All of you loyal Yellowstone fans are in for a treat. It’s YellowstoneTV Sunday if you didn’t know! The youngest of the stars on the show, Breken Merrill, took to social media on Sunday to share some more of the behind-the-scenes footage that we all love.
If you are reading this, there’s a good chance you have already seen Yellowstone. And if so, then you’re just like us — you know and love little Brecken Merrill for portraying the role of Tate Dutton. Tate is known on the show as the curious, and sometimes defiant, son of Kayce and Monica. And he is also the only grandson of Kevin Costner’s character, John Dutton.
On Sunday, Merrill took us all on a trip down memory road. He posted to Instagram, giving his more than 26,800 followes some details from an episode in season one in which he fell in a river.
“It’s #yellowstonetv Sunday! Today’s pics are a collection from the Tate-fell-in-the-river scene from season one.”
You can scroll through some of the awesome pictures below:
Brecken Merrill Says that ‘Yellowstone’ Always Puts Safety First
On the surface, it would seem that shooting a scene where a 10-year-old kid falls in a river might be dangerous. But, Brecken Merrill admitted on Instagram that the show always had safety as a top priority.
“Yellowstone has always been great about putting safety first,” Merrill said. “Weeks before we shot the river sequence, stunt coordinator #wadeallen tested my swimming abilities in a hotel pool. On the day, we had my stunt double @julianapotterstunts and my creepy dummy with the wandering vacant eye all dressed up like the strangest triplets. (That creepy dummy was always around, stealing my fit, but has never been used on film.)
The young actor also went into detail about how the crew was able to keep the actors warm while in the water. There is definitely a lot that goes on behind-the-scenes.
“There were swift water rescuers and skilled stunt folks with us at all times. I had a special wetsuit under all my layers of clothes. To keep us warm there was a hot tub (IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WOODS! — kudos to the crew that set everything up!!) a warming tent, and when Kevin or I had to stand by the river they would keep us warm with warm water out of a hose.”
And finally, Brecken Merrill concludes his post with a shoutout to the one and only Kevin Costner.
“We should all take a moment to be thoroughly impressed with @kevincostnermodernwest in this scene. He had to scoop me and all of my heavy, wet layers out of the river and RUN with me through the woods for what felt like a really long distance. MORE THAN ONCE. I was 90% water and 10% donuts that day,” Merrill joked. “#Johndutton is strong.”