Kevin Costner Explains His Decision to Leave ‘Yellowstone’ | The Rich Eisen Show

Oscar winner Kevin Costner joins Rich Eisen in-studio to discuss his new series of westerns, ‘Horizon: An American Saga,’ and why he left his role as John Dutton on the popular ‘Yellowstone’ series.
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[@healthcarethoughtleadership]

"I've burnt my ships". There is the Kevin Costner quote of the year.

[@nmelkhunter1]

Cortes did this, correct?

[@jchis9852]

​@@nmelkhunter1 Fletcher Christian

[@andrewkim6037]

Sounds like he got tired of waiting while Taylor was working on 10 other spinoff shows or whatever it was.

[@1stofer]

Exactly. He was expecting Costner to commit to the show full time while he did whatever on the side. Losing Kevin Costner from Yellowstone will haunt him for the rest of his career. Ruined the best series of all time

[@Sokkatrades]

@@1stofer yup and none of the shows are anywhere near as good as Yellowstone

[@thejanusproject32]

@@1stofer Wasn't it confirmed that they would do a Season 6? A final one? Considering we are still waiting for Season 5 Part B?

[@1stofer]

@@thejanusproject32 season 6 starts in November with no Costner.

[@hekter2364]

@@1stofer Thats not Season 6, Thats Season 5 part B

[@blakesoutherlandLasVegas]

the show is OVER without him

[@punisher5882]

Wrong !

[@Staymad91]

It's been over. Last season was awful

[@cope4288]

The show is dead. He’s gone and it’s gotten stale.

[@jeffjob6995]

@@Staymad91 The show has absolutely jumped the shark and I think that happened before last season.

[@Flyboy0800]

Absolutely... but seasons 1-4 will live forever...

[@coldisle]

Yellowstone has been a gift. Thanks for your incredible talents, vision…and always, great acting Kevin.

[@scottmichaels12]

People can get mad, but his explanation about why he left makes perfect sense. He's a movie actor who likes to work and since Yellowstone started this "mid season" break nonsense (to make more money), there schedule has been all over the place and I can see that preventing him from working on other projects.

[@daveclark8337]

There's hundreds of people on the cast and crew of Horizon that have been waiting for over year to get back to work on Chapter 3. But they can't because Costner doesn't have His Schit together. It will be snowing in Utah in about 2 months, so this whole year is wasted.

[@Mark-ke7dl]

@@daveclark8337 quit crying on every post

[@feyrband]

this is a common complaint you hear from many actors that have done tv, particularly long running series

[@BryanReeves]

Respect for his clarity & vision, however it works out.

[@22Bodhi]

Wish he would stay, love Yellowstone. But I don’t blame him. Taylor started so many projects that it feels like he just left people waiting around. These are working actors with Costner being the biggest from Yellowstone who wants to work.

[@POPToppins]

More like Taylor already had this previously planned out til Kevin held everything up but ignore that I guess.

[@22Bodhi]

@@POPToppins yea I don’t buy that. That’s way too many moving parts. He’s good but come on

[@scottmichaels12]

Taylor kept doing these "mid season" breaks in order to make more money for himself and for Paramount. They just kept stringing these seasons out for a full year or more, even though they were still only 10 episodes. Once they started the mid season breaks, the show was over.

[@silence3314]

@@22Bodhiwhile these projects were going on so was Yellowstone. It was the other projects. It’s on Kevin not Taylor.

[@22Bodhi]

@@silence3314 so Tulsa King, 1883, 1923, Mayor of Kingstown and whatever movies didn’t hold up Yellowstone? Hey, I could be wrong. I like Taylor’s stuff but that seems a lot to be doing while Yellowstone. Even if he was just producing. But he’s the writer for a big portion also.

[@IVibeHigh777]

Going to miss you on Yellowstone Mr. Costner! Blessings on your future endeavors. Love all your movie's

[@drachenmarke]

I'm sure he reads this....not.

