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Taylor Sheridan may not have much to show for when it comes to his acting career but as a writer, producer, showrunner, and director, he more than makes up for what he lost while struggling as #11 (maybe) on the call sheet. His impossibly swift and staggering rise in Hollywood was marked not by luck but by genius and sheer willpower.
![Taylor Sheridan [Credit: Paramount Network]](https://i2.wp.com/fwmedia.fandomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/25160701/Taylor-Sheridan-Credit-Paramount-Network-7-1024x576.jpeg)
Sheridan’s affluent career as the creator ofYellowstoneand its spin-off universe, a dominion of shows at Paramount, and 4 major Hollywood movies easily makes him one of the most profitable assets of the entertainment industry. What makes him truly stand out though, even amidst the masses of creative talent and overflow of content, is his self-made reputation in an era dominated by power, influence, and nepotism.
Taylor Sheridan Redefines the Term “Comeback”
While slaving away under the radar and away from the limelight for two whole decades,Taylor Sheridanunconsciously honed a skill that would then make him the center of attention in Hollywood and the most in-demand star for every major studio in town.
As a formerly disgruntled employee of FX’sSons of Anarchy, push came to shove when Sheridan (as an actor) asked for a meatier role as Sheriff David Hale in the series and a bigger paycheck from the producers. Taylor Sheridan was laughed out of the room. David Hale was killed off in a maneuver known as the“f–k you car crash.”
![Taylor Sheridan in Sons of Anarchy [Credit: FX]](https://i2.wp.com/fwmedia.fandomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/25160854/Taylor-Sheridan-in-Sons-of-Anarchy-Credit-FX-1-1024x512.jpg)
“I don’t do ‘f–k you’ car crashes”: Taylor Sheridan Dissed the Man Who Launched His Career For Killing off His Character in a Horrible Manner
And so, at the ripe age of 38, the secretly gifted writer-director began his meteoric rise in the industry that had rejected him for being too ambitious. First cameSicariowhich was quickly followed up by his Oscar-nominated turn as the writer ofHell or High Water. The riskier third venture,Wind River, segued intoYellowstone,and the rest, as they say, is history.
Taylor Sheridan Reveals the Secret Recipe to Success
In hisNew York Timesprofile interview, theYellowstonecreator described his journey as a screenwriter as something quite extraordinary. When asked whether Sheridan met a mentor figure before venturing out on his own as a screenwriter, he replied:
Honestly? My mentor was Cormac McCarthy. My mentors were Larry McMurtry and Toni Morrison and Gabriel García Márquez and John Steinbeck. All the writers who moved me.I’ve never taken a screenwriting class in my life.
Most of the television work I did was not very good. I never had a fancy agent, so I never got to read for the really good movies. When I quit acting and decided to tell my own stories, I had kept most of the scripts I auditioned for and a bunch of them that I’d done, so I sat down and spent about four days rereading them. I told myself, ‘OK, I have no idea how to do this, but I just spent four days reminding myself how not to.‘
“He’s an unsentimental director”: Taylor Sheridan’s Luck Helped Him Land the Best Man for the Job That Made His $37M Neo-Western a Smashing Success
Equipped with nothing but a drive to tell stories for whoever would care to listen, Taylor Sheridan set out on a journey to bring something real into the world of entertainment television. As for his approach to writing, he revealed:
I hope it will be an honest reflection of the world and will feel authentic.I try to write dialogue I think is believable coming from people’s mouths, but I also like it to be slightly elevated. I’m trying to make it sound a little timeless.When I write a screenplay, I try to write a book. When I shoot a TV show, I try to shoot a movie.
![Yellowstone [Credit: Paramount Network]](https://i2.wp.com/fwmedia.fandomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/25161004/Yellowstone-Horseback-Riders-Credit-Paramount-Network-4-1024x512.jpg)
While “honest,” “authentic,” “elevated,” and “timeless” rarely sound like a possible combination in today’s socio-cultural atmosphere, Taylor Sheridan did make it happen withSicario,Yellowstone,Wind River, andMayor of Kingstown. These projects brought out a darker side of the world most of us try to shield ourselves from while simultaneously not making the subject pedantic – a trick that most filmmakers would do well to learn more about.
Yellowstoneis available for streaming on Paramount+
Diya Majumdar
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2410
Diya Majumdar is a Senior Content Writer at FandomWire with over 2000 published articles on the website. Since 2022, she has been working as an entertainment journalist with a special focus on films and pop culture.Among the countless genres and themes of Hollywood, the ones that particularly favor Diya’s tastes include Game of Thrones, DC, and well-aged thrillers and classics.
