Spoiler warning for any Yellowstone fans who haven't yet watched Episode 408!
Jimmy's journey to becoming a true cowboy has been a fun one to watch throughout the middle of Yellowstone's fourth season, and not solely for the variety of uncomfortable reactions we see from star Jefferson White on a weekly basis. The character deserves to feel a sense of genuine pride for his accomplishments without being waylaid by a bunkhouse full of shit-talkers, good-natured though they may be. Plus, just in the last two episodes, Jimmy advanced his sex life quite a bit by masturbating a horse and having a first-date hook-up with the Four Sixes’ vet tech Emily, definitely in that order, if not in the same afternoon. And both situations led to learning experiences for the actor, as one might imagine.
Having long ago proclaimed that Season 4 would be the best one yet, Jefferson White spoke with CinemaBlend in part to promote The Official Yellowstone Podcast, for which he serves as the ever-inquisitive and engaging host. One could argue an entire episode of the podcast could be a Top 10 list of Jimmy’s most uncomfortable exploits, with Episode 407’s horse-masturbation scene as that list’s bejeweled crown. (Jimmy’s reaction to it was gloriously relatable in its simplicity, and made for one of the episode’s best quotes.) Obviously, I had to ask about that particular sequence, given how on-display everything was, and White kept things free from crudeness while offering up an arguably surprising detail about the filming process. In his words:
That was entirely new to me, but we were lucky. Once again, we were surrounded by experts. You know, the Four Sixes is one of the oldest, biggest, most prestigious cattle ranches and horse-training facilities in the world. So we were surrounded by vet techs who do this hundreds of times a day, surrounded by the infrastructure for this massive, real-life working ranch. So once again, I was kind of thrown in over my head as it were, and had to scramble to tread water. And we did that scene one time, you know? We did it in one take. The first time we did it is the time you see on screen, so that was another learning experience for me, to say the least.
It’s so amusing to think about Jefferson White and Jimmy Herdstrum’s personalities truly dovetailing as this scene was being filmed, with both the actor and the character oozing a gung-ho attitude mixed with sheer “how did I get here?” confusion. But it’s good to know the actor had more than enough informed support from the 6666 ranch team, so that he could be fully aware of what would happen, thus preventing him from disrupting the take.
While it is a bit of a surprise to learn the footage that aired is the only time that scene was filmed, considering the average number of takes allotted for scenes in other projects, there’s a clear logic behind it. After all, it’s not like the horse in the scene is aware that he’s acting, so it’s not like he could just act out the process while faking an orgasm for each take. (Unless that was BoJack Horseman in disguise, of course.) After I commented on how nervous he must have been to not cause a botched shot, White said:
Yeah, we basically had one shot at it, and we pulled it off. We pulled it off.
And his filthy phrasing wasn’t even intentional! But rest assured, I told him I was indeed taking it as a pun.
As someone used to keeping Yellowstone’s storyline details close to the vest, Jefferson White also kept it classy and light on the raunch when I asked about Jimmy and Emily being such adorable co-workers-turned-sex-partners. He had nothing but praise for Kathryn Kelly, saying:
She's amazing. It's so funny, because it's like, I've been doing this show for four years now. I really thought that, when a new actor comes in, I'll show 'em the ropes. I'll take care of her. I'll make sure she feels protected and safe on set. And within six hours of stepping on set, she was taking care of me, sort of consoling me in between takes, making sure that I was okay. It's so funny, anytime I think I'm going to be the seasoned veteran, I end up being the the rookie again.
Here’s hoping Kathryn Kelly is around the set for many more hours to come, since it seems like Jimmy and Emily could really be happy together. Which is based largely on not knowing much about Emily beyond her warm, cutesy smile and take-charge attitude. So long as she keeps him smiling without also coaxing him into situations that leave him physically debilitated, she’s going to be far better for him than Mia ever was.
Speaking of things that are far better than other things, check out Jefferson White hanging out with Yellowstone co-stars Luke Grimes, Cole Hauser and Kelly Reilly in the highly impressive recording studio at the Wynn Las Vegas, where the entire first season of Official Yellowstone Podcast was recorded.
Here’s hoping the final two episodes of Yellowstone Season 4 don’t destroy Jimmy and Emily’s burgeoning relationship in any impossible-to-fix ways. But be sure to tune into Paramount Network over the next two Sunday nights at 8:00 p.m. ET to see what happens. And when you’re not planning next year’s TV viewing with our 2022 premiere schedule, definitely stay up to date with The Official Yellowstone Podcast on the platform of your choice, with new episodes dropping on Thursdays.
