Jefferson White Had Never Ridden A Horse Before ‘Yellowstone’

The Yellowstone ranch has made a man out of Jimmy Hurdstrom. From the scrappy, clueless delinquent Yellowstone fans met in Season One to the bronc-riding, burgeoning rodeo star in Season Three, Jimmy’s journey is one of the show’s most entertaining and compelling storylines. Now with Eden Brolin’s comely barrel racer Mia by Jimmy side’s pushing him towards the rodeo circuit full-time, Jimmy is torn between the allegiance he swore to John Dutton (Kevin Costner) the day he took the Yellowstone brand and the woman who could be the love of his life.

As Jimmy’s livelihood (and maybe even life!) hangs in the balance after that Season 3 finale, we got a chance to speak to actor Jefferson White on the phone. Though we couldn’t discuss spoilers, we did talk about Jimmy’s journey thus far, White’s amazing Instagram account, and why rodeo legend Forrie J. Smith is even more badass off screen than he is on screen as Rip’s right-hand man, Lloyd.

Decider: Jimmy has had such a journey since the pilot episode. Do you think he or you had any idea what was in store for the character when he first joined the Dutton’s bunkhouse crew?

Jefferson White: I really didn’t, to be honest. Jimmy’s wild ride has also corresponded with a wild ride for me because I really had no idea what I was signing up for when I got this job. It’s been a really incredible journey so far. Everything Jimmy ends up learning to do or experiencing, I’m also learning to do or experiencing for the first time. I had never ridden a horse before I accepted this job. I certainly had never gotten on a bucking horse. All of his stuff was very, very new to me. I think in season three, Jimmy is learning more and more about what it means to wear the brand and the deadly consequences of betraying the brand. He’s just now figuring out what he signed up for.

You had quite a season! Now that Jimmy has Mia, he’s torn between the Yellowstone and a new life with his girlfriend and the rodeo. Where do you think his heart is?

He is really conflicted. He has this sense of loyalty to John Dutton, to Rip, to Lloyd, to these people that have taken him in and given him a sense of community and belonging for the first time in his life. Mia, however, sees him in a way that none of them do.

They all see him as a kind of a fuck up delinquent, a project they have to work on. Mia sees him as this rodeo star. She sees him as this kind of fantasy version of himself. That’s such an exciting and new thing for Jimmy, to feel that sense of pride and accomplishment. He feels torn in half because he realizes that he has to choose between his life in the rodeo and his life on the ranch. They are mutually exclusive.

What kind of rodeo training, if any, did you get for Jimmy’s big turn this season?

To be honest, this is my first experience with rodeo at all. I had never even seen a rodeo. I have an incredible alter-ego though—a stunt performer, whose name is Bobby Roberts, who’s a real life bronc rider. He’s competed in rodeos his whole life. He’s also been playing Jimmy as long as I have. His first day on the show was also my first day on the show. Our first day included the scene where Jimmy gets duct taped to the horse in season one.

Wow!

I make it a point to stick close to Bobby and learn everything I can from him. He’s taught me so much about rodeo, but most importantly, he’s taught me about the lifestyle and community. It’s really been a huge learning experience for me. I’m just so grateful to Bobby. I’m also grateful to Forrie J. Smith, who plays Lloyd. Forrie also was a bronc rider as a younger man. Every time Lloyd is giving Jimmy advice, that’s also Forrie giving Jeff advice. I just try to listen to the experts and keep my mouth shut.

I’m obsessed with Forrie J. Smith. I just think he’s incredible. I spoke to Jen Landon last season, and she shared a very interesting lesson she got from Forrie about the best time to castrate bulls. Can you share any wisdom you’ve received from him in passing?

He’s an expert. He has an encyclopedic knowledge about rodeo and ranch work. He’s also a great fucking actor. So the rest of us, we’re just half of Forrie. We can act, but we don’t know a thing about the real world of cattle ranching. One of my favorite Forrie J. Smith bits of trivia is that these pictures surrounding Lloyd’s bunk in the show are real pictures of Forrie J. Smith as a bronc rider, 20, 30 years ago.

