Even the Most Eagle-Eyed Fans Can’t Spot Iconic ‘Yellowstone’ Star in a $3.36 Billion Teen Movie Franchise
- Gil Birmingham famously plays the role of Thomas Rainwater in Taylor Sheridan's Yellowstone.
- His role as Billy Black in The Twilight Saga is what earned him recognition in the industry.
- The Hell or High Water actor is not embarrassed about having been a part of The Twilight Saga.
When Yellowstone premiered in 2018, it was more or less of a cultural reset. Although a lot of the actors in the show already had sprawling portfolios, their fame saw new heights when they began appearing on that show. After five seasons, the show is soon coming to an end, but the spotlight on the actors is unlikely to fade anytime soon.
One such actor is Gil Birmingham, who decided to pursue acting only after he was discovered by a talent scout at a local gym. He plays the role of Tribal Chairman Thomas Rainwater in Taylor Sheridan’s neo-Western show, but he first gained recognition in a rather unexpected way. Some might be surprised to learn that he starred as a character in a high-grossing teen movie franchise, which landed him a better position in the industry.
Yellowstone Star Gil Birmingham Had a Role in This Billion-dollar Teen Film Franchise
Gil Birmingham is an army brat who claims that music is his first love. After getting a Bachelor of Science, he trained to become a petrochemical engineer. Even before he was an actor, he used to like singing, dancing, and bodybuilding – basically, almost all the traits required to become a performer.
As fate would have it, one fine day in the early 1980s, he was at a local gym in Los Angeles when a talent scout recruited him to star in Diana Ross’s hit 1982 aptly named song, Muscles. That was his first foray into acting and he has not looked back ever since. A couple of years later, he made his TV debut with the show Riptide. His film debut followed in 1987 although it was a very small role.
Birmingham first gained recognition with his role in The Twilight Saga, the screen adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s eponymous novel series. He played Billy Black, the father of the character Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner). It may not have been his brightest moment, but it earned him the exposure he needed to gain credibility in the industry.
Birmingham portrayed Billy in all five movies of the franchise. According to Box Office Mojo, the film franchise has a worldwide collection of over $3.36 billion although it hasn’t released a new installment in over a decade. The critics’ reviews of the saga were mostly negative, but it was one of the first young adult franchises that made waves in the movie industry.
Gil Birmingham Has No Regrets About Starring in The Twilight Saga
The Twilight Saga is not something that can be called a work of art, but it sure did give the big breaks some actors needed. Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and Gil Birmingham are some of those actors as their profile was raised after they ran in that franchise.
Unlike Pattinson who is somewhat embarrassed about his involvement in those movies, Birmingham seems to be at peace with it because it made people happy. In an interview with The New York Times, he said:
Those movies give a lot of joy to a lot of people. I know there’s some debate about whether the books are real literature. But if it speaks to people and it speaks to their heart and if it gives them some kind of joy or maybe escapism, then gosh, I think that’s such a great gift for any artist to give their audience.
A few years later, Birmingham landed a role in 2016’s Hell or High Water. His performance impressed screenwriter Taylor Sheridan so much that he was also cast in Wind River and Yellowstone, and rightfully so.
