Taylor Sheridan attends the premiere for Paramount Network's "Yellowstone" Season 5 at Hotel Drover on November 13, 2022 in Fort Worth, Texas.
Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images for Paramount

'Yellowstone' Creator Taylor Sheridan Once Turned Away a Future Oscar Winner

Taylor Sheridan is now known as the creator behind the Paramount Network series Yellowstone, but back before he was producing hit shows, he taught acting to aspiring actors. And, as it turns out, it was then that he crossed paths with a young actress who would go on to become a star: Jennifer Lawrence.

Sheridan initially shared the story with Deadline's Mike Fleming Jr. The Texas-born filmmaker said a young Lawrence (and her mom) once came to him for acting lessons, but after one appointment, he refunded their money. His reason for refusing to give her acting lessons was a good one, however. Sheridan told Lawrence and her mother that she already had all the makings of the actress and there was "nothing he could teach her. "

Lawrence didn't recall that this exchange from her youth happened with Sheridan until Fleming brought it up at during a panel for her new film, Causeway, at Deadline's Contenders Film: Los Angeles event last weekend (Nov. 19). When Fleming reminded Lawrence of this moment with Sheridan, she was surprised.

"What? I remember going to see someone and him telling my mom, 'Here's your money back. Just don't put her in any acting lessons whatever you do,'" Lawrence said. "Was that Taylor Sheridan?"

"I gotta tell my Mom," she adds.

This occurrence happened before Lawrence starred in her breakthrough role in 2010's Winter's Bone. She, of course, went on to star in blockbusters such as The Hunger Games franchise, Silver Linings Playbook, the X-Men franchise and more.

Sheridan began his career as an actor and had notable roles on television shows in the 1990s and 2000s, including the role of David Hale on Sons of Anarchy. He has also paved an incredibly successful career as the creator behind Yellowstone, its prequels 1883 and 1923 and the Sylvester Stallone-led series, Tulsa King.

READ MORE: Isaac Hoskins Had a Chance Encounter Wih 'Yellowstone' Creator Taylor Sheridan. It Ended Up Changing His Life.