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‘Yellowstone’: Jen Landon Discusses Ditching LA to ‘Take a Break From Acting’

Long before she joined the ranks of the “Yellowstone” cast, star Jen Landon took a sort of sabbatical out at a cattle ranch in Montana.

It’s not something you’d expect from a seasoned actress and daughter of Michael Landon. But as she explained on The Johnny Dare Morning Show, Landon wanted to take a break from acting for a while. This was years before “Yellowstone,” sometime between 2012 and 2013.

“Before I was on the show about, seven years ago, maybe 10 now, I took a break from acting,” Landon said. “I wanted to get out of L.A., and I drove up to Prey, Montana. Didn’t know anything about it, it was just in Paradise Valley, which is where the show is set.”

And what did the “Yellowstone” star do while taking a break in Montana? She joined a ranch, of course.

“I lived on a cattle ranch and I watched the grass grow for about two months,” Landon said. “And I feel like there are a lot of people who are on the show who moved out of LA. Every day, I miss that life when I’m not doing it.”

Once you get a taste of the life you can live in a place like that, it’s hard to let it go. Landon’s time in Montana probably made her all the more eager to jump on the “Yellowstone” bandwagon. Even if the actress admitted that she didn’t do much physical labor on the ranch when she took her break from acting.

If anything, Landon picked up more from Taylor Sheridan’s Cowboy Camp, when it comes to horseback riding and wrangling.

‘Yellowstone’ Star Jen Landon Admits Her Team Lied About Her Horseback Riding Experience

When Jen Landon’s team tried to get her on “Yellowstone,” they might have exaggerated a few key points on her resume. Specifically, all the physical requirements that would force Landon onto the back of a horse with a rope in hand.

“My team lied and said that I was like a professional rider,” Landon revealed on the Johnny Dare Morning Show. “I had ridden horses when I was really young, a little bit. But they put you through training, and everybody’s very patient. And I’m addicted to it now.”

Just like Landon said above, it sounds like riding and wrangling are a key part of her day now. She might have gotten a taste for it during her brief break from acting. But working on “Yellowstone fueled the flames of her newfound passion.

“The sort of lifestyle that you see on the show, that I think so many people hook into, has sort of permeated my own life now and become a part of my life,” Landon shared.