He makes a great Navy SEAL, that’s for sure.
Most of us know Luke Grimes for his role as Kayce Dutton on the hit series Yellowstone, where he plays the son of John Dutton and a former Navy SEAL who returned to his home in Montana to help, reluctantly most of the time in the beginning, with his family ranch.
And after Yellowstone ended in 2024, Grimes singed onto star in the spinoff show Marshals, which is currently airing the first season on CBS. But before all of his work in the Taylor Sheridan universe, which has put him very much in the spotlight as a leading actor, Grimes had a role in the movie American Sniper, which starred Bradley Cooper and Sienna Miller and was directed by Clint Eastwood.
He played Marc Lee, Chris Kyle’s Navy SEAL buddy who loses his life in combat during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and that role is actually what got him his part as Kayce Dutton years later, believe it or not.
In a recent interview promoting Marshals, Grimes revealed that he’d heard that Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan saw American Sniper in the movie theater circa 2014, and just so happened to be writing Yellowstone, and he was writing a young Navy SEAL that just got back from war, which was very similar to a character he was working on for his show. Yellowstone began principal photography in August of 2017, so it was only a few years from the time Sheridan first saw Grimes on screen:
“I heard that Taylor Saw ‘American Sniper’ in the theater while he was writing ‘Yellowstone,’ and it just so happened, he was writing this young, Navy SEAL that just got back from war and that happened to be what I played in that movie.
So if that is the case, then thank you, Clint, for casting me in that because it’s been a long ride playing a Navy SEAL ever since.”
You just never know what can happen from something like that, and seeing Grimes on screen playing a SEAL had to make it much easier for Sheridan to visualize Grimes in his role as Kayce Dutton.
During the interview, Grimes also told the story of sneaking his dad onto the American Sniper set during the last day of filming, because Eastwood had a rule that they couldn’t bring any visitors, but seeing as it was their last day, Grimes knew he couldn’t get fired, so he brought his dad to work.
His dad was a huge Clint Eastwood fan, and Grimes says it’s one of his favorite memories with his dad:
“So Clint doesn’t allow visitors on set, right, you’re not allowed to bring anyone. But the very last day of filming, because I knew they couldn’t fire me, I brought my dad to set, and that’s sort of one of the better memories I have of me and my father.
He was a huge Clint Eastwood fan, so it was a big deal for him too.”
Who knew it was Clint Eastwood we had to thank for helping launch Grimes’ career… he obviously plays a great SEAL, and cowboy, and it’s funny to think he’s been playing one for the better part of twelve years now.
Hey, when something works, it just works…
@boxofficenetworkofficial Clint doesn’t allow visitors on set… so on the LAST day, Luke Grimes brought his dad, and it turned out to be onne of his best memories. 🥹 #interview #hollywood #behindthescenes #clinteastwood #americansniper ♬ original sound – Boxoffice
Here’s one of his scenes from the movie:
