There are a lot of characters who come and go in a show like “Yellowstone.” While that has been true of both sides on the hit Paramount series, this rule has especially held regarding the villains, many of whom have found themselves on the wrong end of John Dutton’s (Kevin Costner) or Rip Wheeler’s (Cole Hauser) wrath.
Of course, Season 2’s Malcolm Beck (Neal McDonough) is no exception. One-half of the sinister Beck brothers, the central antagonists for the season, the villain is among the darkest and nastiest in the entirety of “Yellowstone,” sending white nationalists after the Duttons and even kidnapping John’s grandson Tate (Brecken Merrill).
While these transgressions inevitably see him shot dead by the Dutton patriarch, McDonough himself argues that his “Yellowstone” fate is uncertain. “Did I die? Did I? I’m not so sure about that,” the actor told TV Insider. “We have talked about the fact we didn’t actually see Malcolm Beck’s eyes close. There is always that possibility. My brother won’t be coming back for sure, but there is a possibility,” he explained.
Neal McDonough loved working with Sheridan and Costner
Here, Neal McDonough is referring to one of the oldest tropes in film and television storytelling. In short, it runs that so long as we don’t see a dead body or visibly witness a character’s death, they could still possibly return. It’s still doubtful whether it actually makes sense for Malcolm Beck to return to “Yellowstone” for the final half-season, a run that already has plenty of loose ends to tie up. Still, the actor seems grateful to have had the chance to be a part of a show like “Yellowstone”
“Taylor Sheridan wrote amazing characters. He understands the cadence of an actor and how they actually speak,” said McDonough. “For me to play Malcolm Beck, there is this one scene in my office. He wanted to pump it up a bit. He said let’s go again for an hour at the beginning of the day and tweak a couple of things.” The actor also described how this scene inevitably turned into Malcolm’s office-smashing meltdown toward the end of “Yellowstone” Season 2.
McDonough, who has also played villains in “Minority Report,” “Ravenous,” and “Justified,” went on to echo his praise for “Yellowstone” creator Sheridan, as well as its central star, Kevin Costner. “He let me have the keys to the villain’s kingdom,” McDonough recalled. “I got to act across from Kevin Costner. We worked on The Guardian many years ago. Pound for pound, the greatest actor on screen. I loved my time on that show,” he concluded.
