It's not unusual for creatives to give themselves roles in their own projects. Quentin Tarantino has appeared in several of his directorial efforts, Donald Glover leads the ensemble on Atlanta, and Jason Sudeikis is the leading man on Ted Lasso. Continuing the trend, Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan introduced himself as Travis Whitley in a hit neo-western series, but that wasn't his original plan.

Back in 2016, Sheridan discussed his transition from acting to writing and directing in an interview with Uproxx. The creator revealed that he had no intention of getting involved in any of his projects, saying, “There are a number of people who have done that. "I don't want to be one of those guys." Then the first season of "Yellowstone" arrived, and he returned to his word by debuting his character in the episode "Coming Home". The rest is history.

Not only has Sheridan broken his promise, but he may be making Yellowstone worse as a result. In fact, some fans claim that Sheridan destroyed Yellowstone towards the endclaiming that he filmed the once beloved series for him. That view may be a bit far-fetched, but his role certainly grew in funny ways at times, even though his original reason for starring in the series was understandable.

Taylor Sheridan stars in Yellowstone as his character is a horse trainer, a lifestyle the actor-turned-showrunner knows well. At the time, Sheridan was the most suitable actor for the part because he trained horses for the show, so it was resourceful to put himself in Travis Whitley's cowboy boots. At first, Wheatley was only a minor player, but his presence grew as Yellowstone progressed, and Sheridan eventually became one of the heroes in his own story.

The penultimate episode of "Yellowstone" Season 5 is primarily devoted to Sheridan's character showing off his muscles, dating supermodels and having women fawn over him. Whitley gets the Duttons out of trouble with his superior horsemanship and salesmanship skills, and Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) lovingly tells stories of Whitley fighting. The former background player is suddenly transformed into a top stud and one could be forgiven for thinking Sheridan's ego is out of control.

Yellowstone producers defended Sheridan's Season 5 escapades by claiming that he wanted to add some laughs to an otherwise tragic season. However, he has since appeared shirtless in his Lioness series and had a small role in 1883. Furthermore, with the Yellowstone spin-off 6666 currently in development, viewers can probably expect Sheridan to make more appearances on screen along with two other famous Yellowstone characterswhile Whitley runs the titular ranch.

"Yellowstone" currently airs on Peacock.