Jennifer Landon is no stranger to working with megastars. The daughter of acting legend Michael Landon, she started picking up acting roles in her late teens (per IMDb). By the time she became the drawling, straight-shooting Teeter on “Yellowstone,” she’d already worked with luminaries such as Ellen Barkin and Hugh Laurie. She also had years of experience in the soap opera world, working for shows such as “Days of Our Lives,” “As the World Turns” and “The Young & The Restless.” Before joining “Yellowstone,” Jennifer Landon earned three Emmy Awards for her role in “As the World Turns.”
When you grow up in Hollywood, you might think you’re prepared for almost anything, even meeting someone who seems earthshakingly cool to you. But even the calmest among us might be a little rattled by taking on a big TV role — or having to act with an Oscar-winning megastar like Kevin Costner. Landon once told a story about how her first scene with Costner resulted in a funny moment that still resonates with her years after settling into Teeter’s skin and sharing many more scenes with Costner.
A rooftop scene resulted in awkwardness
While speaking with Vegas Film Critic in 2020, Jennifer Landon recalled doing her first scene with Kevin Costner, which involved Teeter being on top of a roof. Her stuntwoman climbed on top of the roof while Landon performed her wide shots from a platform closer to the ground. Then she filmed some coverage takes, speaking to bean bags which bore notes bearing the names of the actors to whom she was supposed to be conversing.
Costner left the set while she was filming. “He’s walking off to get into the car, and I get really nervous around him,” Landon admitted. Costner favored her with a thumbs up, which was enough to make the already nervous actress even more nervous. “And instead of looking back at him and being like ‘thanks man’,” Landon said, offering a thumbs up to the camera, “I like panicked, and I started doing this weird, gyrating dance.” She then demonstrated her gyrations for the camera and admitted she stuck her tongue out as well. “And I just saw him be like…why? And he just got in his car and left!” she remarked, laughing. She later admitted that Costner is personable and a good storyteller, but her nerves kept reminding him that she was interacting with Robin Hood.
It does seem that her relationship with Costner has shifted with time. In a March 2022 interview with Bonnie Laufer Krebs, Landon described working with Costner as an enriching experience. “He’s so generous, and he’s so giving,” Landon says of Costner’s directing style. But she admits it still makes her nervous to talk to him, “even though he’s the most loving, giving man ever.” It just goes to show that actors are human beings, too.