Luke Grimes on What Makes Kayce Dutton Tick: “He Wants To Do His Own Thing and Be His Own Man”

As Marshals Season 2 continues, fans of the original Yellowstone series are able to witness the continuation of Kayce Dutton's fascinating arc. In Marshals, the once-reluctant heir to the Dutton throne is forced to reckon with upholding a complex legacy and honouring his late wife Monica (Kelsey Asbille) and father John (Kevin Costner).

Kayce - played by Luke Grimes - has always been an enigmatic character. In Yellowstone, he attempted to keep both his dad and the controversial Dutton Ranch at arm's length, before finding himself in the unique position of deciding the ranch's future.

At varying points, Kayce is both ruthless and sensitive, the ultimate family-man and a lone wolf, skeptical of the ranch's foundation and fiercely loyal to the Yellowstone brand.

While chatting to Holler, Grimes touches on what he feels is at the heart of what makes Kayce Kayce, outlining how the fact that he doesn't watch his own material means it was easier to maintain that distance between his characater and the ranch.

The American Sniper star reflects, “I don't watch Yellowstone. I feel like if I throw too many things into the mix, then maybe I'll start coming at the material in the wrong way, and it'll be less like a living, breathing human being, and more like a calculated person who's acting. So, for me, it was more about honestly playing the moments”.

He goes on, “I think the one thing that's made it easier, too, is the fact that Kayce's whole thing is that he doesn't want to be a part of the ranch anymore. He wants to do his own thing and be his own man. I want to sit down one day, like five years from now, and watch them all in order, and really be able to enjoy them and have my hands be clean of it, so I'm not sitting around thinking, ‘I should have done that differently’. I think it will be a nice way to actually be able to enjoy it all”.

Marshals is currently in its sophomore season, with new episodes airing every Sunday. Although the format has shifted towards that of a procedural drama, the writing team have made a point of developing Kayce's narrative in relation to the Dutton legacy.

Already in this season, for instance, we've had a poignant, reminiscent scene where Kayce finds his son, Tate (Brecken Merrill), sat at the grave of his grandfather, John.

Elsewhere during Grimes’ conversation with Holler, he underlines how much he's cherished playing Kayce over the years, before admitting that it hasn't been without hurdles, “It's one of the most fulfilling things I've ever done, playing Kayce in the show. But it's been a challenge every single year. It feels like every year there's been something pushing against us. You know, whether it was COVID, or the strikes - it's been a challenge to do every season for some huge reason”.

The ‘No Horse To Ride’ singer-songwriter references the difficulty of filming Yellowstone Season, 5, Part 2 without Costner, as his feud with the show's creator, Taylor Sheridan, and the production team raged on, “So this season, it felt like it was just another challenge - but we were able to do it. It's a miracle that the show was able to stay the course through all of that. [Kevin Costner] leaving was just another hump to get over. I think Taylor wrote it beautifully, and we executed it”.

Despite the complications, which Grimes mentions here, the conclusion of Yellowstone Season 5, Part 2 felt poetic and full-circle, especially in light of the 1883 spin-off.

While Sheridan is not directly involved in the writing of Marshals, you can still feel his influence throughout, with Kayce's new storylines only enhancing his character progression, rather than clashing with his story arc in the original Yellowstone series.

With the plot thickening with each new instalment of Marshals, and rumours of a potential crossover episode with Beth (Kelly Reilly) and Rip (Cole Hauser) in Dutton Ranch bubbling away, we're excited to see what's next in store for Kayce and Tate.