Yellowstone's fourth season wrapped up soon after 2022 started up, leaving us with lots of questions about the future, but that definitely wasn't the only thing worth celebrating this month for fans of the modern western drama. The star and fictional patriarch of the ratings-crushing Paramount Network hit turned the ripe, young age of 67 on January 18, and the occasion sparked lots of well-wishes and kind words from the actor’s friends and fanbase, as well as Yellowstone itself. Costner definitely seemed grateful for all the love, too, and shared quite the pleasant response. Presumably once he’d blown out all of his candles, of course.
With Yellowstone arguably being the biggest and most successful TV project in his long and storied career — despite not (yet) getting the Emmy praise that his Hatfields & McCoys work did — it only makes sense that the super-popular series took a moment to celebrate the legend at the top of the food chain and call sheet, Kevin Costner, with the following post on Instagram:
I dare say that John Dutton has paid the cost to be the boss. [Cue the James Brown horn riff.] And he'll likely continue paying dearly until he's six feet in the ground, or possibly thrown into a Wyoming landfill or something. But I think we're safe to assume that Kevin Costner gets to enjoy his birthdays with slightly less tension than the rivers of stress that course through John's veins on a daily basis.
After the outpouring of celebratory messages from the outside world, Kevin Costner posted a most gracious response, and while he definitely was not trolling Yellowstone fans by choosing to talk about his cinematic future instead of anything regarding Season 5, I’d like to think there was some winking cheekiness behind it.
Seriously, though... For my birthday this year (or any year), the only thing I'd like to request is "the ability to look as effortlessly suave and debonaire behind the wheel of a car as Kevin Costner." Nothing I can put on an Amazon wishlist, but the wish will remain all the same.
To the surprise of presumably no one, a few of Kevin Costner's Yellowstone co-stars chimed in with birthday messages of their own in both the show's and Costner's IG posts, which you can check out below, sans emjois.
- "Happy birthday boss!! - Jefferson White
- "Hope there's loads of chocolate cake and fun!" - Finn Little
- "HAPPY BIRTHDAY K!!!!" - Jen Landon
- "Happy Birthday ! Sending you much love x" - Kelly Reilly
Oh, and while I'm just throwing out random birthday wishes, I'd also like for Teeter to recreate Marilyn Monroe's cake-exiting ditty. Or for her to release an album of songs geared to celebrations and holidays. Someone is keeping track of these requests, right?
We can only hope that the next time Kevin Costner appears on the big screen, it’ll be opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger, who hasn’t been very secretive about his Yellowstone fandom. The action star and former Governor may not be an official part of the Dutton family, but he apparently sometimes dresses like he is.
Hopefully Yellowstone fans won’t be waiting until after Kevin Costner’s next birthday to see Season 5 come into existence on Paramount Network. According to producer David Glasser, the goal at the moment is to potentially kick off production anew in May after Taylor Sheridan finishes writing the scripts, with episodes debuting at some point in the fall. While waiting to see if that plan holds true, check out our 2022 TV premiere schedule to see all the new and returning shows on the way!