[@IVibeHigh777]

@drachenmarke well you did, and it isn't any of your business. Why troll ppl and be negative? What is wrong inside of you that makes you want to be nasty to a stranger? Seriously, what is your problem? Out of a billion or more ppl on the internet, you troll ppl to make negative comments. How about trying kindness? Stop being rude to others. God bless you 🙏

[@billbored8277]

I heard him say he waited on Yellowstone for 14 months... waiting on scripts, waiting on film dates, but nothing. I dont blame him, he wanted to shoot his own series of westerns. He was willing to do both, but he needed firm times to coordinate. Bummer for us as Yellowstone fans. But excited for this movie though.

[@carolynhooks8385]

Kevin l ❤you & wish you the Best! My favorite was the Western Silverado. But... Then "Yellowstone " took the 1st place. You seem to get Better with Time. Much ❤

[@daveclark8337]

It's now been 14 months since they wrapped filming on Horizon #2. That entire cast and crew have been waiting around since then to get back to work on Chapter 3 in Utah. But Costner has been holding the whole thing due to his lack of coordination. Yellowstone is filming right now , so Kevin was totally free to go shoot a couple episodes to wrap up John Dutton's storyline for good of the show and the fans.

[@BrodiCrow]

Taylor wasted his time he had scheduled for Costner to be on set and expected more days for free or next to nothing ! Despite the stage in his career Costner did the right thing by standing his ground ! Sheridan bit off more than he could effectively schedule and expected everybody else to “bend the knee”! Sheridan needs to be humbled and actors standing up for their time is only right ! Only one person is a fault in my eyes and it’s Taylor Sheridan himself. He was his own biggest obstacle as an actor and he’ll probably be his own downfall as a writer .

[@drachenmarke]

AND IT TANKED!!!!! Just like everything he does, he'll be back on YT soon.

[@EUCvibes]

You don’t have the right to blame him regardless if he was selfish in that decision

[@stephfahey1101]

Horizon Pt.1 is great! Can't wait for Pt 2 and 3!

[@deanfirnatine7814]

No it was not it was a convoluted mess, its the kind of thing best suited as a multi year story on Paramount or Netflix, it was a box office disaster so most people thought about it like I did. It sure as hell was not worth destroying one of the best shows ever. There never will be a part 2 and 3 because part 1 lost a fortune.

[@patrickkavanagh3918]

@@deanfirnatine7814 your wrong part two is already made. hes trying to get a streaming deal. you have your opinion but most fans loved the fist one and cant wait for the 2nd part 👍

[@daveclark8337]

@@patrickkavanagh3918 Part 2 will be streaming on Max in December but the rest of the 'saga' is toast. We'll see a Fantastic Beast 4 before a Horizon 3, which is to say Never.

[@patrickwoodrum500]

What is it even about. The storyline was terrible.

[@D_F_L_]

Absolutely garbage movie

[@huffy8224]

Ya know what.. Good on you Kevin. Happy for you buddy 👍

[@newenglandstacker]

I get it. Taylor did have a LOT other projects going on, and Yellowstone had stated to veer off course by season four anyway. That said, looking forward to seeing Horizon.

[@Timsanders122]

Love the westerns you do Kevin ❤

[@ganjaking7160]

It's been so long and without Kevin I'll not even bother watching.

[@MacStackingWins]

Open Range was his best movie.

[@Robert-qh2jp]

That was a great movie with Robert Duvall... I've seen it a bunch of times..

[@wideglide2153]

Great movie! I agree with robert those 2 were something else.

[@justadudeintheworldman.120]

Good film, but for me it will always be Dances with Wolves

[@Robert-qh2jp]

@@justadudeintheworldman.120 yep that was a great one too also here is a line Dad you want to have a catch you know the movie...

[@justadudeintheworldman.120]

@@Robert-qh2jp Field of Dreams, good too.

[@londialberti-yk2ld]

I’m sorry I sent 2 comments out , I didn’t think the 1st one went through.. Kevin be happy at this stage of your life , you deserve it.. I just adore every movie you made especially the Bodyguard.. there was so much love in it until you read her eulogy , I felt it ..be in touch ♥️

[@penoyer79]

i love Taylor sheridan, but Yellowstone was a 3-4 season show at most but he dragged it out too long. we all saw this coming and Taylor should have taken steps and ended it properly a year ago.

