‘Yellowstone’: Actor Denim Richards Looks Back on Season 3, Details Favorite Scenes (Exclusive)

When Season 3 of Yellowstone began, actor Denim Richards sat down with PopCulture.com to discuss his character, Colby. He had just become a series regular and expressed excitement about the future. Ten episodes later, Richards has no shortage of options for favorite scenes. While speaking exclusively with us for our series, PopCulture @ Home, Richards looked back at Season 3 with a spoiler-filled discussion.

Reflecting on significant changes surrounding his character and other major characters, this past season featured big moments ranging from a fistfight with a biker gang to a surprising adoption storyline. For Richards, his role finally accepted the infamous brand — although he had to first take part in a gruesome scene in which fellow ranch hand Walker took back the brand from another character. This provided a glimpse into the true depths of becoming a “true member” of the ranch.

“I think for Colby what it was; he’s not really like a killer. He’s not really any of those things, but he’s a person that’s like, this is his family,” Richards told PopCulture. “And so whatever he has to do for his family with it, I think you find a way to justify it. And that’s a really dark road that you can go down. Cause there’s a lot of things that can happen when you just justify and justify. So it was really exciting.

“It’s really even more now intense because now as you go forward, you wonder, it comes at a cost, right? It’s not free and it’s not for fun. It’s not just getting a sticker after you’ve done a good job. I think that it’s gonna be really, really interesting to see as we go forward. What crazy and wild and dangerous and illegal things that we now have to do and what those conflicts for the characters are.”

While taking the brand was a pivotal moment for Colby, Teeter and other members of the bunkhouse, this was not Richards’ favorite scene to film. Instead, he opted for a more lighthearted scenario. He specifically mentioned a nighttime party featuring a large group of characters just cutting loose in the bunkhouse and interacting with some outsiders. The scene started with newcomers Hassie Harrison and Eden Brolin bringing the party to the bunkhouse, but it took a different turn when Rip (Cole Hauser) stormed in looking for an opportunity to yell.

“It was a fun day on set. First, to all kind of work together and just have this like really fun energy where it’s dancing and joking and just whatever you have to say, just say it, that there’s no wrong line,” Richards said. “I think it was really kind of memorable because we hadn’t really seen that up until that point in Yellowstone, where we all came together. And this is the first time Rip has ever come into the bunkhouse where he comes in like a hornet, but then softens up like a little bunny. So I think that was also awesome for us to see him get to play a little bit as well and not have to be so tough and brooding all the time.”

Shifting away from his own character, Richards was quick to point out another favorite scene. He made it clear that he particularly enjoyed an intense conversation between John Dutton (Kevin Costner) and Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley). The lawyer-turned-attorney general had recently learned that was adopted, so he stormed into Dutton’s home looking for a confrontation. However, Costner did not respond with anger. He took a different approach and explained he “is just tired.”

“Just the words that he was saying, ‘I’ve earned the right to call you my son. You can say whatever you want, but you’re still my son,’” Richards explained. “You saw the way that it just diffused Jamie from, he came in at a 20 and then as it was coming down, especially when he was like, ‘You can’t tell yourself to sit down. You can’t tell me what to do.’ And it’s like, ‘Okay, you have two options, you either get out of my house or you sit down.’ You see Jamie just sit down.

“It just showed the control and the command that this man has over his family still. And the respect that even in their most anger and frustration, they still respect him. I think that it was just watching that entire thing was really kind of a master class in holding a space and watching these two actors coming from completely different sides of the spectrum and coming together. Then with the setting of the fire, it was a really beautiful scene.”

With Season 3 now complete following Sunday’s finale, Richards anticipates even more incredible scenes. He told PopCulture that some of the cast and crew are back at work and following safety guidelines in order to create an amazing product. Although fans will have to wait nearly a year until they can watch Season 4.

Yellowstone is available to stream on the Paramount Network here. For more with Richards, the latest on the series and all your favorite TV shows, keep it locked to PopCulture.com for the very latest!