The bunkhouse on the Dutton Ranch is full of personalities — many of whom end up clashing over their romantic interests. Most of the time, the Yellowstone cowboys are brawling over barrel racers, but a new face in season 5's flashbacks reveals that Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) caused a few love triangles back in her day.
Her on-again, off-again romance with ranch hand Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) was not without its entanglements. In the season premiere, we are transported back in time to when Rip and Beth attempted to go on a first date before she left home for college. Despite their clear affection for each other, the rendezvous quickly goes up in flames, and Rip leaves Beth alone at the bar. And — in true Beth fashion — she rubs a little salt in the wound by making out with another cowboy in front of him when she arrives back home.
He's aptly named Rowdy for all the stir he's causing fans of Rip and Beth's love story, and we likely haven't seen the last of this rugged cowboy. Though Rowdy is a new addition to Yellowstone, you'll likely recognize the actor bringing him to life: Kai Caster.
Who is Kai Caster?
While Rowdy may be Kai's biggest recurring role to date, the 23-year-old actor is no stranger to the small screen — or the Yellowstone universe. He appeared in other big-name shows including House of Lies, American Horror Story, Shameless, Magnum P.I., CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and New Girl. And die-hard Dutton Ranch fans will recognize him from his role as young Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) in season 2.
His Hollywood career started in 2007, at age 8, when he played Travis Garrison alongside Joey King and Billy Burke in the TV movie Backyard and Bullets. Since then, he has been featured in 25 projects, appearing in short films, shows and feature-length movies.
Caster's brother, Rio, is also an actor, though he hasn't appeared in anything since 2008. His mother, Corrie, is a scout for IMG Models; and his father, Dorian, was a fashion photographer. He died in 2018.
Learning New Notes
Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images for Paramount
Outside of acting, Caster shares another talent with some of the Yellowstone crew: music. He took advantage of all the quarantine downtime in 2020 and used it as an opportunity to dip his toe into the music scene. In an interview with TWENTY MINUTES LATER, he talked about the impact that COVID-19 had on both his ability to get work as an actor and his mental health.
"I went from going to work every day to not working at all," he said. "It was hard for me to change my lifestyle like that. It's hard on your mental health and hard on a lot of other stuff too.
"I wanted to try something new, and my best friend Josh is an amazing producer. We were hanging out one day, and he was like, 'You should try making music.' And so I did. I'm having a great time with it. It's been something I've always wanted to do — I'd just always been kind of nervous."
Caster currently has two songs out on Spotify: "PCH" and "No more Parties." They may not have the same country twang as songs by fellow Yellowstone musicians Kevin Costner and Ryan Bingham, but having another creative outlet has proved to be therapeutic for Caster.
"It's been crazy to see just how similar making music is to acting," he told TWENTY MINUTES LATER. "I love to tell stories, and I love to make people feel things, and you have the power to do that with both acting and music."
Famous Exes
Kai Caster may not be a household name just yet, but his ex-girlfriend is someone many people will recognize. In 2019, he dated Luna Montana, a ballerina and YouTuber who boasts over 300,000 followers on Instagram. They were together for about a year before they broke up at the start of 2020.
It's possible that his last single, "No more Parties" (which was released in 2020), is about their relationship. When asked what the song was about, he told TWENTY MINUTES LATER that he recently went through a breakup and that one of the things he enjoyed most about the relationship was simply being with the other person.
"One of the things that I enjoyed about the relationship was being with that significant other and not having to go out and go to parties or clubs," he said. "I just wanted to be with that person. In general, having someone that you want to stay home with and connect with — that, to me, is a party. I'd much rather sit at home with somebody and have fun with that person than be in a large group setting. That's the root of the song."
While nothing is official, some of his recent Instagram posts suggest that he might be dating actress Natalie Alyn Lind, who's known for her roles in Big Sky and The Goldbergs.
No matter whom Caster is dating IRL, Yellowstone fans care about one thing and one thing only: that Rowdy stays away from young Beth Dutton for good. With just a few episodes left of the first half of this season, only time will tell what's in store for this cowboy.
READ MORE: 'Yellowstone' Fans Want a Spinoff with Josh Lucas As Young John Dutton