Forrie is just an incredibly kind, generous, thoughtful, quiet, smart, nice guy., but he is also incredibly religious about adhering to the superstition that you aren’t supposed to put your hat on the bed. One time in season two, we’re all sitting around and we just start hearing this yelling and we’re like, “What is this? What’s happening?” It’s Forrie yelling because someone has put a hat on his bed. That’s the most upset I’ve ever seen Forrie. He takes this stuff very, very seriously and he takes everybody’s safety and wellbeing very seriously, and he truly believes that it is really terrible bad luck to put a hat on the bed. He spent two days like Sherlock Holmes, just trying to hunt down who put the hat on the bed. At some point, I said it was me just to try to absorb some of that anger and frustration, but it wasn’t me. I didn’t put that hat on that bed. I would never

You know better.

[laughs] Oh, I know better, exactly.

Yellowstone can be a little heavy at times, and the Bunkhouse camaraderie offers the audience a chance to breathe and have a little fun. You had a lot of new additions to the Bunkhouse this season. Which character has been your favorite new addition?

I would never in a million years answer that question. Listen, if I answer that question, I make two enemies immediately. I would say that I love all of the new additions to the Bunkhouse. Eden Brolin is incredible. She’s also just a very smart, fun, awesome person to be around. The same thing is true about Hassie Harrison, who plays Laramie, and Jen Landon, who plays Teeter. They’re all so talented and just so fun to hang out with. It’s been such a gift.

Denim Richards and Ian Bohen and I were all pretty fucking sick of each other after three years. We feel really lucky to have this infusion of new energy in the Bunkhouse.

Was there any hazing?

Absolutely. When they came in, I thought that maybe us old timers would take care of them and usher them in gently. Not the case. If anything, they bullied us! We’re nice and they’re the bullies.

I’m a big fan of Eden Brolin. One of my favorite scenes of this season has Jimmy, Mia and Rip on a road trip. Was it fun to watch Cole Hauser get so annoyed? And how brilliant was Eden Brolin in that scene?

That was so fun for me too because Cole is the most incredibly capable actor, and he always has to do the heavy lifting on the show. He always seems to be in the most dramatic, difficult, and violent circumstances. It was fun to get to see Cole do a scene like that, one that is funny and light. It was such a treat to see Cole’s incredible sense of comedic timing and how smart a comic actor he is.

That scene was also great for me because I didn’t say a word. I just got to sit there and watch Cole and Eden do all the work. Eden is just so funny. That’s the opposite of her personality in real-life. She’s an incredibly thoughtful, considerate, empathetic person who can really read a room. It was just amazing to watch her do something that was so contrary to her natural instincts.

After filming that scene, did you put some thought into what Jimmy’s desert island song would be?

[laughs] I wish I had! That’s a great question. Jimmy was kind of a metal head in season one, but I like to think that since then, he’s a little more in touch with himself. He’s a little more chilled out. He probably listened to Ryan Bingham. I think Ryan Bingham would probably sing his desert island song.

That is a very diplomatic answer and a very good one. [note: Ryan Bingham plays Walker on Yellowstone]

Absolutely. Ryan’s music is amazing. He’s also an incredible actor. I feel so lucky to have come to know his work through the show.

I had gotten to appreciate Ryan’s music and your photography over the years. Your photos from the set of Yellowstone are so intimate and beautiful! How did you get started photographing your co-stars?

That’s so kind of you to say! It’s been a real source of joy for me in these past few years. It’s a funny thing. When you’re an actor on a set, you have a lot of downtime in a way that you might not anticipate if you don’t know how that process works. A lot of other very talented people spend a lot of time moving lights around, setting up cameras and working very hard so that we can come in for five minutes and do our job. In that downtime, I often sort of struggle with how to keep myself busy and how to keep myself creatively engaged. A lot of times I would just wind up on my phone and my head would just completely get out of the Duttons’ world by the time it’s time to go to work again.

Taking photos on set has been a really helpful way for me to stay creatively engaged and stay present with the other actors on the show. Plus, it helps that all those actors are just incredible people. I like to look for opportunities to show fans an intimate look at who those actors are when they’re not in character on set. I feel a real sense of joy in getting to photograph them in that way.

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A post shared by Jefferson White (@_jeffersonwhite)

I know I’m excited for when some more pictures start coming out of the filming of season four.

Me too.

Speaking for Season 4, fans can now watch Season 3 on Peacock while they wait! Do you recommend people savor it or do you think they should just binge it all and have the best Thanksgiving break ever?

You can go either way. There’s really no wrong way to do it. We got what? 30 hours of the show so far? Fans gotta take care of themselves and take plenty of bathroom and food breaks if they are going to binge it all at one time. They just have to make sure to catch up before season four comes out next June. That’s the number one priority.

Stream Yellowstone on Peacock