When Dave Annable signed on to play Lee, the ill-fated son of Yellowstone patriarch John Dutton, he had no idea the show would become a mega-hit.
“We’re shooting my death scene, and l’m like, ‘No, I really want to stay!’” he told outlet on July 11 for this week’s issue.
Fortunately for Annable, 43, show creator Taylor Sheridan had another role in mind for him: starring with Zoe Saldaña and Nicole Kidman in the new Paramount+ series Special Ops: Lioness, premiering Sunday.
“I’m super excited. Taylor’s incredible. He’s one of the best, most authentic voices we have out there right now,” says the actor. “You put this cast together and I’m like, “Holy sh — , this is an all-star team.”
Annable’s wife Odette, 38, who is also an actress, first introduced him to Sheridan when Annable was starring in the ABC series Brothers & Sisters. The actor initially passed on auditioning for Yellowstone.
“I’m from New York. I was on a horse twice in my life,” he says.
Annable eventually acquiesced and won the role of Lee Dutton, the son of Kevin Costner’s character.
“I had no idea how much I would love ‘being a cowboy,’ and being in the mountains of Montana and on a horse,” he adds. “I mean, it hits different, all of it.”
Now the actor is hopeful fans will love Sheridan’s new series just as much.
“Taylor has said I have a face he wants to kill,” adds the actor, laughing. “For this, I was like, ‘Don’t kill me, I can’t take two in a row.’”
Special Ops: Lioness premieres Sunday, July 23 on Paramount+.
