“Yellowstone” fans recently said goodbye to Yellowstone Dutton Ranch patriarch John Dutton. This is another shocking twist that makes Taylor Sheridan's series so fascinating.
But any epic drama would fall flat if Yellowstone didn't get the details right. The show's operatic plot of murder and double dealing plays against a quiet, authentic depiction of ranch life.
“Once you started messing with my children and animals, you crossed the line.”
One person to thank for that is actor Foley J. Smith, who used his background as an honest-to-God cowboy to become the oldest rancher and fan of the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch. He plays the popular character Lloyd Pierce.
Smith didn't audition for his role, he says. glenn beck In a recent roundtable discussion on the Glenn Beck Podcast.
Follow the road to “Yellowstone” with a rope
He was working as a chief animal trapper in Sheridan's 2016 film Hell or High Water when someone moved his truck. “I had no idea who it was,” Smith recalled. “I got on my horse, tied him with a rope and dragged him out the door.”
The person who hired him was a cattle catcher. Fortunately, Sheridan figured it out the way Smith did. Not only did he refuse to fire Smith, he told him he had a role in a modern western he was writing.
Of course, such promises don't make a dime in Hollywood, but Sheridan turned out to be “a man of his word,” Smith says.
Smith grew up on his grandparents' ranch in Montana City, Montana, and began competing in rodeos at the age of eight. Along with schoolwork and basketball, helping out on the ranch was part of his daily routine. He saw firsthand how tough the business was.
Once, after hearing his grandfather worry that he wouldn't even break even that year, 16-year-old Smith asked his grandfather: “Why do you continue to farm?”
“He’s looking at me,” Smith says.[and said,] “Well, son, we're helping to feed America. We're helping to feed the country.”
It’s kind of a cowboy culture, right?” Smith continues. “We're helping to feed the country. We maintain the lawns and rotate the pastures to keep everything going.”
Smith delves deep into the spirit of “cowboy culture.” He shares with Beck an etiquette point that might surprise city folk: why cowboys take off their hats before eating.
It's not just a matter of appearance. It is a sign of respect for the hands that prepared the food and the land that provided it. This respect for people, animals, and land is central to Smith's worldview, and he feels America desperately needs to rediscover it.
But Smith's respect for tradition doesn't mean he avoids difficult conversations. He speaks unfiltered when it comes to issues that affect American values and communities. “Once you started messing with my children and animals, you crossed the line,” he tells Beck.
From there, they discuss topics ranging from social media's role in creating echo chambers to concerns about public schools promoting agendas that don't sit well with traditional American families.
At the heart of it all is the Cowboy Code.
nonsense perspective
Smith speaks candidly about the challenges he faces as a rancher and shares his experiences on his ranch near the U.S.-Mexico border. Once there, they had to deal with illegal aliens who were encroaching on their property. He provides a raw look at what many ranchers go through every day, without glossing over the realities of open borders.
The conversation also touches on the American beef industry, which Foley is passionate about. A lifelong cowboy, he is dismayed by the decline in meat quality and increasing reliance on foreign meat.
Smith also has no patience for “green people” who try to lecture those who have managed the land for generations.
He pointed out environmental hypocrisy, noting how 60 million buffalo once roamed the plains without causing a “climate crisis.” It's refreshing and reminds us of the practical knowledge farmers and ranchers have always had about their land.
American cowboy revival
“Yellowstone” has put cowboy culture back in the spotlight, and Smith sees it as a chance to remind Americans of their roots. In a time when traditional values are often under attack, Smith represents a quiet resilience rooted in family, hard work, and a love of the land.
Smith's story is more than just an anecdote. They are a call to action. He tells the story of how communities once came together in difficult times, and speaks of neighborly values that feel increasingly tenuous.
Beck and Smith agree: “America has lost much of this spirit, but it's not too late to get it back.” Smith's life proves that you don't need big government to build strong communities, just good neighbors and a sense of responsibility.
Stand up even when it's hard
Throughout the conversation, Smith emphasized the importance of standing up for what's right, even when it's uncomfortable.
He wasn't shy about speaking his mind, even if it meant being alone.
From refusing to comply with Hollywood's COVID-19 protocols to staying true to his cowboy roots, Smith embodies a level of conviction rare in the industry. He told Beck that if the situation worsened, it would not be the wealthy elite who would know how to survive, but men like himself who could “survive with a knife.” I know that.
Watch Beck and Smith's full interview below.
