses the same techniques to prepare for a scene as he did for riding.

“What I started doing is, I always take deep breaths to relax before I ride and stuff,” Smith said. “I started using some of the things that make me relax while rodeoing before my auditions.”

Taylor Sheridan

Taylor Sheridan not only created the series but plays Travis Wheatley.

The 54-year-old spent most of his childhood on his family’s ranch in Texas, which not only made him a skilled rider but left him fully immersed in cowboy culture. Sheridan and his wife, Nicole Muirbrook, own and operate a ranch in Texas.

Ryan Bingham

Ryan Bingham may play the famed crooner Walker on TV, but in real life, the 43-year-old has experience as a cowboy.

Bingham grew up working on his family’s ranch in Hobbs, a small town on the west side of New Mexico. The singer was a bull rider, which landed him a spot riding on the rodeo team at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas.

“I started riding calves and steers when I was a little kid in the junior rodeos, and rode bulls till kind of up into my mid-20s until I really started playing music,” Bingham told Fort Worth Magazine.

And his experience paid off.

“Originally, Taylor contacted me about writing some songs for the show,” he explained to Cowboys & Indians Magazine in 2023. “Then when he discovered my family ranched and I used to ride bulls, he said, ‘Well, shoot. We gotta get you in the show. If you’re good, we’ll keep you on. If you suck, we’ll kill you off.’ I’m not dead yet.”

Jake Ream

Jake Ream, who plays a ranch hand on Dutton Ranch, has professional experience working with horses, which is how he and Sheridan first connected. Ream purchased a horse through the series creator and from there started working as an instructor and consultant for the show.

But it didn’t take long for Ream to head in front of the camera. He landed the role of none other than Jake.

Ethan Lee

Like many of his castmates, Ethan Lee grew up surrounded by horses and worked as a rodeo trick rider. Like Ream, Lee joined the series working behind the camera as a consultant and trainer before becoming a ranch hand and branded member of the Dutton crew.

In 2016, Lee helped out with horses on the set of “Free State of Jones,” starring Matthew McConaughey, when it filmed in his home state of Louisiana. But he told WWLTV.com in 2022 that he didn’t like the “hurry and wait” environment of a movie set.

“I said, ‘If I get through these two weeks, Hollywood doesn’t have to worry about me ever again,’” Lee explained. 

But he changed his tune when the checks started coming in.

“I told my wife, ‘I can’t make what I’m making on set shoeing these horses and doing the things I do. So, maybe, I should get this, you know, take advantage of it while it’s here,’” Lee revealed.

The jobs did keep coming in, and he made saddles, prepped horses and taught the actors how to ride. He was then asked to work on “Yellowstone,” but when Paramount told him to he’d be gone six months, Lee turned it down.

“All my kids were small, and Dad just didn’t want to be gone that much, you know?” Lee recalled.

He and his wife, Dr. Brennan Fitzgerald-Lee, who is an equine veterinarian, also own about 10 horses and 25 cows.

“I even told my wife I kind of regret turning that down. Sounded like such a good deal and something that may be fun, something that may go seasons,” Lee said. “So, you’re thinking, I might have turned something down that could be great.”

The couple then decided that if “Yellowstone” called him back, he would sign on.

“For me, it was a huge deal and always will be,” Lee said of his decision.