Yellowstone’s Kelly Reilly Reveals the Most Terrifying Scene She Ever Filmed
Yellowstone got as wild behind the scenes as it looks on screen: Kelly Reilly recalls filming amid a pack of real wolves, while Jefferson White acted opposite a live bear—harrowing days that left both stars rattled.
If you ever wondered how much of Yellowstone is smoke and mirrors, the answer is: not as much as you think. At a recent cast dinner tied to the launch of the show’s official podcast, Kelly Reilly and Jefferson White swapped war stories about acting opposite actual wildlife. It’s equal parts thrilling and a little 'why did we do that again?'
Kelly Reilly vs. a pack of wolves
This goes back to Season 1 of the Paramount Network series. Reilly says the job that day was simple in theory and terrible in practice: run straight at a pack of wolves, whiskey bottle in hand. The crew promised it was safe. If anything went sideways, they’d pull her out. They even had a plan: nearly invisible cords on the ground to trip the wolves if they lunged. Because nothing says safety like invisible string.
Reilly didn’t love that plan. For one, she couldn’t actually see the cords. And two, she was pretty sure a wolf — plus a dozen of his buddies — wasn’t going to be stopped by a tripwire. Still, they rolled. Middle of Montana. Camera up. And she sprinted directly at a pack of wolves. She admits it was flat-out terrifying, then undercut it with a dry little victory lap: she’s 'really brave.'
Jefferson White and the world’s sleepiest bear
White’s story goes the other way: he needed a bear to chase him, and the bear simply refused to do bear things. They shot in late November, which is basically nap season, so the animal was, in his words, the laziest bear he’d ever met. The crew kept trying to coax it into a run. No luck.
Plan B? Make White smell like lunch.
"Every pocket on my body was stuffed full of shredded chicken to try to get the bear to chase me."
Did it work? Eventually — just enough for the shot. Also just enough to make you rethink every on-set snack decision for the rest of your life.
If you want more stories like this straight from the folks who lived them, the first episode of the official Yellowstone podcast drops Friday. The cast shared these animal encounters during a launch dinner at Delilah at Wynn Las Vegas.