Yellowstone’s Forrie J. Smith Reflects On Working With Kevin Costner & Being A Stunt Double

Cole Hauser Forrie J Smith yellowstone
Paramount Network

Between Yellowstone, 1883, and now 1923, we often spend our time focusing on the greatness of stars like Kevin Costner, Kelly Reilly, Cole Hauser, Sam Elliott, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, and more.

However, there’s one star on Yellowstone that doesn’t get as much love as he deserves, considering he doesn’t have the resume the other stars have on the show…

And it’s no other than Forrie J. Smith, who plays Lloyd the ranch-hand at Yellowstone Dutton Ranch.

Although not as famous as the others, the man is pure cowboy born and bred, and has the most cred imaginable out of any of the other actors on the show.

With that being said, Smith recently sat down for an interview with Scott Breen of MTN News, and talked everything from working with Kevin Costner, to his rodeo days, his start in the movie business as a stunt double, and how he eventually worked his way into acting full time.

The Helena, Montana native shared a funny story about working with Costner:

“I respect him and appreciate his work more now after ‘Yellowstone,’ than I did before. There was a scene one day in the second season, when he (John Dutton) has a appendix attack, and I’m the first one to get to him and pick his head up.

Well they got the camera up above him in the rehearsal, and I run and kinda get over him like this, and I realize ‘Oh heck, I got back.’ The director goes ‘Hey Kevin, if that cowboy gets in your shot again just slap him.’

Kevin goes ‘Woah, woah, woah, wait Ed. I’m not slapping Forrie, I’m not slapping Lloyd, I’m not slapping anybody in that body, okay?’”

He then talks about how he was inspired to rodeo by his grandpa, who owned a ranch that he grew up working on from a young age.

Smith also talks about the moment he realized he wanted to be a stunt devil at a young age:

“My stepdad died when I was 7-years-old, and I can remember riding my little chatline pony down there and fell off in front of him and mom, and like ‘What the heck are you doing?’ And I’m like ‘I’m gonna be a stunt man someday.’”

Later in life, he finally made the move to become a stunt double, and got his screen actor’s guild card in 1987.

He pursued that for awhile, until a stunt coordinator called him and asked him to audition for a speaking part in a movie:

“He said ‘There’s just two lines, and we need you to get the part because he can’t ride a lick, and we want you next to him… so we’re sitting there and he says ‘With your look and your voice, you oughta take some acting classes.’”

However, at the time he stuck with bareback bronco riding in the rodeo until he was 52-years-old, because he’s always been a cowboy at heart.

Needless to say, with the success he’s seen playing the role of Lloyd in Yellowstone, I’d say he made the right decision.

Check it out:

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