Kevin Costner Reacts to John Dutton's Death on 'Yellowstone'

Warning: This story has major spoilers for the Season Five, Part Two premiere episode of “Yellowstone.”

Kevin Costner is getting real about how “Yellowstone” moved on without his involvement in the series.

During the show's Season Five, Part Two premiere on Nov. 10, Costner’s character, John Dutton, initially appeared to die by suicide. However, viewers soon learned he was the target of a murder-for-hire scheme.

During a Nov. 11 interview on SiriusXM’s “The Michael Smerconish Program," the actor said he wasn’t even aware the episode was scheduled to air, which Costner never actually appears in.

"I'm going to be perfectly honest, I didn't know it was actually airing last night," Costner shared. "That's a swear-to-God moment."

“I mean, I’ve been seeing ads with my face all over the place and I’m thinking, ‘Gee, I’m not in that one.’ I’m not in this season. But I didn’t realize yesterday was the thing," he said.

"Sometimes I’m like just a passenger in my life, you know, there’s a lot going on. And somebody said, ‘You know, it played last night?’ And I said, ‘Hmm, OK.’ So no, I found out about it this morning, actually," he continued.

Costner also said he didn’t know what was going to happen to his character Dutton, saying, “That’s their business.”

When asked if he is OK with how Dutton’s fate played out, Costner remained non-committal.

“I didn’t see it. I heard it’s a suicide, so that doesn’t make me want to rush to go see it,” he said, while Michael Smerconish noted that Dutton didn’t seem like a character who would take his own life.

“Well, they’re pretty smart people. Maybe it’s a red herring. Who knows? They’re very good. And they’ll figure that out,” Costner replied.

Costner hasn’t been on “Yellowstone” since the first part of Season Five, which came out in 2022.

After reports of scheduling issues and drama between Costner and “Yellowstone” creator Taylor Sheridan became public, the actor confirmed in a June Instagram video that he would not be returning to the series.

He reiterated to Smerconish in a separate Nov. 11 clip that he didn’t quit the show.

“But I didn’t leave. I didn’t quit the show. OK? I had made a contract to do all three (seasons). There was a contract in place to do all three. And within about an eight-month period, two more different kind of contracts were being negotiated, not at my request, but at their request to try to do things," he said.

"I accommodated them on those extra two things that changed, things change, and finally when they wanted to change it a third time, because I had my obligations to do, I had 300 people waiting for me, I couldn’t help them anymore," he continued. "I just simply couldn’t help them. But I didn’t quit the show."

Drew Weisholtz

Drew Weisholtz is a reporter for TODAY Digital, focusing on pop culture, nostalgia and trending stories. He has seen every episode of “Saved by the Bell” at least 50 times, longs to perfect the crane kick from “The Karate Kid” and performs stand-up comedy, while also cheering on the New York Yankees and New York Giants. A graduate of Rutgers University, he is the married father of two kids who believe he is ridiculous.