Luke Grimes wasn’t too unhappy when Kevin Costner left “Yellowstone.”
The 40-year-old actor who performs Kayce Dutton within the hit sequence obtained candid with Esquire about Costner’s controversial departure from the present.
“Hopefully everyone can see that it was time,” Grimes stated within the interview, which printed Tuesday. “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,” Grimes continued. “Not pointing any fingers, but it was actually the easiest season we’ve filmed.”
Costner left “Yellowstone” after filming solely the primary half of Season 5 and moved on to give attention to his new Western movie sequence, “Horizon.”
The Oscar winner has denied that he give up the present due to an alleged feud with creator Taylor Sheridan.
In the course of the Season 5B premiere that aired Nov. 11, Costner’s John Dutton was murdered in a plot orchestrated by lawyer Sarah Atwood (Daybreak Olivieri), sparking important fan backlash.
Costner weighed in on John’s loss of life on SiriusXM’s “The Michael Smerconish Program” and revealed that he didn’t get a heads up about his character’s destiny.
“I didn’t see it. I heard it’s a suicide. That doesn’t make me wanna rush to go see it,” he stated.
On the 2024 Governors Awards on Nov. 17, Costner acknowledged it was the producers’ name to determine what to do with John.
“Who am I? They do what they want. That’s fine with me,” the star stated.
With just one episode left of “Yellowstone,” Grimes instructed Esquire that he’s able to say goodbye to the present that’s dominated his life since 2018.
“It feels like good timing. Seven years is a long time to do anything, and I had never played a character for more than a few months before,” the actor defined.
“I’ve loved all of it. But there is a part of it that—once you read those final episodes—sees that there’s a finality to it,” Grimes added.
Grimes additionally revealed if he’s paid consideration to the fan response to Season 5 — particularly how they felt about John’s loss of life.
“In the past, no, because it would have hurt my feelings. This year, I read a little bit of the fan reaction about John Dutton dying,” he shared. “I was just interested in how people were feeling about that, because I think we all had a pretty good idea that people weren’t going to like it very much. But I’m careful.”
When requested if the followers might be happy with the sequence finale airing Sunday, Grimes stated with fun, “At the rate we’re headed, I don’t think they’re going to be satisfied with anything.”
“Some people will realize that it was very well written and well executed,” the “American Sniper” star continued. “But a large part will just be mad that it’s over, which is fair.”
It was introduced that “Yellowstone” would finish with Season 5 in Might 2023.
On Wednesday, Deadline reported {that a} spinoff sequence about Kelly Reilly’s Beth and Cole Hauser’s Rip set in the identical present-day timeframe because the flagship sequence is within the works.
Sources additionally instructed Deadline that “doing another season” of “Yellowstone” “is not out of the question.”
The “Yellowstone” Season 5B finale airs Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on the Paramount Community.
