Who Plays Young John Dutton on ‘Yellowstone’? Meet Josh Lucas

Warning: Spoilers for Yellowstone Season 5, Episode 3 ahead.

When Yellowstone fans hear the name “John Dutton,” they rightfully think of the great Kevin Costner. But longtime fans of the series know Costner isn’t the only actor who plays the Montana rancher in the series. Viewers occasionally see a younger version of John Dutton in flashbacks, and he’s very clearly not played by Kevin Costner in age makeup. He’s played by actor Josh Lucas.

Taylor Sheridan’s Western drama about the Dutton family and their beloved ranch, which occupies highly sought-after land, frequently uses flashbacks to help flesh out characters and give viewers additional context. We’re only three episodes into Season 5, but with the premiere showing flashbacks of young Beth and Rip and Episodes 2 and 3 featuring young John Dutton flashbacks, it feels like this season won’t shy away from digging up the past.

Yellowstone Season 5, Episode 3, “Tall Drink of Water” opens with an aesthetically gorgeous flashback of young John Dutton (Lucas), young Rip (Kyle Red Silverstein), young Lloyd (Forrest Smith), and Rowdy (Kai Caster) riding horses around their land. Rip stumbles upon cow carcasses and fires a shot to summon the men. It appears wolves are to blame, which is significant, as the Dutton ranch is dealing with a wolf problem in present-day. We see young John Dutton attend a public hearing where ranchers are fuming over their dead cattle. They’re arguing with officials over the threat of wolves, and young Dutton — who was Livestock Commissioner in this flashback — threatens the governor and demands that wildlife officers start handing out financial compensation.

So who plays young John Dutton on Yellowstone? And what do we know about actor John Lucas? We’ve got you covered.

Who Plays Young John Dutton on Yellowstone? Meet Josh Lucas

Young John Dutton is played by Josh Lucas, a 51-year-old actor from Little Rock, Arkansas. Per his IMDb page, Lucas kicked off his acting career in 1990, playing  Jonathan in the TV series, True Colors. Over the past three decades he’s racked up theater credits, voice work, and starred in a number of popular movies and TV series. He’s best known for films such as American Psycho, You Can Count on Me, A Beautiful Mind, Sweet Home Alabama, Poseidon, The Lincoln Lawyer, Ford v Ferrari, The Forever Purge, and more. And he’s also known for TV series such as The Firm and The Mysteries of Laura. Lucas has also served as a producer on several projects throughout the years, and you can learn more about his career through his IMDb bio.

As noted, this isn’t Lucas’ first Yellowstone rodeo. Per IMDb he’s appeared as young John Dutton in the following episodes in addition to “Tall Drink of Water”:

• “No Good Horses” (2018)
• “A Monster Is Among Us” (2018)
• “The Unravelling: Part 1” (2018)
• “Blood the Boy” (2019)
• “The Sting of Wisdom” (2022)

Here’s hoping we’ll get to see more of young John Dutton in Season 5, but if you want more Lucas now, you can follow him on Instagram, where he currently has 149,000 followers. You can also keep an eye out for Lucas’ upcoming roles as Paul Surges in The Black Demon, John in Blood for Dust, and Douglas in Mrs. American Pie.

New episodes of Yellowstone premiere Sundays at 8:00 p.m. ET on Paramount Network.