Veteran actor Ed Harris is openly expressing his dissatisfaction with his role as Everett McKinney on the show “Dutton Ranch,” conveying feelings of being “underused” and “pissed” off about the situation.
In a candid interview with Variety released on Monday, Harris detailed his mounting frustration and shared why he urged his representatives to negotiate his exit from the “Yellowstone” spinoff midway through filming its inaugural season.
At the premiere of “Dink” in Los Angeles, the 75-year-old actor, without directly naming series creator Taylor Sheridan, revealed his sense of betrayal, saying, “I felt a little bit misled.”
Harris elaborated on the situation, noting the stark contrast between initial promises and reality. “Before I signed on, there were extensive discussions about the season and my character’s involvement. I was assured I would be one of the four main characters,” the actor explained. “Unfortunately, that turned out not to be the case.”
Despite raising concerns about feeling “inconsequential,” Harris claimed his complaints were met with apparent indifference by those on set.
Harris went on to divulge the “thing that really pissed [him] off”: a singing scene he’d been promised that was ultimately cut from the series.
“They didn’t show it. They said it was too up for the dark ending of that episode,” the Golden Globe winner told the outlet. “That, to me, was reason enough to say, ‘I’m voiding my contract.’
“I [was like], ‘F–k you people,’” he continued. “That’s all I’ve got to say.”
Harris is currently signed on for Season 2, which begins filming next year, and acknowledged he’s “being told [his] character will have a little bit more to do” that time around.
The Emmy nominee acknowledged that while McKinney ended up being “relatively important to the story” in the “pretty good” first season, it “didn’t feel that way” filming.
Reps for Sheridan and Paramount did not immediately respond to Page Six’s requests for comment.
Harris’ unfiltered take on Season 1 comes one month after Sheridan, 57, made headlines for going off on studio executives and critics.
“It didn’t used to be this way [in the industry] because writers were turned loose. Directors were turned completely loose,” the “Landman” creator said on a “Bill Simmons Podcast” episode in June.
“There weren’t endless rewrites,” Sheridan continued. “There weren’t meetings with executives about tone and mood and all this nonsense.”
He reportedly butted heads with Paramount leadership before inking a deal with NBCUniversal last year.