Across his career so far, Josh Lucas has proven himself an asset in seemingly every genre imaginable, from horror (Session 9) to rom-coms (Sweet Home Alabama) to prestige dramas (Ford v Ferrari) to big-budget romps (Poseidon). But audiences in 2022 couldn’t get enough of Lucas’ western-leaning chops for his return to Yellowstone as John Dutton in the 1990s timeline. He’s earned more screen time than ever in Season 5 as the younger (and somehow more gravelly-voiced) take on Kevin Costner’s ranch patriarch, which has been an all-around win for everyone. But it turns out if the actor had his way initially, we’d be seeing him every single week as a completely different character.
Perhaps strangely, all things considered, Josh Lucas originally had his eye on the role of John Dutton’s second banana on the ranch, Rip Wheeler. When talking to Deadline about how co-creator Taylor Sheridan envisioned two generations of actors playing John Dutton, Lucas said:
I was approached all the way back before they started shooting the pilot. Taylor and I discussed it at length, you know, The Godfather and what Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro did. These men don’t necessarily need to look alike. They need to have the essence of each other. I wanted to be in the pilot. In fact, I’ve not said this to people, I really wanted to play Rip. But he clearly wanted Cole Hauser and it was kinda cool for me because I’ve known Cole since we were like 17, 18 years old.
With Sylvester Stallone currently starring in the mobster-centric drama Tulsa King for those with Paramount+ subscriptions, perhaps it’s not so surprising that Sheridan cited The Godfather when explaining his ideas for Lucas and Costner taking on the same role. Now how soon until the prolific TV creator brings Robert De Niro into his stable of actors?
All that aside, the big takeaway here is that Lucas, who recently said he’s campaigned Reese Witherspoon for a Sweet Home Alabama sequel, was originally angling to take on the role that Cole Hauser has turned into one of TV’s most beloved hardasses. Which might not have seemed so weird had it happened that way to begin with, possibly with the actor dying and growing his hair out a bit the way Hauser did to change his naturally blonde, clean-shaven look.
But it seems especially odd now to think about Lucas acting next to Kevin Costner as Rip, having spent the past five seasons watching him impress as a younger version of Costner. It’s probably not the most normal thing for a ranch employee to look more like the boss than the latter’s own offspring. Plus, it might have made things even stranger had that plastic surgeon given him a lookalike version of Kevin Costner’s nose if he’d have been playing Rip. Although one would hope the doctor wouldn’t have made the offer in that hypothetical scenario.
It's cool to know Lucas and Hauser have been on good terms for more than half of their lives now. Hopefully they get to hang out when filming, even though it doesn't seem very likely, considering they don't share any scenes in the same decade.
Josh Lucas also reflected back on joining the Yellowstone universe back in those first days before anyone realized it would go on to become the biggest show on TV this side of George R.R. Martin's HBO series. Here's how he put it:
I think I came in Episode 3 or Episode 4, I forget exactly. Yellowstone was not Yellowstone at that point. These people were creating something and they were pouring their hearts and souls into it, but there was no success to it yet.
Josh Lucas is set to play more than just John Dutton in 2023, thankfully for TV audiences who don’t want to have to wait until the summer. He’s set to star in Rod Blackhurst’s crime thriller Blood for Dust opposite an A+ squad including Kit Harington, Scoot McNairy, Ethan Suplee and Stephen Dorff; as well, his upcoming thriller The Black Demon is set for release on April 14. On the TV side, he’ll be co-starring in the throwback Apple TV+ comedy Mrs. American Pie opposite Mom vet Allison Janney, SNL alum Kristen Wiig and Big Little Lies’ Laura Dern.
Yellowstone will return to Paramount Network this summer for the back half of Season 5, while 1923 will continue its inaugural season in early February on Paramount+. Head to our 2023 TV premiere schedule to see when new and returning shows will be arriving.
