NEWSJennifer Lawrence Reveals Surprising Connection to Taylor Sheridan From Her Childhood: 'Isn't That Crazy?'
Jennifer Lawrence shared a surprising childhood encounter with Taylor Sheridan before his TV empire exploded.
Jan. 27 2026, Published 8:00 a.m. ET
Taylor Sheridan has become a powerhouse creator with hit shows like Yellowstone and Landman, but he once had a different path. Jennifer Lawrence opened up about an unexpected encounter with Sheridan during her early acting days in a recent episode of "Smartless," which aired on January 12.
Jennifer Lawrence recalled meeting Taylor Sheridan early in her acting career.
“My mom took me to this guy that this agency told me to meet to help me act or whatever. He told my mom, ‘don’t put her in any acting lessons,’” Lawrence recalled. “That guy, randomly, is Taylor Sheridan. Isn’t that weird? Isn’t that crazy? I guess he was like an acting teacher or something back in the day.”
Their interaction was short, but years later, the two crossed paths again. “We met up about another project, but we didn’t talk about it, because I don’t know if we even made the connection,” Lawrence explained. “Somebody made the connection for me when I was doing a Q and A for a movie like two or three years ago.”
The Die My Love star isn’t confident that Sheridan remembers their first meeting. After all, she was “just a little kid” at the time.
Jennifer Lawrence said Taylor Sheridan advised her mother against acting lessons.
Sheridan, now renowned for his TV empire, carved out a successful acting career before becoming a celebrated writer. He notably portrayed David Hale in Sons of Anarchy and shifted entirely to writing afterward. In 2015, he scripted Sicario, featuring Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin and Benicio del Toro. This film launched Sheridan's career into the spotlight.
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Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin and Benicio del Toro starred in the film 'Sicario.'
“It was a combination of a few things. It was a fascination with a largely ignored calamity happening so close to our own border,” he said in a 2015 interview. “It affects so many people and is a massive business that really permeates every region of this nation and wreaks such havoc and isn’t talked about.”
Sheridan transitioned to develop Yellowstone, which premiered in 2018. However, he still made a rare on-screen appearance, guest-starring as Travis Wheatley, a rugged cowboy, horseman and rodeo competitor in 12 episodes of the show.
“I’ve spent a lot of time as an actor. I made a journeyman actor. I just became fascinated with telling my story,” he explained. “I didn’t want to tell other people’s stories anymore. I wanted to tell my own. I really fell in love with that notion. As an extremist, I wanted to do something, so that’s what I did.”
Taylor Sheridan later became a powerhouse TV creator after leaving acting.
Sheridan continued, “I quit acting and I started writing. The business had shown me — as an actor — what life would be like for me, and life was fine. I had reached as high as I was going to reach as an actor. As an artist, I just wasn’t getting what I wanted to do, I decided to tell my stories.”
Aside from Yellowstone, which concluded in 2024, Sheridan has penned an impressive array of shows, including Mayor of Kingstown, Tulsa King, Lioness, Landman, 1883 and 1923.
