While he’s best known for writing acclaimed TV shows likeYellowstone,Taylor Sheridanhas also directed three different movies over the years. Taylor Sheridan has had a storied career in show business. He started out as an actor in some notable projects likeSons of AnarchyandVeronica Mars, but he gained a huge amount of fame after writing some acclaimed movies likeHell or High Waterand, eventually,Yellowstoneand its various spinoff shows. In the midst of his meteoric rise to notoriety, Sheridan also became a director, and he’s directed three different movies so far.
Many of the movies Sheridan wrote are already well known - such asSicarioandWithout Remorse- but fans of the writer may not be as familiar with his directing career. In fact, Sheridan has quite a bit of experience in the director’s chair: he’s directed episodes of many of his shows, includingYellowstone,Landman,Lioness, and more. What’s even more interesting is that Sheridan’s directing career actually predates his writing jobs, and the first movie he ever directed is so different from the rest of his filmography that it thoroughly surprised me.
Taylor Sheridan’s first turn in the director’s chair is also unique for a number of other reasons.Sheridan first directed the 2011 horror filmVile, which came out just a year after his last time playing David Hale inSons of Anarchyand long before his first writing credit forSicarioin 2015.Vileseems to be inspired by theSawfranchise of horror films, as it follows a group of people who have been abducted and fitted with a device that harvests chemicals produced by the brain as it feels pain. The victims have to work together to inflict enough pain on one another to leave alive.
All 4 Characters Taylor Sheridan Plays In His Own TV Shows & Movies
Taylor Sheridan has given himself roles in four of the movies and TV shows he’s written, and all four of his characters highlight something unique.
Sheridan certainly isn’t well-known for his horror film, butViledoes provide an early insight into the creator he would become with his later projects.Vilelargely centers around the interpersonal drama of the survivors trying to figure out how to produce enough pain to survive, and Sheridan’s directing was already up to the task of depicting their descent into torture and tribalism.Vileis also reminiscent of some of Sheridan’s more controversial decisions, such asDonald Whitfield’s torture scenes in1923. He may not have written it, butVilewas a preview of what Sheridan could do well before he garnered massive fame.
After writing bothSicarioandHell or High Water, Taylor Sheridan combined his two creative talents for the first time withWind River. Sheridan both wrote and directedWind River, and it was largely due to his extensive involvement behind the camera that it became one of thebest neo-Westerns ever made. Of course,it helped that Elizabeth Olsen and Jeremy Renner starred inWind River, but Sheridan left an indelible mark on the film through his directing.Wind Riveris filled with the swooping nature shots, the heated interpersonal drama, and the high-octane action that most of Sheridan’s movies are defined by.
What really makesWind Riverstand out among the movies Taylor Sheridan has directed is the clear love he has for the people and places the film is about.Each shot ofWind Riverlooks like it was planned out by a person who deeply cares for the West and the people of the Northern Arapaho tribe, a description which fits Sheridan to a T. In Sheridan’s typical way of showing his love, however,Wind Riveralso highlights some of the ugly truths of its subject: in this case, the countless Native American women who go missing each year, and whose disappearances are never solved.
The last movie Taylor Sheridan directed was 2021’sThose Who Wish Me Dead, starring Angelina Jolie and Nicholas Hoult.Those Who Wish Me Deadreally rounds out Sheridan’s time in the director’s chair and proved that he could handle an enormous range of genres and tones.Vileshowed that Sheridan was adept with horror,Wind Riverwas further evidence that he’s great at Westerns, andThose Who Wish Me Deadproved he was more than capable of directing an action-thriller. Its fast-paced action and intense conspiracy made for a great film, and Sheridan’s directing was just as good as his writing.
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Hell or High Water
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Those Who Wish Me Dead
Those Who Wish Me Deadis also probably the best proof that Taylor Sheridan isn’t just great at interpersonal drama, he’s also great at intrapersonal stories.Hannah’s guilt is a major recurring element ofThose Who Wish Me Dead, and Sheridan clearly did something right to evoke Angelina Jolie’s impressive and moving performance as a woman with a very dark past. It’s hard to say if a different director would have understood the script and been able to direct Jolie as well asTaylor Sheridandid inThose Who Wish Me Dead.
