Taylor Sheridan Reveals Salary Dispute That Changed His Career

Taylor Sheridan says a salary dispute on Sons of Anarchy led him to leave acting and ultimately changed the course of his career.

Speaking on The Howard Stern Show, Sheridan said he was earning the minimum union rate while playing Deputy David Hale and still needed a second job to cover his living expenses. After the show's second season, he asked for a raise to about $20,000 per episode, similar to what other supporting cast members were making.

According to Sheridan, the studio instead offered him $15,000 per episode with a guarantee of only 10 episodes. He declined the offer, saying it showed the industry did not value him. His character was written out of the series and killed off in the season 3 premiere in 2010.

Sheridan said the experience convinced him he had reached his limit as an actor and should focus on writing instead. That decision led to his screenwriting debut with the Oscar-nominated film Sicario in 2015 and later to the creation of Yellowstone and several other television series.

Today, Sheridan is one of television's most successful creators and has a major development deal with NBCUniversal. He has also returned to acting in some of the series he writes, including Yellowstone, 1883, and Lioness.