[@TC-dw6wg]

Ego and greed will kill it good! Taylor has let his ego kill this great show and I think it’s happening on Tulsa also with Stallone. False pride and ego!

[@penoyer79]

@@TC-dw6wg costner had been flirting with leaving for a while now. should have made the last season the end of the show.

[@timebandit1266]

I love westerns and these horizon movies could be some of the greatest westerns ever made. 🥳🥳🥳

[@jamoe4802]

I'm going Sunday with my wife to see Horizon. Haven't been to movies in awhile but it looks promising!

[@MargaretLiter]

Kevin you are such an amazing Man! I listen to your voice and just love you even more! I’m really looking forward to Horizon!

[@KevinCostner-live]

❤ you are loved

[@MargaretLiter]

@@KevinCostner-live thank you!

[@KevinCostner-live]

@@MargaretLiter For how long have you actually been a fan of mine now?

[@meena9032]

Will miss Kevin in YS !! I always look forward to seeing him make his stoic appearance.

[@banjopiggottwright1802]

Whilst it's disappointing that he's left the show, I fully understand and respect his decision to do so.

[@TheJoker-tw8jx]

First of all I really have to thank Kevin Costner for bringing back Western Genre Movies! Dances with Wolves, Open Range, Horizon. Great movies!

[@TeeFavors]

It's going to be hard to watch Yellowstone without Kevin🙁 But I'm going to continue watching because I Love Rip and a few other cast. And I gotta check out Horizon.

[@Penny-zb7nw]

Love your music and the movies your voice is amazing

[@rosebecker3355]

AAAAMMMMMOO SEU TRABALHO, AAMMMMOOO TUDO QUE VOCÊ FAZ, PORQUE VOCÊ FAZ COM AMOR, COM PAIXÃO, VOU AAMMAR HORIZON ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@mariemellard5949]

Kevin tu es le meilleur en TOUT ❤️👍

[@ibott50]

Will miss him big time. But he has certainly earned the right to make any decision he wants.

[@darylkoestel6921]

So basically Kevin said, "Keep the SAME schedule as the first four seasons, because I have other stuff I want to do." Taylor said, "no". So Kevin had to walk away. I think Taylor thought Kevin would not leave and tried to call his bluff and well, Kevin called it.

[@StefenTower]

@doNaldMusk-h28-hfkslP18 Yellowstone turned to crap years ago, and it's not Costner's fault. Sheridan spread the franchise thin and the quality dropped on the original show.

[@TC-dw6wg]

Exactly right Daryl! Sheridan killed this great show and he expected other people to sit around waiting for him to write. A true knucklehead who’s crashing because of ego.

[@Malaysian_GenXer]

Bless him for wanting to do his passion projects

[@deborahmcdonald8960]

Exactly! Yellowstone did not stay on track. It was completely sidetracked by the writer strike and scripts. Not being ready when Costner was ready and people can’t work just once a year that’s unrealistic and just not even sustainable.. and Kevin Costner has his own hopes and dreams. And it’s been a dream of his to make the horizon series for 30 years. He believes in striking when the irons hot. And the iron was hot a year ago! So he made horizon one because Yellowstone scripts were not ready they were messing with his money who can blame the man. Don’t we wish that Mr. Costner could’ve stayed with Yellowstone.? The powers that be should’ve made that happen wasn’t his fault. he made it clear. He still do it, but it has to fit his schedule.

[@BostonAmy]

Well, the writers strike and then the actors strike really held up production. Then Costner and Sheridan were trying to come to an agreement about Costner's schedule. I'm honestly kinda bitter that he couldn't wrap up the final season.

[@KevinCostner-live]

❤️

[@cubansoldier84fl]

Great show..come back to the show

[@ssn711]

Now that Horizon has bombed perhaps he will reconsider Yellowstone..

[@TIG5574]

They already announced season 5 is the last season. So no chance.

[@Eugene-f1i]

It's terrible. Yellowstone wouldn't be the same without him. I still hope he'll be in at least one-two episodes and they'll finish the series.

