Taylor Sheridan broke one of his biggest rules with the Yellowstone universe

It’s not uncommon for creatives to assign themselves roles in their own projects. Quentin Tarantino has appeared in several of his directing works, Donald Glover leads the ensemble in “Atlanta” and Jason Sudeikis is the leading actor in “Ted Lasso”. Continuation of the trend, “Yellowstone” creator Taylor Sheridan cast himself as Travis Wheatley in the hit neo-Western series, but that wasn’t his original plan.

Back in 2016, Sheridan spoke about his transition from acting to writing and directing in an interview with Uproxx. The creator revealed that he had no intention of appearing in any of his projects, saying, “There are a number of people who have done that. I don’t want to be one of those guys.” Then the first season of “Yellowstone” came along, and he kept his word and introduced his character in the episode “Coming Home.” The rest is history.

Not only did Sheridan break his promise, but in doing so he may have made Yellowstone even worse. In fact, some fans argue that way Sheridan ruined “Yellowstone” towards the endand claimed that he made the once-popular series just about him. This view may be a little far-fetched, but his role certainly increased to ridiculous levels at times, even though his original reason for appearing on the series was understandable.

Taylor Sheridan cast herself in ‘Yellowstone’ Since his character is a horse trainer, it’s a lifestyle the actor-turned-showrunner knows well. At the time, Sheridan was the most suitable actor for the role as he also trained horses for the show. So it was resourceful to step into Travis Wheatley’s cowboy boots. Initially Wheatley was just a minor player, but his presence increased as Yellowstone progressed and Sheridan eventually became one of the heroes in his own story.

The penultimate episode of the fifth season of “Yellowstone” is primarily about Sheridan’s character showing off his muscles, partying with supermodels and being flattered by women. Wheatley bails the Duttons out with his great riding and salesmanship skills, and Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) lovingly tells stories about Wheatley getting into fights. The former background player suddenly transforms into the ultimate stud, and you’d think Sheridan’s ego was out of control.

“Yellowstone” producers defended Sheridan’s antics in season five, claiming he wanted to inject a few laughs into an otherwise tragic season. However, he has since appeared shirtless in his Lioness series and gave himself a small role in 1883. Additionally, with the Yellowstone spin-off 6666 currently in development, viewers can probably expect to see Sheridan on screen more often along with two other well-known “Yellowstone” charactersas Wheatley runs the titular farm.

“Yellowstone” is currently streaming on Peacock.