'Yellowstone' star Luke Grimes talks new 'Happiness for Beginners' movie, his 'angel' wife
After enduring nearly five seasons of relentless screen drama portraying smoldering scion Kayce Dutton on "Yellowstone," Luke Grimes is taking a happy detour.
Grimes, 39, swaps Dutton's dust-filled cowboy hat for pristine Patagonia apparel playing happy-go-lucky Jake, who falls for friend-since-childhood Helen (Ellie Kemper) during an outdoor survival course in the Netflix rom-com "Happiness for Beginners" (now streaming).
"I've done 'Yellowstone' for a few years with so much dark, emotional material. I mean, I get to do some juicy stuff," says Grimes, speaking to USA TODAY before the SAG-AFTRA strike. "But I wanted to do something lighter and just experience that one time. A rom-com was always on the bucket list."
Here's what to know about Grimes' new "Happiness" and his "Yellowstone"-fueled career, which also includes an upcoming country music album:
Luke Grimes learned to ride horses for 'Yellowstone,' but his 'Happiness for Beginners' hikes came naturally
Dayton, Ohio-born Grimes says he was right at home starring in the lighthearted movie set on the Appalachian Trail. It's a big change from the harsh Western setting he's inhabited in "Yellowstone" since 2018.
"I've been camping and backpacking my whole life. Patagonia is no stranger to me," says Grimes. "Actually, it was the cowboy thing that was new to me. I'd never even ridden horses before 'Yellowstone.' That's such a cool part of my life I didn't see coming."
The "Happiness" cast of quirky camping misfits includes "The Office" star Kemper and "Superstore" actor Nico Santos. The crew bonded over hikes through peak Connecticut fall foliage ("Got to see that for the first time. Gorgeous.") and shared ghost stories at their 18th-century bed and breakfast. "That place was creepy, especially around Halloween," he says.
Those friendships are still going strong after the movie: Grimes plans to attend Santos' upcoming wedding to fiancé Zeke Smith ("Survivor").
Luke Grimes is clear: 'I'm a very married person' to wife Bianca
In "Happiness," Jake is as good-hearted as he is great-looking ? a persistent theme among Grimes' characters, as seen in Kayce's enduring TV marriage to Monica Long-Dutton (Kelsey Asbille).
"I try for the parts playing people you don't always like, but I end up getting the sweetheart, try-hard guy," says Grimes. "I probably gravitate to these parts because that's who I want to be."
He's that good guy in real life too. While Grimes is "allergic" to Instagram ("I don't even want the password"), he had his social media team post a rare personal photo that shows him kissing his Brazilian model wife Bianca Rodrigues Grimes after his performance at Stagecoach music festival in April. The romantic pic's most-liked comment summed up "Yellowstone" fans' dismay at the visceral reminder that Grimes is off the market: "And all of our hearts are broken," the comment reads.
Grimes' devotion is plain.
"I just wanted to make it very clear. I'm a very married person and I love my wife to death. We'll be together forever," says Grimes, whose wife of nearly five years calls him "anjo," the Portuguese word for angel. "There's no way I earn it. I do my best. But I'm a flawed big ol' weird-ass man. She's the real angel here."
Luke Grimes on his country career: 'Music has been speaking to me'
The post was also important since Bianca has unconditionally supported Grimes' burgeoning foray into country music. "She has been with me all the way on this, I couldn't have done it without her," he says, adding that the Stagecoach performance was a "big benchmark."
His debut single "No Horse to Ride" was featured on the midseason finale of "Yellowstone" in January. Another single, "Hold On," arrived in April. Grimes politely declines to discuss specifics about his music and hasn't given the official title or release date for the expected album. But he does address the question his fans are wondering: Will the music impact his acting career?
'I'm disappointed': 'Yellowstone' creator Taylor Sheridan finally talks Kevin Costner's exit
"I'm asking myself the same thing. I'm going to do whatever seems right in the moment, and music has been speaking to me lately," Grimes says. "I love acting, but the business is a very different game than when I started. I just happened to land in a lucky spot with 'Yellowstone,' which is a (really) great TV show."
However, even the future of "Yellowstone" is murky, though Paramount has announced the series will end after the still-unshot second half of Season 5. The decision came after various production disagreements with star Kevin Costner, who plays patriarch and Kayce's dad John Dutton, were aired in public. A "Yellowstone" sequel series will follow without Costner and series creator Taylor Sheridan has hinted it might involve an entirely new cast.
Grimes won't even talk about basics, laughing when asked how he's held up amid the turbulent "Yellowstone" off-screen drama.
"Nice try," Grimes says. "There's no way I can discuss anything around that."
Instead, Grimes is focusing on the projects he's been able to take on without the all-consuming "Yellowstone" shooting schedule, like "Happiness" or the pandemic-delayed Hawaiian honeymoon he finally took with Bianca in May. Or just striving for even more happiness.
"The most important thing to me is to enjoy my days on this Earth because there aren't many of them," says Grimes. "If it's music, if it's acting, if it's one day, raising children, I don't care. I just want to do what makes me happy."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Yellowstone' star Luke Grimes talks love, 'Happiness for Beginners'
