Ed Harris doesn’t seem happy with his role in Dutton Ranch. At Monday night’s premiere of Apple TV’s The Dink, Harris told Variety’s Marc Malkin that she felt “misunderstood” about the importance of her role in the Yellowstone spinoff and told her team to “get me out of here” midway through filming Season 1.
“Before I signed on, there was a lot of talk about what the season was going to be, what my character was going to do, and me being one of the four main characters,” Harris said. “And that actually wasn’t the case.”
Spokespeople for Paramount, series creator Taylor Sheridan and 101 Studios did not immediately respond to Variety’s requests for comment.
Mr. Harris said he expressed his dissatisfaction but did not mention Mr. Sheridan by name. “I said, ‘I feel underutilized and insignificant,’ and they were like, ‘Oh,'” Harris added. “I’ve been told that my character has a little more work to do[in Season 2]which was a little frustrating, to be honest.”
Harris said that when he actually saw Dutton Ranch, he thought it was “very good” and that he felt his character was “relatively important to the story.” However, he said, “I didn’t feel that way” during filming.
In “Dutton Ranch,” Harris plays Everett McKinney, a friendly veterinarian. Harris is currently under contract for two seasons. Harris has indicated that she is ready to leave Dutton Ranch, but it is unclear whether she actually intends to leave the show.
The “Apollo 13” star later recalled that he filmed a scene in which his character sings in a bar, but the moment was cut from the show. “I was really pissed off,” Harris said.
“So there’s this scene…I’m talking to (Beth Dutton) at the bar and (Rip Wheeler) comes in and says, ‘Okay, Everett, now it’s your turn,'” Harris said. “I walk up to the microphone and they cut it. They cut the song. I say, ‘Fuck you, guys.'”
Harris remembers producers telling him they cut the moment because it was “too ‘dangerous’ for the episode’s dark ending.” But Harris said he felt at the time that was “sufficient reason to void the contract.”
“Dutton Ranch” began its series premiere on May 15th on Paramount+. The show follows Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) and Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) as they leave Montana to build their own ranch in South Texas. Other cast members include Finn Little, Juan Pablo Raba, Jai Courtney, J.R. Villarreal, Marc Menchaca, Natalie Alyn Lind, and Annette Bening.
