In a new interview on The Howard Stern Show, Taylor Sheridan explains how he persuaded Sam Elliott to star in his Yellowstone spin-off, 1883, despite Elliott initially being skeptical.

Sheridan's creative process is unique, in that he tends to secure his lead actors before starting work on the script, so that he can craft the narratives with clear characters in mind.

Sheridan reflects on doing this with successful results with Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren for 1923, Michelle Pfeiffer for The Madison and Billy Bob Thornton for Landman.

But when it came to trying to land Elliott, one of the most revered Western actors of the 21st century, Sheridan admits that he was reluctant to get involved in the Yellowstone universe at first, due to not being a fan of the ‘soap’ style format of the series.

The prolific screen-writer begins by outlining, “Before I wrote a word of The Madison, I met with Michelle and I told her, ‘Here’s what I want to explore’. So I was literally writing it for her. When you can do that, and I did it with Billy Bob on Landman, I can get really specific now, right? Because I know exactly who I’m writing for.”

He goes on, “With Sam Elliott, [and] I used him in 1883… it’s funny because I called him, we talked and he’s like, ‘I don’t like that Yellowstone. That’s a cowboy soap opera’”.

Rather than getting his hackles up, Sheridan actually agreed with Elliott, “I said, ‘You’re right. I’m not asking you to be on that. That’s the punk rock me throwing middle fingers at the industry and a lot of other s***. This is gonna be the grown up me. I have a story I want to tell. Here’s the story, and here’s the arc of your character’”.

How does Taylor Sheridan get such great actors for his projects? He explained his process during his interview with Howard Stern. pic.twitter.com/UOZIQ90MmA

— Stern Show (@sternshow) June 30, 2026

Ultimately, it seems Elliott respected Sheridan's candour, “I pitched it to him and he said, ‘That’s beautiful. I’d love to do that’. I said, ‘Great, I’m gonna go write it for you’”.

Sheridan pays a warm homage to Elliott, praising the Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid star as “one of the most delightful human beings I have ever met, and a wizard of an actor”.

1883 remains one of our favourite instalments in the Yellowstone canon, with Sheridan's exploration of the Dutton family's quest across the rugged, perilous Texas plains capturing a level of grit and poeticism that the original Yellowstone series undoubtedly lacks.

1883 highlights Sheridan's versatility - he can write a highly commercial hit, like Yellowstone or Tulsa King - but he also has an understanding of the complexities of the American West that few other writers in the space can rival. And as a result, we're not surprised that Elliott was eventually charmed by Sheridan's 1883 pitch.