In a new interview (completed before the strike), Dave Annable reveals how he became Yellowstone’s Lee Dutton after initially passing.
Dave Annable is a familiar face to Yellowstone fans, even if in a ghostly sort of way. He is – or was – Lee Dutton, eldest son to Kevin Costner’s John Dutton and heir to the kingdom. Lee’s death in the pilot episode not only sent the events of Taylor Sheridan‘s Neo-Western churning, but kept them that way.
“We used to coach together a long time ago, and we had sort of lost contact for a few years when I read the script for Yellowstone,” Annable says of Sheridan during his new/pre-picket interview with Deadline. “And I’m like, ‘yo, this is amazing.’”
As the actor recalls, “Lee was the son who was gonna take over the ranch, the best cowboy.” But for Annable, this was a strike against him.
“I was like, ‘I’m from New York. I’ve been on a horse twice in my life.’ So I actually passed on it, not knowing that Taylor would even know that I had read it or anything. And then my wife gets a call ‘cuz she was the one who introduced me to Taylor, and it was from Taylor.”
But if you know Taylor Sheridan, you know he doesn’t take no for an answer.
“‘I heard your boy just passed on my show. What is he thinking? Tell him to put his ass on tape tomorrow,’” Annable recalls Sheridan saying. “I was like, okay, let’s go, let’s do this.”
It was the right decision, as Lee Dutton remains the most iconic role of Annable’s extensive career. He did, after all, end up on the most popular show on television these last few years – even if for just an episode or two.
‘I went to cowboy camp for a three or four month experience of Yellowstone and being a cowboy. And I just fell in love with everything.’
But that brevity didn’t stop Sheridan from immersing his friend into the full Yellowstone experience.
“I went to cowboy camp for a three or four month experience of Yellowstone and being a cowboy. And I just fell in love with everything. I loved the cast. I loved being in Montana and Utah,” Annable recalls.
The inevitable was always right around the corner, however. Lee Dutton was going to die.
“When we were shooting my death scene, during the second or third take I was like, ‘I’m okay. this is just makeup. Like, you don’t have to kill me.’ I really started a whole Save Dave Annable campaign, not knowing what would then happen with the show becoming the number one show on the planet,” the actor reveals.
Dave Annable returns to the SheridanVerse for Lioness
Despite dying in the pilot – years before Yellowstone became a worldwide phenomenon – “I was really thankful for that experience and funny enough, Lioness existed a few years ago and then went away and then came back and Taylor mentioned it to me that he wanted me to play Neil,” Annable says.
Neil – a doctor and doting father – is a very different man than Lee Dutton. But such is the life of an actor. And for Yellowstone fans, this means seeing Annable return to the SheridanVerse again (who could forget that ghostly cameo during younger brother Kayce’s vision quest in Yellowstone Season 4’s end).
When Lioness finally re-entered production, “Taylor asked me if I was still interested. And I was like, oh my gosh, this is amazing. There might have been some version of an IOU in there, you know, his feeling bad [for Lee’s death]. But I think I’m the right guy for the part. And you know, Taylor has really proven over and over again that he knows what he’s doing when he puts the crew and cast together.”
And the rest, as they say, is television history. As for Dave Annable, “I’m over the moon. I’m so grateful.”
Lioness premiered its first two episodes July 23 on Paramount+. The remaining six episodes hit weekly through Sept. 3, 2023 on the streaming service.
The fate of Yellowstone Season 5, however, remains to be seen. For more on that, see our Latest from Kevin Costner & cast next.
