Kevin Costner’s Enormous Yellowstone Salary Revealed And He Wants Even More?
Kevin Costner allegedly makes $1.2 million per episode of Yellowstone and wants a raise to $1.5 million.
Kevin Costner is undoubtedly one of the reasons that Yellowstone has been such a successful show, as fans love his portrayal as the Dutton family patriarch. It makes sense that actors of this caliber command a high salary when a show is a big hit, but his reported $1.2 million per episode is definitely still a shocking amount. What’s even more surprising is that, according to Radar Online, he’s looking to make $1.5 million per episode if he returns for another season.
There has been some uncertainty about whether Kevin Costner would be back for another season of Yellowstone after the upcoming second half of Season 5 wraps up in summer. While salary negotiations might be part of the issue, there have also been some reported tension with Costner not wanting to do extensive filming and tension with creator and showrunner Taylor Sheridan. In fact, there have even been rumors that Costner would be replaced by Matthew McConaughey going forward.
At this point, it doesn’t seem like anything is set in stone and they’re likely still negotiating if Kevin Costner will come back for Season 6 of Yellowstone. If he does, it definitely seems like they’ll need to increase his salary with the resistance he appears to already have about coming back. However, Radar Online also reported that Costner’s lawyer Marty Singer said the reports about Costner only wanting to film for one week were “a lie.”
Whether those claims were exaggerated or not, there definitely seems to be some behind-the-scenes drama stirring up for the hit Paramount+ series. At this point, it doesn’t seem like we’ll know for sure if the end of Season 5 will be the last time we can expect to see Kevin Costner in Yellowstone. It definitely appears that the show will be going on without him either way, but that’s something that will likely be hard for fans to swallow.
Although it might seem crazy for Kevin Costner to walk away from a Yellowstone salary that pays him over $1 million per episode, the actor does have a lot of other things going on in his career. Costner is currently in the midst of production for his American historical epic film Horizon, which chronicles a 15-year period of the expansion and settlement of the American west. Costner is pulling quadruple duty on Horizon, as he’s directing, producing, and starring in the script that he co-wrote with Jon Baird.
We’ll just have to wait and see how this Kevin Costner drama plays out on Yellowstone and if they’ll be willing to foot the salary to bring the actor back for another season. Until then, fans can catch the first half of Season 5 on Paramount+ and look forward to the second half of Season 5 when it’s released this summer. Even if this ends up being John Dutton’s last ride on Yellowstone, fans can still look forward to other upcoming spin-offs like Bass Reeves, 1944, 6666, and the second season of the Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren-led 1923.
