Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan knew he needed a big name to lead his neo-Western when he pitched it to Paramount. The creator and the network also knew they would have to cough up the cash if they were going to get an A-list star. Sheridan and Paramount managed to snag two-time Oscar winner Kevin Costner to play John Dutton — with a paycheck of $500,000 per episode. Even though he’s racking up millions per season, Kevin Costner has a big decision to make as the Oscar-winning performer debates on whether or not to leave his lucrative $1 million-per-episode paycheck behind as his future on Yellowstone remains up in the air.
