This Actor Had A Hard Time Working With Annette Bening On Dutton Ranch

You'd think working on a franchise like "Yellowstone" that has spawned an entire cinematic universe's worth of spinoffs would mean the cast could probably phone it in and treat it like any other paycheck gig. But Taylor Sheridan takes his sprawling cowboy empire seriously (we still haven't forgotten about cowboy camp and how the actors train for the "Yellowstone" universe), and so do the cast members. For Finn Little, who reprises his role as Carter — the unofficially adopted son of Beth Dutton and Rip Wheeler — on "Dutton Ranch," that bar proved stressful enough to catch him unawares, especially when he finally shared a scene with an acting legend. Filming with a five-time Oscar nominee would test anyone's nerve, and Little explained how it got to him.

There's a moment in the first season of "Dutton Ranch" where Carter meets and shakes hands with the Dutton family's new rival Beulah Jackson, portrayed by the iconic Annette Bening. That scene proved the hardest to film for Little. "I had one scene with her," he told People in June 2026. "Man, I wish I could say it went better. Something was wrong with me that day."

On paper the scene was easy enough to nail in one take. Carter was supposed to shake Beulah's hand and exchange names. In practice, Little's nervous system decided to stage a little mutiny and ruin every take. "I don't know what it was. I had dry mouth or something. I had one line with her, and every single take I ... couldn't get it out," he continued. Little is pretty keen to change that on-screen first impression, though: "Hopefully, I get another chance to prove myself next season." The young actor should take heart, because even Bening herself was apparently a starstruck fan when she joined the production.

The woman who left Finn Little tongue-tied might have once stood in his shoes. Before signing on as Beulah Jackson, Annette Bening was a "Yellowstone" fan who adored Kelly Reilly and her performance as Beth Dutton. "Well, I was a big fan of 'Yellowstone,' and of Kelly Reilly, who I worship as an actress," she told Entertainment Tonight at the "Dutton Ranch" premiere event in May 2026. Such was Bening's admiration that, as she explained to Cinemablend about working with Reilly for the first time, "I was nervous too, because I, of course, had seen 'Yellowstone,' and I was so captivated by what Kelly was doing as an actress. So I was nervous. And then I thought, 'Well, yeah, what's that like? Like, how is she on set?'"

You have to consider, this is an actor with five Academy Award nominations, numerous accolades including a BAFTA and a Golden Globe, and four decades of filmography talking. To admit she also gets a little jittery around her castmates is both humbling and disarming — especially if you happen to have ruined your first take with her. Fortunately, the leading ladies of "Dutton Ranch" didn't have any awkwardness during their first scene. At least, none that they have decided to share with the rest of the world.

After the huge success of the first season, in June 2026, Paramount renewed "Dutton Ranch" for a second season. Little gets the do-over he asked for, and now he just has to deliver. If Bening can admit to nerves after four decades, Little's Carter can surely survive a scene opposite Beulah Jackson, dry mouth and all.