Fans will recognize Josh Holloway as the alluring Southern con artist Sawyer of “Lost” fame, but he plays quite a different character in Taylor Sheridan’s “Yellowstone.” Each season of the modern western features a villain trying to take the Dutton ranch for one reason or another, and Holloway arrives in Season 3 as Roarke Morris. A ranch owner and stockholder, Roarke’s main interest is in the land of Yellowstone — get in line, buddy.
But as opposed to Chief Rainwater (Gil Birmingham), who is within his rights to want his ancestral land back, Roarke wants the land specifically for profit. In this case, he needs the money to build an airport — the type of progression that the Duttons are decidedly against.
Roarke and the Duttons spend a season at each other’s throats, and in the Season 4 premiere, ranch hand Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) takes matters into his own hands. While Roarke is fly fishing, Rip approaches with a cooler in hand. Inside is a rattlesnake, which the Dutton enforcer flings at the rival ranch owner’s face.
This “Yellowstone” Season 4 death may not have been realistic, but it was on-brand for the Duttons; throwing a snake at someone’s face is how these cowboys deal with a fly in the ointment. While rattlesnake bites are not venomous to the degree of, let’s say, that of a black mamba, they get the job done in the melodramatic world of “Yellowstone.”
Yellowstone was a dream job for Josh Holloway
Since the conclusion of “Lost” in 2010, Josh Holloway has had a succession of television series with varying degrees of success. When the actor booked “Yellowstone,” he could not have been happier. Holloway told USA Today he was an avid watcher of the series before he was cast in the role and was even horse-riding acquaintances with Taylor Sheridan. “When I got the call, I was so excited that I was finally going to get to be a cowboy, because in 18 years of acting, no one has cast me as the cowboy, for God’s sake,” Holloway recalled.
“I was like, finally. Thank you, Taylor. And nope. He cast me as a Wall Street guy. I was like, ‘Taylor? Really?'” A Wall Street guy he may be, but Roarke Morris isn’t the typical elitist who has no business being on a ranch. He grew up on Cross Creek Ranch with a passion for outdoor pursuits. One of his favorite hobbies is fly fishing, which incidentally leads to his downfall. Holloway inspired this persona and told USA Today that the role was written with him in mind.
“I like to describe Roarke as the inevitable march of progress,” Holloway explained. “You can’t stop him. He’s the slow steamroller, he’s just going to keep going.” But stop him the Dutton clan did, as they know an outsider when they see one, no matter how in tune he is with his roots. And as evidenced by how Roarke died, the family isn’t afraid to dispose of him by any means necessary.