Tom Hanks Is Not the Only Member of His Family Joining Taylor Sheridan’s ‘Yellowstone’ Universe

ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS

• Tom Hanks made a surprise cameo in episode 2 of the Yellowstone prequel 1883.
• The series stars country music superstars Tim McGraw and Faith Hill — who happen to be friends with Hanks.
• Now, another member of the Hanks family is popping up on the Paramount+ hit.

Tom Hanks made a surprise cameo during a recent episode of the Yellowstone prequel 1883. The two-time Oscar winner was the latest big name to show up in the Taylor Sheridan-verse when he appeared as U.S. Civil War General George Meade. Now, following Hanks’ appearance, another member of his family has signed on for a role in the Yellowstone prequel.

‘1883’ stars Tim McGraw and Faith Hill

The latest Paramount+ hit is the Yellowstone prequel 1883. Which stars real-life couple and country music superstars Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. They play James and Margaret Dutton, the ancestors of Kevin Costner’s John Dutton from Yellowstone.

James and Margaret are the patriarch and matriarch of the Dutton family. And 1883 tells the story of how they traveled west through the Great Plains to Montana and settled the land that eventually became the Dutton Yellowstone Ranch.

Tom Hanks appeared in episode 2 of ‘1883’

Hanks made his cameo during the second episode of 1883 during a Civil War flashback, and it’s all because he’s good friends with McGraw. The singer told Cinema Blend that he’s known the Saving Private Ryan star for more than two decades. And all he had to do was give Hanks a call.

“Tom and I’ve been friends for 25 years, 24 years. I knew that there was this part in there, and I gave him a call and said, ‘Hey, would you be interested in showing up doing a cameo in this show that we’re doing?’ And he goes, ‘Tell me when to be there,’ and he just showed up,” McGraw explained

Tom Hanks’ wife Rita Wilson is joining the ‘Yellowstone’ universe

According to Variety, Hanks’ wife Rita Wilson will also be joining the Yellowstone universe in an upcoming episode of 1883. She will reportedly play a storekeeper named Carolyn who works at Doan’s Crossing. And she will help Faith Hill’s Margaret Dutton “decompress with some whiskey punch.”

McGraw says that his wife is “best friends” with Wilson, which is why the Sleepless in Seattle star is making a cameo. But, it’s yet to be revealed which specific episode she’ll appear in.

Tim McGraw and Tom Hanks shared a ‘magical’ experience on the ‘1883’ set

McGraw says that filming scenes with a good friend that he’s known for so long was a special experience. He joked that “you never want to botch a scene when you got Tom Hanks in there with you.” And McGraw revealed that he and Hanks avoided each other before the cameras started rolling.

“We didn’t see each other that whole morning because I didn’t want to see what he looked like. He didn’t want to see what I looked like, because we know each other so well. So when he walked on set, it was pretty magical,” McGraw said.

“And when he puts his hand on my shoulder in that scene, you could feel the weight of the world between both of them with what had gone on. It was a pretty heavy scene.”

This is ‘how it happens’ for Taylor Sheridan

Hanks and Wilson are just the latest big-name stars to show up in one of Sheridan’s series. He’s also got Sylvester Stallone signed on to star in his new series Kansas City. And apparently, getting big-time stars to appear in his TV shows is just an everyday occurrence.

“This is how it happens with him,” 101 Studios CEO David C. Glasser said of Sheridan, per Outsider. “He just picks up the phone and calls people like Billy Bob Thornton, Tom Hanks, Sam Elliott, Tim McGraw and says, ‘Hey, I’ve got this idea.’ I call to do the deal with the agent afterward.”

New episodes of 1883 drop Sundays on Paramount+.