Luke Grimes is opening up about why he and his wife, Bianca Rodrigues, chose to leave Hollywood behind and settle in Montana full-time — a move that happened long before the premiere of his new series “Marshals.”
Grimes, who reprises his role as Kayce Dutton in the “Yellowstone” spinoff, spoke about the decision while attending the “Marshals” premiere in Los Angeles. The actor said the transition to Montana felt gradual and ultimately inevitable.
Luke Grimes Says Montana Felt Like Home
At the premiere, Grimes told Fox News Digital that spending months at a time in Montana for “Yellowstone” changed his perspective.
“I was going up there three or four months out of the year and then anytime we’d get done filming, and I’d come back here, it sort of felt like I was leaving home rather than going back home,” Grimes said.
He explained that the shift happened over several years.
“It was just a gear change that slowly happened over a course of a few years and then, yeah, my wife and I just fell in love with it and decided to live there,” Grimes said.
Grimes and Rodrigues share one child together, a son born in October 2024. Rodrigues announced his arrival on Instagram on Oct. 9, writing,
“Welcome to the world little man 💙.” A week later, she shared a family photo and wrote, “And then there were 3 🫂.”
Luke Grimes Brings Family to ‘Marshals’ Set
Grimes also told People that Rodrigues and their 1-year-old son spent significant time with him while he filmed “Marshals” in Utah.
“They were with me the entire time,” Grimes said. “They basically moved to Park City for the entire shoot, they were five minutes from the sound stage, so they would come all the time.”
He added that his son was particularly entertained by Kayce’s wardrobe.
“My son thinks my cowboy hat is really funny,” Grimes said. “He doesn’t understand why I have that big thing on my head, but he loves it. He’s very excited when he got to come to stage.”
Shortly after his son’s birth, Grimes spoke to the outlet about becoming a father.
“I think people talk about your heart expanding a little bit every day, and it’s so true,” he said in November 2024. “It’s like there’s a love growing inside of me that I didn’t know I was capable of, and it’s incredible and it’s scary because you have so much more skin in the game.”
Kayce Dutton’s New Chapter in ‘Marshals’
In “Marshals,” Kayce leaves the Yellowstone Ranch behind and joins an elite unit of U.S. Marshals.
“With the Yellowstone Ranch behind him, Dutton joins an elite unit of U.S. Marshals, combining his skills as a cowboy and Navy SEAL to bring range justice to Montana, where he and his teammates must balance family, duty and the high psychological cost that comes with serving as the last line of defense in the region’s war on violence,” the official synopsis states.
Gil Birmingham, who reprises his role as Chief Thomas Rainwater, described the tonal shift between the two series to Fox News Digital.
“Well, they’re kind of two different genres that are mixing together. We’ve got the tactical, you know, bada– team of Marshals. We’re still in the backdrop of Montana… and then Kayce’s still carrying over all the knowledge that he has as a rancher and a commissioner… But we’ve got the additional element of justice and law in the West,” Birmingham said.
Grimes said Kayce’s new badge changes how he operates.
“I think throughout the first season of the show, they’re trying to make him more restrained,” Grimes said. “That’s sort of a fun arc in the beginning is him learning how to have a badge and respect a badge and not to fight dirty.”
“Marshals” premieres March 1 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.
