Kevin Costner has been a household Hollywood name for over 30 years. Despite the many movies and TV shows he’s starred in, for the past six years, the 69-year-old actor has become renowned for his role as John Dutton—the Dutton family patriarch—in Yellowstone. So when the Yellowstone season 5 premiere aired within the first few minutes, it’s no wonder fans felt disgruntled. As upsetting as the storyline was, though, fellow Yellowstone actor Luke Grimes revealed that Kevin leaving the show actually made it a smoother process for the rest of the cast.
“Hopefully everyone can see that it was time,” Luke said in an interview with Esquire. “To be really honest, there was a part of Kevin being gone that meant some of the conflict was gone. Obviously, it didn’t make it super fun to be around… Not pointing any fingers, but it was actually the easiest season we’ve filmed.”
After that revelation, Luke was asked a week later by Men’s Health if he’s kept in touch with Kevin since his departure. “No, I haven’t talked to him since,” he shared. “It’s not a case of any hard feelings or anything; it’s just, he’s Kevin Costner. [Laughs] He’s a big deal. I do have his phone number—I just don’t feel like it’s my place to reach out. He can reach out to me if he wants to.”
While Luke hasn’t mentioned any outwardly outrageous things about Kevin, Kevin’s recent response to a DailyMail reporter during an evening in Aspen, Colorado, makes fans wonder what really happened behind the scenes. When asked for his thoughts on the Yellowstone season 5 finale, Kevin chuckled, “’I’m not thinking about that, I don’t think I’ve given it any thoughts, we’ll just let it go.”
Then, when Kevin was asked whether or not he’s been in touch with Luke, he chortled, “No, we‘re done talking,” before telling the reporter not to slip, signaling the end of the conversation.
So now the question is: Is there really a feud between Kevin and Luke, or are they just on totally different wavelengths as actors? More post-finale interviews might be more telling than ever.