Actor Who Plays Jamie On “Yellowstone” Shares How It Feels To Play A Hated Character

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Those who watch Yellowstone love to hate Jamie Dutton. As one of the show’s main antagonists, Jamie is often scheming against his father, John Dutton, and sister, Beth Dutton, in an attempt to bring them down.

Jamie has been especially ruthless in Season 5. The midseason finale showed him calling for his father’s impeachment from the governorship

 

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Jamie is played by actor Wes Bentley. Bentley recently spoke with the New York Times about his life and career. He specifically touched on what it’s like to play Jamie when so many viewers despise him.

“He’s incredibly sad,” Bentley said about Jamie. “I’ve always dealt with my sadness with things like comedy, or humor, or drugs at one point, or trying to just ignore it and finding another way out of it. But you can’t do that when you’re trying to portray someone’s sadness. You have to let it be there. That’s been the hardest part of it all, and it’s weighed on my life a little bit.”

Bentley continued:

“But Jamie’s sadness permeates my life, even though I’m not sad. I’m very lucky to have a great family and be where I’m at in life, but he’s always there behind me, clawing at that, especially when I’m shooting.”

Those who watch Bentley are amazed by his work. One of Yellowstone‘s directors, Stephen Kay, complimented Bentley’s performance, saying:

“It’s remarkable, his ability to make you mad at Jamie, make you hate him and have him break your heart at the same time.”

We won’t get the chance to see Jamie again until Yellowstone returns from its midseason break later this year. Until then, head below to watch a behind-the-scenes clip about its midseason finale.