[@londialberti-yk2ld]

I am a big fan of Kevin Costner & felt his broken heart saying the eulogy for Whitney . I loved the Bodyguard & handsome sexy character. I’ve been following Kevin for sometime , being a great dad , actor & would love ❤️ to be in contact with him. I’m his age , come from NY & I worked in Substance Abuse Treatment as a director for over 35 years. I just pray he continues to pursues his goals. He’s a talented handsome man who I really adore..My name is Yolanda..!

[@007DeanBond]

season 5 was a huge step down though.

[@TheCapn23]

Meh, Yellowstone jumped the shark in like season 3. Just got too outside of any possible reality. Gigantic shootouts where they all get away with it, etc.

[@jameswitt645]

And Beth surviving that explosion and only getting burned on her back lol. In reality, all they would've found of her is pieces. And Taylor Sheridan started putting too many irons in the fire with other spinoffs. And as a result of this, the writing for Yellowstone suffered. I didn't even finish watching season 4 because the writing got so mundane.

[@robntrades9326]

😂 if you want reality just live your life….

[@jasonchristiansen9063]

This is what true artists do. It's hard to focus on more than one encompassing project. You have to abandon the safe path and take the hard road.

[@andreagallo1996]

I love this man ❤

[@MetYsJa]

I watched 5 seasons in 2 weeks. devastated that its over.

[@alexanderb4165]

Respect! Horizon will be epic

[@callumpaine4497]

It's not its 3hours of boredom

[@alexanderb4165]

@@callumpaine4497 disagrees saw it, can’t wait for the second one. I like those types of films so it’s a preference thing 🙂

[@callumpaine4497]

@@alexanderb4165 so do I but it was 3 hours of nothing happening after the indians attacked not alot goes on

[@phantom197]

It’s crazy we prolly won’t ever see another John and Rip scene 😢

[@joemckim1183]

I guess the'll just say he's off in Helena being Governor while the last bunch of episodes focuses more on what's going on at the ranch.

[@1stofer]

That just blows in so many ways. No matter how they write him off , he was the MAIN CHARACTER!! Just totally gutted one of the best TV series of all time. Damn

[@elg7365]

I really love him. I enjoy his moves ,I like his style. He is one my favourites. I was hyped about horizon. But it was a mess. Never had the time to get in touch with the characters. Some stories dragged too long while other stories had little time. I truly believe that they messed up the editing.

[@BreathofSan]

Kevin Costner explains his decision to leave Yellowstone. He could at least finish an episode so the series can continue and conclude. It would be more polite to his audience.

[@chrisnettos4749]

Yeah but when does that episode get filmed when there is no script and no dates? What's he going to do continue to sit around waiting for when sherridan wants to film that episode. Clearly looking from a me perspective and no from his perspective

[@g35hunkers]

He clearly said he wouldn’t break contracts he had with others. I know there aren’t a lot of examples in Hollywood or politics, but there still are things called contracts, morals, and integrity. He should trash these so you can feel “ good?”

[@BreathofSan]

@@g35hunkers Yes.

[@stormlakebobcat9058]

Costner owes nobody a thing. Let alone the fans. Get over yourself 😅

[@BreathofSan]

@@stormlakebobcat9058 I'm not saying he owes anything to the fans, but a little respect for those who supported the show wouldn't hurt. After all, it's the fans who contributed to its success. Get over yourself a bit.

[@christiantuairau4205]

Yellowstone is over without him.

[@Gary-u1x]

Great work Kevin ❤Ed Yellow Stone bummed 🫤 but understand! I think in your past life you were a real Cowboy 🤠 love and respect you

[@jennifervail4994]

❤❤❤I love you Kevin Costner!!❤❤❤

[@XLoad3d]

It's too bad they couldn't accommodate the lead character of Yellowstone just a bit after Kevin gave 4 Seasons! No loyalty whatsoever shame on Taylor.

[@samanthab1923]

How do they write him off?

[@MarilynTemple-p4y]

Love Yellowstone and KC best wishes ❤

[@derek9767]

To write John off would be simple, intriguing, and possibly the best sell for the Yellowstone future.

[@wormking86]

Horizon was amazing

[@casey583]

A shame they werent able to give us real closure on his character on the show. Going to be real hard to do that without him.

