Gil Birmingham told ET how a big 'curve ball' is going to change things during season 5.
Lots of things are going to change on season 5 of Yellowstone. ET's Rachel Smith spoke with series star Gil Birmingham, and he teased how John Dutton's (Kevin Costner) new role as governor is going to complicate already shaky alliances.
"A whole structure that had been formulated with the alliances that had been built are all gonna come crumbling down," Birmingham, who plays Chief Thomas Rainwater, told ET. "We're gonna get into the politics of John Dutton, who doesn't wanna be in that position."
In fact, as Birmingham sees it, the "only reason" John agreed to be governor is to prevent land development, a goal on which he and Rainwater are aligned.
"I think they both have deep respect for each other, because they have a deep connection to the land," Birmingham said. "They both want the same thing [for] different reasons."
As for how the men will unite in that goal during season 5, Birmingham teased, "John's throwing a curve ball right now in this season, and that's gonna ruffle some feathers and necessitate some reassessment and realignment and a little bit of ambiguity."
Outside of his relationship with John, Rainwater has a connection to Kayce (Luke Grimes), given his marriage to Monica (Kelsey Asbille) and their growing family.
"We have some events that cause Kayce to come back to the [reservation]," Birmingham said. "... Kayce is conflicted with these two worlds he lives in. He wants to establish the value system for his son that probably aligns more with the way he wants his son to be raised, versus the colonist ways of the family he was born into."
"The only place he has to turn is the culture that he's married to with Monica," he continued, "and Rainwater tries to assist him the best he can."
As a whole, Birmingham said that the show "always gets elevated from season to season."
"He's such a brilliant writer... He writes what he knows," he said of Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan. "These are all experiences he's sharing on paper and in his projects and then we're just blessed to be able to rely on such incredible wiring to portray these characters... I don’t know how he keeps keeps it all in his head but, boy, it really works."
Season 5 of Yellowstone premieres Nov. 13 on Paramount Network.
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