We’re all familiar with the “popular” 1883 Yellowstone cast members; the Tim McGraws, Faith Hills, Sam Elliots, Isabel Mays, and LaMonica Garretts of the world that kept the wagon wheels turning. What you may have missed, though, were two (undercover) legendary actors who play real-life badasses that helped shape the west and the United States in the late 1800s.
If you haven’t had a chance to check out everything the 1883 Yellowstone cast has to offer in the hit prequel series (evidenced by the unanimous praise the series has garnered), be sure to take advantage of promo code 1923 on Paramount before it expires. You won’t regret it: enter the world of Taylor Sheridan (and hits like 1883, 1923, Tulsa King, and Mayor of Kingstown).
1883 Yellowstone cast promo. Credit: Paramount
So, who are these legendary pioneers hidden in the nooks and crannies of the 1883 Yellowstone cast?
1883 Yellowstone cast Tom Hanks as General Meade
For the uninitiated, General Meade was a bad mama-jama. In one of the most famous and decisive Civil War scuffles, the Battle of Gettysburg, Meade was assigned to the post just three days before Robert E. Lee’s assault. However, despite a relentless and seemingly endless push from Lee’s Confederate troops, Meade managed to hold them off, effectively neutralizing the south’s push north, bringing an end to the war.
And while Ulysses Grant often overshadows Meade in media due to his short temper and disdain for the press, most historians agree the United States may look very different had it not been for Meade’s stubbornness and refusal to give up the hill at Gettysburg.
Showrunners for 1883 Yellowstone cast Tom Hanks in the role because of his close relationship with Faith Hill, who plays Margaret Dutton, James’ wife. But who better to play Meade in this scene than Tom Hanks?
Tom Hanks, who has owned every combat role he’s played (Saving Private Ryan, Greyhound), consoles the weary James Dutton after defeating the Confederate troops at Gettysburg. As James processes all the death surrounding him on the battlefield, with a tear in his eye, Meade says, “I know, son, I know.”
Most folks didn’t catch Tom Hanks in 1883, but we can’t think of a better place for the award-winning legend to pop up in the series.
Billy Bob Thornton as Jim Courtright, the ruthless Fort Worth lawman
What a perfect casting decision. Jim Courtright was a bloodthirsty lawman who shot first and asked questions later. Known by locals as one of the meanest sons of bitches in Texas, some reports claim Courtright cut the murder rate by fifty percent in “Hells Half Acre,” the red light district of Fort Worth at the time, through intimidation, extortion, and his preference to serve as judge, jury, and executioner.
Needless to say, Jim Courtright wasn’t all good, and Billy Bob Thornton nails his likeness with the kind of “get the fudge out of my face” attitude only Thornton can pull off.
When a gang of bandits trots up on the wagon train perched on a river bank and picks a fight with some less-equipped and poorly-tempered immigrants, James and Shea head to Fort Worth to put together a posse. Jim deputizes James, and the group heads out to identify the bandits. To James and Shea’s surprise, though, Jim isn’t much of a fan of typical police work. After James, Shea, and Josef point out the culprits, Jim unholsters his signature six-shooters and finishes them off in the saloon. Just to let you know, no questions were asked.
Throughout his life, Jim was revered and feared, at times appearing as the greatest and toughest lawman in the west, and others as an outright criminal.
Feared or not, Courtright eventually died the same way he lived, killed in a gunfight with Luke Short in 1887, just four years after the events of 1883.