Among the most complex and interesting characters of the Paramount Network hit series “Yellowstone” is Jamie Dutton.
Perhaps no other character on “Yellowstone” has had more of a roller coaster ride than Jamie Dutton has. Veteran actor Wes Bentley plays Jamie to near perfection, making him almost simultaneously likable and detestable.
We first meet Jamie Dutton in season one as he is a star on the rise in the game of Montana politics. His political desires often clash with the desires of his demanding father, John Dutton. Things between the two men reach a boiling point early on when Jamie refuses his father’s wishes to drop out of the Montana Attorney General election race.
This leads to a whole other level of friction between Jamie and John. It culminates with Jamie murdering a journalist and having Rip Wheeler help him to clean it up. Later on, Jamie takes a shotgun out to the middle of nowhere with the intention of harming himself. John is able to talk him down and Jamie goes back to “Yellowstone” to work as a ranch hand. Unsurprisingly, this conflict would be the least of their concerns as the show moves forward.
In a 2019 interview, Wes Bentley discusses Jamie’s motivations that make him the complex character that he is.
“I’m not sure Jamie is fully aware of what his full goal is,” Bentley says. “I think, on the surface, that Jamie’s goal is adoration and respect from his family. He wants some praise for the hard work he does and an acknowledgment that he has a big hand in even staying in the family’s name. So, Jamie is out on a search for that recognition. He wants to try and use the leverage that he thinks he has to force that into anyone’s view. That is Jamie’s concern is basically everything he does, really, just some attention from his father.”
***Spoilers Ahead If You Haven’t Seen Season 3***
The gap between Jamie and John widens even further in season three of “Yellowstone” when the former discovers he was adopted as an infant. Confronting his adopted father, John doesn’t give Jamie the comfort he is seeking.
Pondering what is next for his life, Jamie seeks out and finds his biological father, Garrett Randall. He learns that Randall killed his drug-addict mother when he was just a baby in an effort to give his son a chance at a better life. After visiting him a few times, Randall seems to suggest that Jamie kill John Dutton and take over “Yellowstone” Ranch. He tells Jamie that the best way to bring down an empire is to “kill the King.”
“Yellowstone” fans are anxious to see what season four has in store for Jamie Dutton. Some think Jamie takes his biological father’s advice and is behind the attacks on the Dutton family.
