The Yellowstone season 5 cast includes several newcomers to Taylor Sheridan’s flagship neo-Western series. As John Dutton cements his family’s political dynasty by winning the elections for governor of Montana, the fight for Paradise Valley comes to a head in the show’s final season. The stakes are raised even higher, and Sheridan brings in several new players who are crucial to the final fate of the Duttons and their ranch.
Indeed, the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch faces its biggest threat yet in Market Equities, the billionaire-backed real estate developers now represented by the cunningly devious Sarah Atwood. After using the Duttons’ infighting to further weaken the family’s hold on their land, Sarah stands to deliver the biggest and most lethal blow to the ranch in Yellowstone season 5. As the show’s cast continues to expand, so does the gripping action and excitement in Taylor Sheridan’s smash hit series, with many questions left to be answered in Yellowstone season 5, part 2.
Dawn Olivieri
Playing Sarah Atwood
Character: Called into Montana by Market Equities CEO Caroline Warner, Sarah Atwood knows how to fight the Duttons at their own dirty games. A modern femme fatale straight out of the Sheridanverse playbook, Sarah sets her crosshair first on Jamie Dutton, whom she has seduced and completely turned against his own family. Through Sarah, the season 5 villain of the Yellowstone cast, Caroline Warner’s promise of paving the Dutton Ranch may yet come to fruition.
Actor: Sarah Atwood is played by Dawn Olivieri, who is no stranger to the Yellowstone universe that Taylor Sheridan has created. She played Claire Dutton, the sister of James Dutton (Tim McGraw) in the 1883 cast. She also appears as Dani in The Hot Zone, Amy in SEAL Team, and Ask in Double Threat. In movies, she has starred as Debbie O’Brien, Gerard Butler’s ex-wife, in Den of Thieves and appeared as Sherri Ward alongside Will Smith in Bright.
Lilli Kay
Playing Clara Brewer
Character: As the new governor of Montana, John Dutton now has a personal assistant/secretary for official matters — Clara Brewer. Clara isn’t a decision-maker on the team, and she mostly works in the background. That said, her seemingly harmless and soft-spoken demeanor belies the fact that she hears the ins and outs of the Duttons’ plans, and is privy to the conversations of the governor’s inner circle. She also seems to be becoming more invested in the Duttons’ way of life.
Actor: Clara Brewer is played in the Yellowstone cast by Lilli Kay, marking one of her early roles. Prior to joining Yellowstone, Kay played Penelope in the one-season horror series Chambers starring Uma Thurman. However, since appearing in Yellowstone, Kay has been finding more high-profile roles. She plays Fia Baxter, the daughter of a mobster, in the Bryan Cranston thriller series Your Honor and played Rachelle in the biopic Rustin starring Colman Domingo in an Oscar-nominated role.
Lainey Wilson
Playing Abby
Character: Abby’s Yellowstone debut is a rare and relatively amiable first-time interaction with Beth Dutton, whom she meets at the party celebrating John’s election win. Abby is a country singer who is notably romantically involved with Ryan, a supporting member of the Yellowstone cast. However, when Ryan is forced to join Rip and the rest of the cowboys in moving the herd to Texas, it puts the future of their relationship in question for part two of Yellowstone season 5.
Actor: Playing the role of Abby is Lainey Wilson,a real-life chart-topping country singerwhose songs have actually been used in previous episodes of Yellowstone. Her tunes appear on the Yellowstone soundtrack going back to the second season and her role on the show helps to solidify the show’s connection to American West culture. She is also not the only musician in the cast as Ryan Bingham (Walker) is an Oscar-winning singer and songwriter. Wilson made her acting debut on Yellowstone.
Kai Caster
Playing Rowdy
Character: Rowdy had a short-lived but highly impactful time as part of the Yellowstone cast. Rather than the current events in the series, Rowdy appears in Yellowstone’s flashbacks to the ’90s, as a ranch hand not much older than young Rip Wheeler (Kyle Red Silverstein). It is later revealed that Rowdy had an important role to play in Beth and Rip’s relationship, and even why Rip wears the Yellowstone brand. Given that Rip kills the man, it does not appear as though Rowdy will be making a return to the series.
Actor: Rowdy is played by Kai Caster, who interestingly already appeared in Yellowstone in another flashback role, in season 2 of the series as young Kayce Dutton. Fans might also be familiar with Caster for his role as Dirk in the family drama series The Baxters. He has also appeared as Henry in several episodes of the historical drama A Girl Named Jo and William in season 8 of American Horror Story.
Orli Gottesman
Playing Hailie
Character: Hailie is a character who is introduced briefly in some of the final episodes before the mid-season finale, but she could have a bigger role to play. Like Abby, Hailie is a new potential love interest brought into the story. During the branding party at the ranch, she approaches Carter, the teenage ranch hand who was adopted by Rip and Beth, and asks him to dance. In the season 5, part 1 finale episode, Hailie returns to say goodbye to Carter, but there is a clear connection that suggests there could be more to their story together.
Actor: Teenage actor Orli Gottesman plays Hailie in the Yellowstone cast with the show marking an impressive early role in her career. Her appearance in Yellowstone came in the same year she made her feature film debut as Britt in 1-800-Hot-Nite as well as playing Bethany in Adeline. Since then, she appeared alongside big-name actors Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, and Ethan Hawke in Leave the World Behind.
Yellowstone Season 5 Returning Cast & Characters
John Dutton (Kevin Costner): John is the patriarch of the Dutton family who struggles to maintain both his family and their land. He is also the new governor of Montana, and though he is uncomfortable with the political role, he knows that it can help his family in the long run. With an impeachment hanging over his head thanks to Jamie, John has been contemplating giving over the Yellowstone ranch to a Conservation Easement Plan to keep it whole.
Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly): Beth is seen as John’s most valuable weapon as she is a corporate genius, taking on their many enemies in the business world and shutting them down. She is all the more effective in this role as John’s new chief of staff. However, she and her father often butt heads over how to deal with their land and the Dutton legacy. Most important to Beth is her relationship with Rip which could be at the center of a Yellowstone spinoff series.
Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley): Jamie is the black sheep of the Dutton family, not only because he is adopted but because he is constantly disappointing his father with his lack of shared value in the ranch and the cowboy way of life. He now seeks to impeach his father from elected office with help from Sarah Atwood (Dawn Olivieri) and also holds a secret key to his father’s downfall as he has knowledge of the Yellowstone “train station”.
Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes): Kayce is another one of the Dutton children who does not always see eye-to-eye with his father. When the series began, he and John were barely speaking and Kayce was living his own life with his wife, Monica, and son, Tate. Over the course of the series, Kayce’s family has been pulled back towards the Yellowstone and formed a stronger bond with John. However, it seems as though Kayce is beginning to recognize that his connection to the Yellowstone will always put his family in danger.
Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser): Though not a direct Dutton family member, Rip has become the most beloved character on Yellowstone. The genuine cowboy is a brutal, strong, and unfailing loyal right-hand man to John in everything to do with the ranch. However, just as Beth puts Rip above all else, he is the same with her. At the end of the first half of season 5, Rip led the other cowboys to Texas with the herd for six months which will make it interesting to see where he is at the beginning of the final run of episodes.
Monica Long Dutton (Kelsey Asbille): Like Rip, Monica is someone who married into the Dutton clan. However, she has never been overly comfortable with the family, especially as John was so unapproving of her and Kayce’s relationship in the beginning. Monica is also drawn more to the Native American community which is often at odds with John and his plans. While she and John have grown closer, especially after the loss of her unborn baby, there is a sense that Monica would be happy getting as far away from the ranch as possible.
Chief Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham): While Thomas Rainwater is an antagonist to John Dutton in most of the series, it is not hard to see him as the most sympathetic character in Yellowstone. Rainwater is the chief of the Broken Rock Indian Reservation and has sought to reclaim the land of the neighboring Yellowstone Ranch which was stolen from his people. While it is hard to say how Yellowstone will end, there is a sense that the series is leading to a victory for Rainwater.