‘Yellowstone’: Forrie J. Smith’s Son Joins the Show as Young Lloyd

Yellowstone fans got a surprise during the Season 5 premiere when a flashback sequence revealed a peek at a young Lloyd Pearce, one of the Dutton’s senior ranchhands. Lloyd is played by actor Forrie J. Smith, and it turns out, Yellowstone producers didn’t have to look too far for an actor to play a younger version of the character. [Please note: Possible Yellowstone Season 5 premiere spoilers below.]

Taste of Country reports, that the actor cast in the role was none other than Smith’s real-life son, Forest Smith. The younger smith is seen in a 20-year flashback as a young Rip Wheeler — played in flashbacks by Kyle Red Silverstein — walks through the bunkhouse. Notably, Forest has portrayed his father’s character in previous flashbacks, but the Season 5 premiere found him with much more screen time and even a few lines — at one point he tells Rip, “Not one good thing happens in town…” — so fans were quick to note the uncanny similarities between the young and old versions of Lloyd.

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Elsewhere in the brutal season premiere, the Dutton family found themselves facing an absolutely heartbreaking death together. In the episode, a very pregnant Monica (Kelsey Asbille) needs to go to the hospital, but Kayce (Luke Grimes) is tied up dealing with a ranch problem, so she drives herself with their son Tate (Brecken Merrill) in the car. On the way, the pair are involved in a terrible accident. We eventually learn that the tragic incident caused Monica to lose her baby. 

Sitting with a broken arm, Tate tells the family, “I had a brother. For an hour, anyway. … They named him John.” The episode ends with a heartbreaking image of the Dutton family outside of the hospital room, while Kayce holds Monica in the bed. Notably, ahead of the premiere, Grimes spoke with Entertainment Tonight about what fans could expect from Season 5, and he teased it would be “heavy” for Kayce and Monica. “It’s tough,” he said.” I think the show, the whole thing is the drama. The whole thing is about how much can we put these people through?” 

Grimes added, “I think, in this season, it’s Monica for sure. She’s going through some pretty heavy stuff.” For her part, Asbille was cautious about spoilers, but did gush about Monica and Kayce’s “forever” type of love. She noted how they’ve been “fighting against all odds to be together,” and added, “My goodness, they’ve had a wild ride.” Yellowstone airs Sunday nights on Paramount Network.