Sometimes, you realize you’re just not cut out for something while you’re in the middle of it, and that’s exactly what happened to Taylor Sheridan. Imagine being in a scene with Jeff Bridges and thinking to yourself, “I’d rather be anywhere but here.” That’s exactly the revelation Sheridan had when he was acting in a film and, quite frankly, couldn’t stand it.
It wasn’t the acting itself—it was the realization that it just wasn’t where his true passion lay. After a string of roles that never felt like the perfect fit, Sheridan made the bold leap to writing, and it was there that he truly found his rhythm and soared.
Now, as the mastermind behind hit shows like Yellowstone and 1923, his past acting experiences help fuel his creative genius in the writing room. But there’s one thing Sheridan is clear about: acting just wasn’t for him, even if he was on screen with one of the most iconic actors of his generation, Jeff Bridges.
How Taylor Sheridan’s acting past shaped his distinctive writing style
Taylor Sheridan has built a new career as one of the most successful TV writers today. But, let’s face it—he didn’t just wake up and decide to write. It was his time as an actor that gave him the insights to become the writer he is today.
It turns out that stepping away from acting taught him more than he ever expected. As Sheridan himself put it (via THR):
Exposition in dialogue is something you do a lot when you’re on television like I was. It gave me an allergy to that. I’m allergic to exposition now in my writing.
Sheridan’s shift from acting to writing wasn’t just a career change—it was a journey of self-discovery. During his acting days, he got a firsthand look at how dialogue could often feel like filler, explaining things unnecessarily. This made him allergic to the idea of exposition in his writing.
He learned how “easy” dialogue was often just a crutch. In contrast, what really made a scene sing was simplicity—finding the heart of the character without the fluff. As he said:
I look for absurdly simple plots, so I can simply focus on the characters. Having an understanding of what dialogue’s easy to say and hard to say, I think that’s helpful too.
He took those lessons, fine-tuning his ability to weave complex characters into simple plots, creating stories that felt rich and grounded without bogging the audience down in endless explanations. That’s the magic of Sheridan’s writing!
The moment of clarity: Why acting no longer feels like the right fit
As much as Taylor Sheridan’s journey into acting shaped his current success, it was during one particular film set that his fate was sealed. In the same THR chat, he recalled a memorable moment when he had to step in and deliver a monologue about the death of a way of life—a scene he wrote himself. He described the scene like this:
There was a scene in the film where I wrote this monologue about, like, the death of a way of life that this cowboy says when he rides up on a horse, and David McKenzie calls and goes, ‘Yeah, congratulations buddy, we can’t find anyone that can say the monologue and ride the horse, so get down here.’
This scene with Jeff Bridges was meant to be a milestone, a shining moment for any actor. But Sheridan wasn’t thrilled. Instead of relishing the opportunity, he found himself wishing for it to be over. He said:
And so I did, and I’m in a scene with Jeff Bridges—it should be this great thing as an actor—but I’m literally like, ‘When we’re done, God, get back to the hotel and get home
When Sheridan was asked if he ever thought of acting in a role he wrote, he responded candidly:
No, I can’t stand acting. For me, it’s so, so hard now.
The switch from actor to writer was an organic one for Sheridan. He was done pretending. He realized that the real fulfillment for him was in creating, not performing. Writing gave him the chance to dive into the heart of a story, to explore and develop characters without the pressure of having to be the character.
He no longer wanted to stand in front of the camera trying to make it work. He found joy in bringing stories to life from behind the scenes, creating plots that let actors like Kevin Costner shine. And there it is. Sheridan knew his passion was in the craft of storytelling, shaping stories that others could bring to life.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
