Why Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan left Sons Of Anarchy

Years earlier Taylor Sheridan cast as Travis Whitley in Yellowstone he was often seen going up against Jax Teller (Charlie Hahn) and his beloved but regularly law-breaking biker gang in Sons of Anarchy. In Kurt Sutter’s TV series, in which Hamlet is mixed with pigs, Sheridan played the humble Deputy Chief David Hale, a regular thorn in the side of Teller and his team. At least for a while.

Starring on Sons for 21 episodes, Hale was suddenly killed off in the third episode of season 3 (one of the best seasons of Sons of Anarchy) during the trip to the funeral. As with many deaths in the series, his display was serious, assuring viewers that he was fine. According to Sheridan, the exit was his choice and it came down to a matter of numbers, both in call letters and contracts.

While promoting his Yellowstone prequel series 1883 in 2021, Sheridan explained his departure from Sons of Anarchy Deadline and his career choices that played a huge role in turning him into the film and television powerhouse dynamo he is today. “At the time they were offering me what I thought was a very unfair salary. It was less than pretty much every other contestant on the show, and it wasn’t enough for me to quit my second job,” he explained.

From there, Sheridan received key advice that would change the trajectory of his career and cause Hollywood to grab anything with his name on it in the years to come.

It’s the same old story in Hollywood. Tell someone they won’t achieve anything, and chances are they’ll do all that and more. In Sheridan’s case, a few choice words from a business attorney set him on course. “This jerk business lawyer says, ‘He probably deserves to make more, but we’re not going to pay him more because guess what?’ that this guy is, and that’s all he’ll ever be,” he recalled.

He was not. Three years after leaving Sons of Anarchy, it was announced that Sheridan’s Sicario script would be directed by Denis Villeneuve, marking a major milestone in the career of both the writer and director. “I decided right then and there that I didn’t want to be 11 on the challenge list for the rest of my life. Now I’m happy 11 on the call list at Yellowstone, but I don’t think anyone wants to watch I do anything on TV for an hour because the business said they don’t do it, he added. He now has eight shows of his own under his belt (more on that: see /Sheridan Show Movie Ratings) and his six critically acclaimed film scripts (two of which he directed), it’s clear that Sheridan’s Ride Alone was the right thing to do.