[@StefenTower]

Explaining John Dutton's sudden absence will be really tricky. I wonder if they pulled a Darren and recast. Not the worst idea if cast well.

[@gdansk12349]

Wtf is wrong with the mic signal

[@MattGrossChannel]

With Paramount TV Studios shutting down business at the end of this week, doesn't that mean "Yellowstone" and it's spinoff series are cancelled unless they move to CBS or some other network?

[@ElectricHorseman66]

His daughter in the show can take over, her caractere is son interesting and have depth.

[@londialberti-yk2ld]

I am such a fan of yours . I think you are such an amazing handsome actor that I felt your pain saying Whitney’s eulogy & miss her dearly . I have been following you for a while but now that I can get my feelings across to you , I’m happy. I’m your age , a widow , grandma , comes from New York . I ran a substance abuse treatment program for over 35 years as a director helping ppl become clean & sober. My heart goes out to you Kevin ♥️I pray you could be a pen pal with me , I simply adore you ..Stay well 🙏( I’m Yolanda)

[@Jry088]

Yellowstone is such a good show

[@crashn2me105]

I for one will not be watching the show anymore without Kevin there is no show.............. As for the long awaited four 6s who cares.

[@LindaGuy-yg6ju]

At the money he makes for just one appearance on yellowstone is breathitaking. Guess you got to do what you gotta do.

[@peterboil4064]

Yellowstone took some time for me to get used to, due to it being too "American" at first. But it was well worth staying on it.

[@LizWhitley]

I’ve loved every one of Kevin’s movies.He is a genius 😅. Pleasee don’t stop making the “saga movies “.

[@maryvanderpool4490]

Will miss him

[@adaoramadike3543]

He left Yellowstone because of the four part Horizon. The first part bombed at the box office, on a budget of 50 million dollars, it made only about 35 million dollars worldwide. The second part is ready to be released but the poor reception of part one has affected the release date. The first one is about 3 hours long and avid Costner fans that has seen the film said that it is too long, that there are lose ends to each of the characters stories. People have suggested that the film would do better as a mini series on a streaming platform. His 20 year marriage to Christine Baumgartner ended because he was so invested in this project. I kinda feel bad for him, Horizon had been a project that he started shopping around the major studios over twenty years ago, when they all begged off financing it, he forked out 38 million dollars of his own money and plunked it into the project. He should have stayed with Yellowstone, I get that Sheridan was taking too long to begin season five but audiences are not warming up to his pet project.

[@fajareraim6136]

his feud with sheridan is what burnt his ship...but if you see it on another perspective... the Dutton character(john), is facing an end any other way... the fact that Sheridan make another younger john by casting Josh Lucas, is actually good move because what we all want deeply is just to learn about John Dutton character and its past... the Dutton played by Costner is lovely in my opinion but its sad..tragedy after tragedy and the plot keeping him alive..in the end we all will feel like this is just another series not a true strong series... i think i appreciated the idea replacing john dutton with Josh Lucas if Sheridan actually made that prequel for John Dutton... and perhaps we may see Costner as Dutton again in the future after Josh as Dutton...

[@christopherarnold6686]

I blame the director/creator of Yellowstone for KC leaving.

[@djmetcalf3815]

Should have asked him why he left his wife.

[@richrobson220]

She left him, and wanted all his money

[@crimdell]

He insisted that he wanted to work on multiple projects at the same time so he withdrew from Yellowstone so he could work on one project (Horizon).

[@524FrmGrl]

So disappointed in him to not have more respect for his fans to atleast finish season 5😢

[@Thepurolife]

Unfortunately Yellowstone is dead in the water without him. John Dutton is the why. Everyone else can not carry it without him. Doesn’t matter who steps in. Horizon I enjoyed very much, wish it was longer. Lots of character building in the first one.

[@Iamtina79]

He could at least have ended the character on the show to let it continue.. he is an awesome actor but he wasn’t the only reason to the Yellowstone success.. Rip & Beth is the biggest reason I got obsessed with the show, not John. The series will go on without him, he was a big deal but not the main thing that made me watch the show. He can easily be replaced with someone else.. after 1 or 2 episodes fans will adjust

[@michaelfoley9904]

Yellowstone won't be same without Kevin Costner. Even if just finished off season 5 to finish up the the series of Yellowstone, it's a shame the character of John Dutton is unclear ,

[@franciscooctavius5957]

Sucks Kevin is done w Yellowstone. Such an amazing actor and completely born 150 years too late. Enjoy all your stuff and looking forward to seeing Horizon.

