Luke Grimes On ‘Yellowstone’ Character’s Future Before Finale: ‘I Will Face Anything’

Luke Grimes on His ‘Yellowstone’ Character’s Fate Ahead of Series Finale: I ‘Take It as It Comes’

Luke Grimes isn’t getting too attached to what might or might not become of his character Kayce Dutton as Yellowstone approaches its series finale.

“Here’s the thing with Yellowstone and my character: Hope doesn’t happen,” the Happiness for Beginners actor, 39, exclusively told PEOPLE before the SAG-AFTRA strike began earlier this month.

“I just learned to take it as it comes, and that’s it,” Grimes explained.

Season 4 of the hit Western drama series ended with Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley) killing his biological father, Garrett Randall (Will Patton), after it was revealed that he ordered the hit on the Dutton family.

In a spur-of-the-moment ceremony, Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) and Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) tied the knot. And Grimes’ character returned from his spiritual journey that lasted four days and four nights.

And while Grimes previously told Entertainment Tonight that “love and family” — plus a lot of “really juicy drama” — will drive the show’s final episodes, fans may have to wait a bit longer to see how everything ties up.

“We have not [started filming the second half of season 5] because of the writers strike,” Grimes confirmed.

“I think we would be if it weren’t for that,” he added. “But that takes precedence over everything. They got to get that all sorted, and then we’ll be getting after it.”
For now, Grimes is focused on his newest project, Happiness for Beginners — a movie that marks a big departure from his roles that usually “skew a little more dramatic and a little more intense.”

In the recently released Netflix film, Grimes plays Jake, a doctor who forms an unexpected connection with a recently divorced woman (played by Ellie Kemper) on a wilderness retreat.

“I always wanted to do a romantic comedy,” revealed the True Blood alum. “There’s enough bad stuff in the world. And I read the script and I was like, ‘I think I could do this.’ “
And while he and his Happiness for Beginners character are worlds apart in many ways, Grimes tells PEOPLE that his love of nature gave him a leg up.

“I’m an outdoorsy kind of guy,” he explained. “So it just felt like the right fit.”