If you haven’t jumped aboard the Taylor Sheridan train yet, what are you waiting for? Sure, there was a time when it seemed as though the man was producing shows exclusively designed with dads in-mind. But the guy’s so prolific he couldn’t possibly appeal to exactly the same demographic with every one of his series. And while Sheridan has drawn controversy for the way he writes women (something that several women who star in his shows have pushed back against), the big secret here is that he’s a surprisingly sensitive writer when he wants to be. Indeed, every Taylor Sheridan TV show surprises with tender moments and naturalistic relationships that seem designed to catch the uninitiated off-guard.
That being said, the man’s choice to insert himself into the action on many of his series is certainly questionable. Starting with the granddaddy of the Sheridan-verse, “Yellowstone,” the writer has popped up in several of his shows, and he hasn’t always been welcomed by fans. In fact, many blame his “Yellowstone” character, Travis Wheatley, for derailing the series in its controversial fifth season.
At the same time, Sheridan did start out in Hollywood as an actor, landing several prominent roles on well-known shows like “Veronica Mars” and, most notably, “Sons of Anarchy.” In fact, he played a recurring role as Charming Police Department Deputy Chief David Hale in the first two seasons of the latter prior to departing to write his celebrated crime thriller “Sicario.” In other words, it’s not as if he doesn’t know what he’s doing in front of a camera. So, with all that in mind, we’ve taken a look at every time Sheridan wrote himself into one of his movies or shows and ranked them.
4. Unnamed Cowboy in Hell or High Water
After providing the script for what would become one of Denis Villeneuve’s best films, Taylor Sheridan turned his attention to his follow-up to “Sicario.” For some, the 2016 neo-Western crime drama “Hell or High Water” represents Sheridan’s best movie, and it’s not hard to see why.
Chris Pine and Ben Foster star as Toby and Tanner Howard, two brothers who, faced with having to give up their family ranch, decide to rob several branches of the bank that’s forcing them into foreclosure. In doing so, they attract the attention of Texas Rangers Marcus Hamilton and Alberto Parker (Jeff Bridges and Sheridan-verse alum Gil Birmingham). Marcus, in particular, is nearing retirement and is determined to ensure his final act as a ranger puts an end to the siblings’ crime spree.
“Hell or High Water” has all the calling cards of a Taylor Sheridan movie: a West Texas setting, crime, and cowboys. Perhaps that’s why the writer decided he should portray one of those cowpokes himself — that, and Sheridan can’t resist the chance to saddle-up on-screen.
In “Hell or High Water” Bridges and Birmingham’s rangers encounter Sheridan’s unnamed cowboy and his ranch hands as they struggle to move a herd of cattle after a wildfire breaks out. The role is pretty much a caricature of a Sheridan character: a world weary cowboy dismayed by the fact his children won’t follow in his footsteps. That, combined with the fact he’s on-screen for all of 30 seconds, makes this the least impressive Sheridan cameo of the lot.
3. Charles Goodnight in 1883
“Yellowstone” introduced us to the Dutton family and their endlessly melodramatic Montana-based exploits. But Kevin Costner’s John Dutton and his offspring were far from the first of their kind to defend the titular ranch against hostile outsiders. With his prequel series, “1883,” Taylor Sheridan told the story of how the Duttons came to settle in Big Sky Country. The show follows Tim McGraw’s James Dillard Dutton and his family as they join Sam Elliott’s wagon train leader Shea Brennan on a journey westward from Tennessee and eventually settle the Montana land that later becomes the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch.
Along the way, of course, they get into all sorts of trouble, and they’re even helped by the very man responsible for “Yellowstone” and its many spin-offs. Yes, Sheridan co-stars in “1883” as Charles Goodnight, a real-life 19th Century cowboy and rancher who established major cattle trails across the U.S. frontier.
If there’s one thing Sheridan can’t resist more than the opportunity to mount-up on-screen, it’s the opportunity to help his characters out of a bind. In “1883,” he does so by having Goodnight show up just as Brennan and co. find themselves accosted by cattle thieves. Sporting a magnificent beard that bears a suspiciously Just for Men-esque quality, Sheridan croaks his way through scenes with the similarly gravel-voiced Elliott. He’s suitably stoic in the role, though, doing a solid job of projecting the seen-it-all confidence of a frontier trailblazer. In the end, while he’s technically in two episodes of “1883,” Sheridan’s Goodnight is only on-screen for a few minutes and spends most of that lamenting the erosion of the open range. It’s a decent little showcase for the man’s acting abilities, but it’s not a significant enough role to seriously be considered for the top spot here.
2. Travis Wheatley in Yellowstone
Taylor Sheridan cast himself as horse trainer and cattle reiner Travis Wheatley in “Yellowtone,” and it’s by far his biggest and best-known role in any of his series. As such, many fans will be surprised to see Travis in the second spot here, but there’s a good reason for it … and those same fans will almost certainly know what I mean without me having to say much more.
It’s not controversial to say that many think Travis Wheatley ruined “Yellowstone.” Of course, the series in general has been criticized for jumping the shark mid-way through regardless of its Wheatley levels. But as the seasons went on, Sheridan seemed to decide that his horse trainer needed to be much more a focus. Meanwhile, fans struggled to see the show creator’s vision, and by Season 5, “Yellowstone” had very much become the Travis Wheatley series.
But focusing solely on how Travis and his horse spinning detracted from “Yellowstone” does the character a disservice. For a while, Travis was a nice little addition to the show. Aside from the fact it was neat to see Kevin Costner sharing scenes with the same man responsible for animating his own character, Travis had an undeniable charm that was unmistakably Sheridan’s own. It’s been part of every character the writer has portrayed, and, for a while, it worked well in “Yellowstone.” But there’s no escaping the fact that Travis’ ever-increasing screen time was part of the show’s undoing, which is why the character misses out on the top spot here.
1. Cody Spears in Lioness
If you’re Taylor Sheridan fan but have yet to check out “Lioness,” I implore you to remedy that asap. This spy action thriller/family drama is one of the best things Sheridan has ever produced and a nice break from the pro-country/anti-big city sentiment that pervades most of his other series. “Lioness” also features the best self-created Sheridan character yet in Cody Spears, a Delta Force soldier who has helped Zoe Saldaña’s CIA case officer Joe McNamara on several occasions.Â
Again, Sheridan can’t resist showing up to get his own characters out of a bind, and he’s done so many a time across the second and third seasons of “Lioness.” In this instance, however, he’s genuinely great in the role.
You’d be forgiven for letting out a groan when you first see a shirtless Cody in the Season 2 premiere. Just when we thought Sheridan might have resisted the urge to give himself a heroic role in his own show, there he is, loading up for a mission in which he does, indeed, get to showcase some heroics. But there’s something about Sheridan’s coolly removed charisma that suits Cody better than any of his previous characters. He sells the hardened war vet schtick well enough that by the time he leads Joe and her team across the battlefields of Ukraine in Season 3, you’re glad Cody is there to watch over the characters to whom you’ve grown to love. He’s seen it all, knows what he’s doing, and never gets overwhelmed, making him a blessing amid the perilous landscape of international spy craft. He’s also only in a few episodes, which makes it more of a treat when he does appear, as opposed to Travis Wheatley galloping his way into multiple scenes across a season.