[@jacobhughes9010]

Idk i feel like it made more sense for the people both him and Taylor sherden are paid to entertain to finish the 5th season together and give it a proper ending and then walk away. The fact that they couldn’t find a way to make it work. Like shoot all the scenes without Kevin have it all written and then have him come out to finish his parts. It’s pretty unfortunate on both parties

[@keithpatrick156]

I wanted to love Horizon Chapter 1....and I did. It's exactly what it says it is - chapter 1 of an epic western saga.

[@dowlingadvisor]

The show will absolutely go on without him. I liked his character but he was just one piece of a very intriguing mix. Another note, I just watched Horizon. He is no Taylor Sheridan, as a director.

[@nativestrong7253]

Horizon was fantastic

[@ericlingley7951]

Horizon is fantastic.

[@ruthafritap]

You gave Paramount and Sheridan ENOUGH of your time, Kevin. And they did not respect that, so it’s their loss. You made the right decision. I’m excited to see you complete your Horizon saga.

[@daveclark8337]

Horizon 1 flopped So hard at the box office, the rest is all cancelled now.

[@thehamza]

wasnt it reported that he went back to finish the last season? 🤨

[@lazzy2012]

Yellowstone jumped the shark after the attacks and the explosion in the building

[@zooropa5722]

Nah, it's heightened reality, that's what's great about that show.

[@geovanniecipres3596]

I don't blame the man if it took more than a year to play a role id been waiting for id be fuckin pissed the man doesn't have all the time in the world and he knows that he knows what he wants and thats his choice wheather we like it or not

[@Penny-zb7nw]

I love you as a man not what you have

[@eduardohm5089]

Sheridan should at least give closure to the character, if he wants to shut down Yellowstone and continue with 20 spin-offs, at least give closure to the foundations of your success, ask Kevin Costner for a couple of episodes and kill the character, make him irrelevant mid season (impossible without killing him IMO) and give Yellowstone fans a good closure with a last season, IDK make a 2 and a half hour movie but MAKE A FREAKING CLOSURE, I feel that the fans are left behind with the ending of the last season, too many loose ends.

[@IstanaAnginWorldwide]

I suspect there's going to be a surprise return

[@xcephasxstudios]

Way he’s sitting needs to be explained 😂

[@j-rodjl4569]

Unless critics praise this i will not watch anything with him until yellowstone is done and done right!

[@MichelleT-so4we]

Mucking horse stalls is oodles of fun & you get paid! That is a win win.

[@MargaretCasey-i1d]

Maybe miffed because Beth and Rip became the stars of the show?

[@kathrynhall7021]

It is KC's decision, and ONLY his. Live YOUR life.

[@davidthompson6851]

Which*

[@lbailey2006]

There is plenty of strong characters and stories without John Dutton. Yellowstone will be good with or without him. Those kids are going to tear each other apart when he dies.

[@KevinCostner-live]

you are loved ❤

[@nathanmillan24]

He wanted to make his movie and they didn’t want to give him time off so he walked away and his movie flopped

[@vt6984]

What kinda series has no ending? Wtf

[@otisroseboro5613]

Kevin Costner Is The Best 💯

[@dadaevan]

Just friggin weird. Kevin has always been a pain in the butt.

[@jasonavery]

So he’s a pain in the butt? He told them when he was available for Yellowstone shooting. They agreed on a time. He took a break from “Horizon” to shoot his parts on Yellowstone, they weren’t ready. He couldn’t wait all year to get a call “Hey, Kevin, we’re ready to shoot now.” Because he was making his movie. That’s on Taylor Sheridan not him.

[@MarklovesAngels]

@@jasonaverybingo. Paramount and Sheridan were the ones acting unprofessional. But yeh, blame Kevin for not giving us a few more scenes in a show way past its “sell by” date.