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‘Yellowstone’ Star Jefferson White Thought Jimmy Was a Goner After Season 3 Finale

Way more “Yellowstone” characters pulled through after that explosive Season 3 finale than fans or the cast ever expected. So, who thought they were gonna bite the dust while Taylor Sheridan wrote Season 4?

Jefferson White, who plays Jimmy on “Yellowstone,” felt positive his character wouldn’t make it to the next season. If fans will remember, Jimmy got back on a bucking horse right after getting out of the hospital. His girlfriend Mia encouraged Jimmy to do it, even though he promised John Dutton he would stop rodeoing.

Turns out that the horse bucked Jimmy straight off and he hit the ground hard, cracking either his neck or spine horrifically. Watching him lie there unresponsively convinced fans he’d been written out of the next season.

It convinced White, too, who talked about the long wait time for the “Yellowstone” Season 4 script with Entertainment Tonight. He sat down with the outlet earlier this week and opened up about how out of all the characters in jeopardy, Jimmy had the highest chances of dying.

“There are four people who are in dire straits here: You’ve got Kevin Costner, an American legend. And then you’ve got Kelly Reilly playing Beth. And you’ve got Luke Grimes. Three Duttons, they’re in danger,” White began. “So if anybody’s expendable… Let’s all be honest about who’s expendable. It’s me!”

He’s not wrong. Fans felt like they got a pretty satisfying arc from Jimmy, and it would be understandable to end it there. Sheridan raised the stakes on “Yellowstone” with that Season 3 finale, so people believed at last one of the at-risk characters wouldn’t make it to Season 4.

But Sheridan kept everyone alive. Though he didn’t tell White at first.

‘Yellowstone’ Star Jefferson White Worried About Keeping His Job If Jimmy Got Killed Off

“Yellowstone” star Jefferson White knew he was expendable after reading and shooting Season 3. But he wouldn’t know until months later whether Sheridan would bring him back for Season 4.

“So reading into that, I was like, ‘Oh boy, if anybody’s going, Jimmy’s going,” White explained to ET. “And I’m not gonna read another script for six months, which means I don’t know if I’m gonna have a job or not for six months.”

The “Yellowstone” star went on to reveal how he “frantically” texted everyone he knew in the cast to see if they had updates on Jimmy’s character. Of course, few people knew anything concrete (or even responded to White’s messages). But ti all turned out okay for White, who reprised his role for Jimmy in Season 4.

“When I found out I survived, I was incredibly grateful to keep doing the best job I’ve ever had in my life,” White concluded. “To get to keep working on the ranch, to keep working with those guys, it’s the best job I’ve ever had in my life.”

Check out the full interview below: