star Kevin Costner parting ways with the show and threatening to drag the production into court, things somehow got even worse. And it all came to a head during one heated confrontation between Costner and actor Wes Bentley while shooting, described as a “tipping point” in the ongoing clash between Costner and creator, writer, and showrunner Taylor Sheridan.
In a lengthy profile dissecting Costner’s fall from grace throughout the industry in the last several years, The Hollywood Reporter revealed some sordid details during the filming of one particular moment in “Yellowstone.” According to THR, the script called for a “tense exchange” between Costner’s family patriarch John Dutton, Kelly Reilly’s Beth Dutton, and Bentley’s Jamie Dutton. But on-set disagreements over how to play this particular scene soon boiled over into an almost physical altercation. Reportedly, Costner (who was also an executive producer on the show) wanted Bentley to diverge from Sheridan’s script. Not only did Bentley refuse, but he apparently stated in no uncertain terms that he had joined the production to do a Sheridan series, not a Costner one. What came next, according to one unnamed source, would leave Reilly in tears and briefly halt production.
According to a witness:
“Kevin didn’t like that, and he lunged at [Bentley]. No fists were thrown, but they were in each other’s faces, pushing and shoving and just getting hot until they had to be separated.”
